Maybe by Morris Gleitzman

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Viking, 2017. ISBN 9780670079377
(Age: Upper primary - Lower secondary) Maybe, the sixth book in the series, is an excellent continuation of the saga of Felix, an orphan who has survived the war yet still has not found ultimate peace and freedom. This title focuses on Felix, Gabriek and the pregnant Anya as they endeavour to find a safe place for the baby to be born, away from their old enemy, Zliv. Uncertainty seems to follow the little band of travellers as they endeavour to find a new home. The reader is automatically on the side of the protagonist who continues to live in the hope that just maybe life in Australia will bring them the security they all desire.
As in the previous books, the introduction of new characters adds a new perspective and both a sense of possibility and menace to their lives and situations in which they find themselves. Throughout the story is a sense of tension as one barracks eagerly on the sidelines for Felix to find the 'maybe' of which he dreams.
With the author's non-linear progression throughout the series, each novel easily stands alone and can be read out of sequence without destroying the other books for the reader. This heart wrenching tale is most appropriate for children in upper primary to secondary students. Certainly, in my previous schools, the titles in this series have rarely been on the shelf and have been used to great effect as class novels or in literature circles as they are engaging, if somewhat confronting, reads, simultaneously depressing and uplifting.
Jo Schenkel

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