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If I Should Die Before I Wake

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 1,938 ratings · 231 reviews

Hilary hates Jews. As part of a neo-Nazi gang in her town, she's finally found a sense of belonging. But when she's critically injured in an accident, everything changes.
Somehow, in her mind, she has become Chana, a Jewish girl fighting for her own life in the ghettos and concentration camps of World War II.
Han Nolan offers powerful insight into one young woman's survival...more

Paperback, 293 pages

Published May 1st 2003 by Graphia (first published March 31st 1994)

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Mar 24, 2009 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, favorites

In If I Should Die Before I Wake, two girls’ lives are forever connected when they themselves couldn’t be more opposite. Hilary hates every Jewish person on the face of the earth. Part of a neo-Nazi gang, she is actively looking for a way to kill every Jewish person who lives. This is happening about 60 years after World War II. When Hilary and her boyfriend are riding home on a motorcycle in the rain, they crash violently into the car of another. Hilary’s boyfriend leaves with only a few bruise...more In If I Should Die Before I Wake, two girls’ lives are forever connected when they themselves couldn’t be more opposite. Hilary hates every Jewish person on the face of the earth. Part of a neo-Nazi gang, she is actively looking for a way to kill every Jewish person who lives. This is happening about 60 years after World War II. When Hilary and her boyfriend are riding home on a motorcycle in the rain, they crash violently into the car of another. Hilary’s boyfriend leaves with only a few bruises; Hilary is left on death’s door step. Put into a coma, she starts to live the life of a Jewish girl named Chana during World War II. As she fades in and out of her world, she realizes that it’s not just a dream. This girl Chana really did live and Hilary is being sent back in time to live a life of a Jew and her paradigm is completely shifted. While she fights for her life in her world, she must also fight for Chana’s life in hers. Will they survive the impossible tasks given to them?

I thought this book was absolutely amazing! I loved how Han Nolan really made you feel like you were in a concentration camp, suffering. He used emotions rather well to explain what it felt like to be in the two girls’ positions. I give it five stars; it was one of the best books I have ever read! He also used details to his advantage; you could tell that he researched a lot about World War II. He knew what a Jew had to go through and how horrible their lives were. This book exceeded my expectations, being full of more than I ever expected. I loved how the author described the shifting of time and how Hilary came to realize how stupid she really was for hating the Jews. I expected this book to be good, but not that good! I loved how this book made me cry because it seemed so realistic! My favorite part was at the end when Nadzia got to meet Hilary. I can’t explain this encounter because it would give away an interesting ending. I decided to read this book because it simply looked good. I was at Books A Million and had money to spend, so I started looking at books. I was down to three and I ended up buying this one. I’m very glad I bought it and would recommend it to anyone that wants to read a good story with some history thrown in.
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Dec 05, 2008 Reina added it

I think Han Nolan wrote this book to show people how life was for jews in Germany durind WWII. his book has two main characters, Hilary, and Chana. Hilary is a girl whos father died and feeling alone she decided to join a neo-nazi gang with her boyfriend brad. Hilary gets in a acciedent which leaves her in a coma. while in a coma hilary has flashbacks of a girl name Chana, who was jewish and lived during the halocaust.First her father dies and soon the rest of her family does too, accept her sis...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Mirrani rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-and-reviewed

