As the next chapter in his story unfolds, Felix has been hiding for 2 ½ years in a hole in the horse’s stall in Gabriek’s barn. It’s Felix’s thirteenth birthday, and everything changes. When he hears Gabriek arguing with several strangers in the barn above him, Felix secretly follows the group when they leave. They appear to have kidnapped Gabriek, and Felix is determined to help him. As it turns out, the strangers are Polish partisans fighting against the Nazis. Felix must join the partisans in order to survive.

The author originally intended for this series to be a trilogy, but he discovered that Felix had more to say. I realized this when I reached the end of Then, and I’m glad the author listened to Felix. As a reader, I longed to know what happened After. How did Felix survive? What happened to his parents? This book answered many of my questions.

While I’ve read many Holocaust memoirs and biographies, I seldom read Holocaust fiction. It’s hard for me to shake the feeling that the author is manipulating my emotions. I don’t get that feeling from this series. The things that happen to Felix and Felix’s actions and reactions are consistent with the memoirs and histories I’ve read. ( )

This is the fourth book in the series. We go back in time to catch up with what had happened to Felix. Gabriek, whose wife was hiding young Felix and Zelda are dead. Gabriek if part of a resistance movement and has continued to hide Felix in a hole in his barn. On his thirteenth birthday Felix can hear people above him talking. He follows them into the woods. He assumes they are Nazis and are going to kill Gabriek and he yells to give Gabriek a chance to escape. He soon learns that Gabriek is not in danger. When they return to the farm it is on fire. Gabriek is injured and so Felix takes him back into the woods to get help. They are allowed to stay. They do make Felix prove himself. Once again he is an assistant to the doctor. It is his experiences throughout his childhood of helping assist doctors that made him a well known doctor in his adult life. In this book Felix is once again put into the position of helping save three sisters. He has matured considerably. Now that he knows who Hitler is he no longer prays to him, but to Richmal Crompton who was a well known author at the time. I still found this a funny occurrence. The tension has gone up a notch in this book and I can’t wait to read the next one. ( )

A good end to a great series, but I think "After" should be read as the third book, not the last, as the sequence didn't feel right. Going back in time to WWII when Felix was only thirteen made the series disjointed, having read about Felix as a grandfather in "Now". ( )

I wish this book was written at the same time as Once & Then, because I had read Once & Then & Now 3 years ago I found that I did quite get into the book 'After' straight away. After follows straight after “Then” and makes numerous references to Zelda (killed by the Nazis in Then) and I kept confusing this Zelda with Felix's grand daughter Zelda in 'Now'. After goes back to when Felix is a young boy (about 13) and he is being sheltered by Gabriek (Polish) who is a partisan. The book retells of the Partisan influence against the Germans and how they helped many Jewish people. Gabriek's farm is burned down by retreating German troops and he is badly injured. Felix loads Gabriek onto the draught horse Dom's back and goes in search of the Partisan group who are camped in the forest. Gabriek's injuries are so bad that he is sent to the main camp and Felix is saddened that he has to stay behind and become the doctor's assistant. He is befriended and somewhat mothered by Yuli who protects him. The story continues where Yuli and Felix go on a mission to secure more food for the group and upon there return they witness the partisan group being counter attacked by Germans and killed. Yuli tells Felix to stay still as she goes to attack the soldiers. After the affray has cleared, Felix goes to investigate and believes Yuli to be dead. Felix returns to the town centre and befriends a group of children (Polish Jews and Germans) and together they hide in a swamp and look after each other. An end to war is declared, Yuli reappears and directs the Russian soldiers to take Felix to the concentration camp where Felix's parents were sent. Here Felix finds out his father is dead, but his mother is barely alive. They get to reunite just before she passes away. Felix stays at the camp to assist the doctor in caring for the Jewish prisoners. The story ends in a climax with Gabriek finding Felix at the camp and they journey together retracing their path. At the partisan camp they come across Szulk (a Nazi supporter) who attacks Gabriek. While defending Gabriek, Felix stabs Szulk and just as he is about to kill him, Felix has second thoughts and saves his life. Felix then proceeds to doctor up Szulk's injuries and then he and Gabriek walk off into the distance.
A Brilliant series that helps young readers understand the history of the Second World War and the effects of this on the world. ( )

The last book in Felix's story, this takes place immediately after Then. After hiding on a farm for 2 years, Felix joins the partisans and takes part in actions as the Nazis are defeated and leave Poland. ( )