As he returned to his hometown he found it to be abandoned. A mysterious man came along and told him that all the Jews had gone to the city. On his way there, he spotted an unconscious little girl outside of a burning house. While he rescued her he discovered that some Jews were led by a couple of commandants. Then he watched them die of the bullets. Their screams filled the air and blended with the howls of the hungry crows circling around them.
The Nazis threw all of the children they found into a van and Felix, while carrying the little girl, whose name was Zelda, was forced to join them. In the blur of confusion and panic a man persuaded the Nazis to let them go. They were then taken to an underground cellar in the ghetto by a man, whose name was Barney. In the following days more children came to the cellar. Until the day the Nazis came there. And the children were going on a long trip.
On his way to a Jewish Death Camp Felix could sense the danger ahead. Fighting for survival he found a fragile plank and broke it open. He took Zelda and Chaya, another girl rescued by Barney, and jumped of the train. The bullets snarled in the thin air. Two children survived. One of them died.
Conclusion
Once is a very well written and overwhelming book. It tells a heartfelt story of a part of history that is too horrific to imagine. The author brings to us a world we have long forgotten, and does it well. Because of this I would highly recommend the book. Not only is it suited for adults and youth, but even for children, since it is a story of a great adventurer. As a result of this experience I would like to read the sequels of this book, namely Then and Now.
The story is told in 1.person perspective and the protagonist, Felix, is telling us the story. Due to this the author has managed to create a quite cheerful tone. As the story develops it gets more tragic because a