For some reason, I expected this book to be more about Hillary and less about Chana. I felt a little left out of Hillary’s story, the life of a neo-Nazi. We learn snips of her life, parts of her past, but never really see the whole picture and while I certainly recognize the need to tell Chana’s story of being a Jew during WWII, I felt as if leaving Hillary out of the book so often made her sudden change from hateful to kindhearted a little sudden and somewhat unbelievable. I doubted that someon...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hilary, a Neo-Nazi. Chana, a Jew. Complete opposites, but yet they are connected... Hilary gets into a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend Brad and what kind of hospital is she transported to? A Jewish one, one that she does not want to stay long in. At the hospital she sees this grandma that just seems to keep staring at her. And while she is there, Hilary slips into a kind of coma and is living the life of a Jewish girl named Chana. In Chana's life, the Nazis had just started taking over. J...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Stars. The meaning of a shine and the top. Something that were always hanging on their chests. The meaning of a separation to them; the Jews. But why? Why were the stars their symbols and meanings?
If someone asks me what was the most memorable thing I learned in Social Studies last year, I would want to say the Korean War because it is about my country and I had a presentation for my class, but actually, it will be the Holocaust. It was not just in Social Studies. In science and reading, we re...more Stars. The meaning of a shine and the top. Something that were always hanging on their chests. The meaning of a separation to them; the Jews. But why? Why were the stars their symbols and meanings?
If someone asks me what was the most memorable thing I learned in Social Studies last year, I would want to say the Korean War because it is about my country and I had a presentation for my class, but actually, it will be the Holocaust. It was not just in Social Studies. In science and reading, we read a book and watched a movie about the Holocaust and searched the chemical gases that the Germans used for killing the Jews. We even sang a song about the Holocaust in Choir. Our school even invited an old lady who is a survivor from the concentration camp. It was crazy.
I remember that only lady, Sonia told us when she was in the concentration camp, the German soldier asked Jews how old they are and sent them to the gas room to kill them or keep them alive. Sonia said when she had to pass the line with her mom, the German soldier kept Sonia alive and sent her mom to the opposite direction which was the way to the gas room and she never saw her mom again. After that, whatever German soldier asked Sonia her age, she would answer them with a younger age than what she was suppose to be, so she can stay alive. The Holocaust was the time when the Jews could do anything for their lives and Hitler did whenever she became Chana too.
Hitler is a 16-year-old, a part of neo-Nazi gang, who entered in the Jewish Hospital. She hates Jews because of her dad’s accident and she feels more involved in the neo-Nazi gang. Hitler hated Jews like the way Adolf Hitler hated them because he failed going into the Art Academy. There was no one who actually protected Hitler too. She was the only one and she was sharp as a glass and always closed. Hitler just hated my mom because she was trying to make Hitler believe in God and grandma wasn’t the one who Hitler could talk all about her concerns ad problems. She didn’t have any friends either. Except one; Chana.
Chana has a little bit different personality than Hitler. She is a quiet Jewish girl lived in Poland during the Holocaust. Hitler was confused and hated to be Chana because she was scared and didn’t like Jews. However, as Hitler became Chana and tried to save his dad and living in the concentration camp with her families as a Jew, she felt closer and more comfortable being Chana even though it was really dangerous to live as a Jew. Hitler wore the Star of David’s, had to only walk to go somewhere, had to do anything the German told Jews to do and lived in the concentration camp as Chana. However, living as Chana, one of the things didn’t change in her mind; living as a Jew. Hitler, or Chana was proud to wear the Star of David’s, she was glad that she was Jew and she didn’t felt angry about living in the concentration camp even though it was a tuff time. She was proud to be a part of the Jews and keep praying to her God.
I think that is the reason why the Jews wore the stars on their chest proudly and without any objections. Even though they were the scapegoats of the Germans and had no power and weak, they were still shining inside as a Jew and they were proud of themselves. They were still happy to be Jews during that horrible time and thought they are always the shining stars and to their God, but the others just did’t notice it yet.
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Aug 13, 2011 Jenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my classroom bulletin boards features this book and The Book Thief side by side as recommended WWII fiction.

I go crazy over WWII stories. I've been to Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. It was so cramped and crowded. I loved teaching Elie Wiesel's Night until it moved down to the ninth grade curriculum. Mostly I think my reading obsession comes from disbelief. The disbelief that humanity could be so cruel, and despite overwhelming evidence, some still say the Holocaust was all made up.

How d...more One of my classroom bulletin boards features this book and The Book Thief side by side as recommended WWII fiction.

I go crazy over WWII stories. I've been to Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. It was so cramped and crowded. I loved teaching Elie Wiesel's Night until it moved down to the ninth grade curriculum. Mostly I think my reading obsession comes from disbelief. The disbelief that humanity could be so cruel, and despite overwhelming evidence, some still say the Holocaust was all made up.

How dare they?

Those people are ignorant idiots.

I love the title, from the prayer little children often say before bedtime. In this instance, it takes on an eerie meaning. Hilary is trapped in someone else's body. She might really be killed before she returns to present day.

This book reminded me very much of The Devil's Arithmetic. Even though I read that in fifth grade, I seem to recall some sort of time travelling experience. Hilary really doesn't care what happens to the Jewish people around. I could feel her hatred seeping from the pages. It was very hard to read the first few chapters and see what her gang did to a poor Jewish boy. Nothing was funny about it. In some ways, I thought back to the pain I expererienced while trying to watch American History X.

Everything changes after a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend. In the hospital, she goes in and out of consciousness. She becomes Chana, a young girl forced from her home and eventually to Auschwitz. Some of the punishments or jobs given to Jews were ones I hadn't remembered reading in other books, particularly when it came to women washing/scrubbing things.

I felt the desperation as Hilary tried to convince herself she was not Chana. That nothing around her was real. But she also feels real hunger pains. She feels sadness at the deaths of friends and loved ones around her. She doesn't want to die, but she's afraid she might have to.

Even her annoying, Bible verse spouting mother can't bring her to wake up from her nightmare.

Powerful. Interesting. Beautiful imagery. Ending I didn't expect.

