I am a sucker for a series. Once I’ve started reading a novel or a series, I find it very hard to stop. I feel compelled to reach the end even if I don’t particularly enjoy it, or if it’s completely disturbing. Some part of me wants to know what happens and feels obligated to the author. When I saw that Morris Gleitzman had released a fifth book in his ‘Once’ series (aka The Felix and Zelda series), I felt that same compulsion to pick it up and read it.
Set just after the official end of World War II, Soon sees Felix struggling with the ongoing effects of the war and the ruins of social order and relationships, the devastation of the ongoing violence and chaos. In a world where any kind of morality is forgotten when faced with a loaf of bread, Felix shows relentless selflessness as he furthers his training as a doctor and continues to care for Gabriek. However, he begins to question what is right and wrong when charged with the protection of human life.
I was convinced before reading that I was too old for the series – I had begun to read it in primary school – but as I read Soon, I found myself feeling captivated by the story rather than compelled by my long commitment to the series. Reading the author’s note at the back of the novel, I was able to appreciate the author’s efforts to create novels that can be read in isolation, out of order, and that provide complete stories by themselves. Maybe it’s Gleitzman’s attempts to remove the interdependence and cliffhanger endings that often occur in series in order to keep the reader interested that makes his novels so enjoyable. 
I noticed and appreciated different elements of this novel than I would have done if I had read it at the age I was when I read Once, the original book. For the first time in the series, the possibility of romance was apparent, and I realised that Felix had grown as I had (though he has passed through time at a much different rate than his readers). Soon is unexpectedly beautiful in its balance of hope and despair. Its very real and honest characters, faced with tragic circumstances, inhabit yet another well-crafted story from Gleitzman. I would recommend it to any fan of the series, anyone interested in WWII, and readers aged 11-18 looking for a great way to spend a summer afternoon.