If you're tired of paranormal or dystopian, pick up this historical fiction.(less)

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Jun 06, 2011 Alex Baugh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: world-war-2

Hilary Burke, 16, is an angry girl. She is angry at her mother for not being there for her while she was a child. And she is angry at her father for dying when she was 5. Hilary blames his death on his Jewish boss, believing that he skimped on construction material causing the building her father worked in to collapse. So she is angry at all Jews and has focused it on her Jewish neighbors including their son, Simon Schulmann, for being part of a happy, close family.

To deal with all this anger,...more

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May 06, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Since I had to read this for a class, I didn't like it as much as the other books I had to read for class. This one was hard to get into, but the character switches didn't give me any trouble. I don't remember the book ever going into much detail about why Hilary hates the Jews except that her father was killed because of the supposed dirty trading his possibly Jewish boss might have been involved in. Her anger at her mother is evident in the dialogue because readers learn that her mother abando...more Since I had to read this for a class, I didn't like it as much as the other books I had to read for class. This one was hard to get into, but the character switches didn't give me any trouble. I don't remember the book ever going into much detail about why Hilary hates the Jews except that her father was killed because of the supposed dirty trading his possibly Jewish boss might have been involved in. Her anger at her mother is evident in the dialogue because readers learn that her mother abandoned her for three days in their home while she went to find Jesus. I think Hilary is trying to find comfort anywhere so she joins the Great Aryan Warriors and falls for one of the boys involved. Of course, young Hilary becomes wrapped up in her relationship with the boy, Brad, and she ends up endangering the life of her schoolmate Simon and risking her own life on Brad's motorcycle. I had many theories about who Chana may have been in this book. I'm the kind of person that likes to know and understand the relationships between people in the novel and this one was definitely hard to put together. I don't think the end even gave me much more closure. My theory that Chana was the patient in the room with Hilary seems to be correct for the most part. I liked how at the end of Chana's life she tells Hilary that she can change the world if she changes herself but I still didn't like the ending of the book because it doesn't really explain why Hilary is now calling her own mother "Mama" when she never did before and I don't like how Hilary's memories all seem to jumble together. There is no real explanation for why Hilary sees Chana's life and then how or why she remembers her own life as well. I think this would be a hard book to teach in school because the end didn't give me enough answers to help my students find the answers to their own questions that they will have. I feel like the ending is letting me down. I will have to re-read this book in the future to better understand the ending. It just seemed like Nolan was getting tired of writing and needed a way to end the book in a way that doesn't do enough justice to Hilary's own survival. (less)

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Oct 09, 2009 Arielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have read a number of books specifically on the Holocaust, so reading about the torture and the horrible things these people had to go through was nothing new to me. Yet even as I read it, I still got chills every time Hilary/Chana would describe some horrible act. This book didn’t go into much detail about the torture the Jews faced in the camps, at least not compared to pervious books I have read, but if you know anything about the Holocaust and what the Jews faced everyday of their lives, y...more

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Sep 30, 2009 John Dudash added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. If I should die before I wake book review
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction. The book tells the story of a girl in a neo-Nazi gang who gets into a motorcycle accident and is on the verge of death, and is having flashbacks into a Jewish girl’s life during the holocaust while she’s in a coma. I think the author wrote the book to show people that everyone has their own problems and you shouldn’t make fun of people if they’re different.
The part of the book that ca...more

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Sep 08, 2009 Naomi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-09-10

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 10, 2012 Lauren W rated it 4 of 5 stars

had to read this for school ended up being the only good book ive read for school all year about half way through i couldnt put it down
then i had to write a real review for it so here's that:
If I Die before I Wake by Han Nolan has two main characters. Hilary and Chana. They are complete opposites. Hilary is a neo-Nazi of present day and Chana is a Jew in the time of World War II. Nolan does an amazing job of showing the differences between the two characters and time periods. He paints Hilary pe...more had to read this for school ended up being the only good book ive read for school all year about half way through i couldnt put it down
then i had to write a real review for it so here's that:
If I Die before I Wake by Han Nolan has two main characters. Hilary and Chana. They are complete opposites. Hilary is a neo-Nazi of present day and Chana is a Jew in the time of World War II. Nolan does an amazing job of showing the differences between the two characters and time periods. He paints Hilary perfectly at the beginning as a troubled teen then changes her perspective throughout the novel as Chana shows her more and more of her life. It really was a slow start to the novel but might have been because I was dreading reading another book for school. Once I got into it, I could not put it down. The only thing I cared about once I got half way was to find out what would happen next. I was always concerned Chana’s life would take a turn for the worst. I was not as concerned about Hilary’s outcome because of how she had acted in the beginning of the novel and it was predictable what would happen to her at the end. The author would not just kill her off so that she would not have a chance to show the change in her to the people she associated with.
Nolan chose to switch between the characters perspectives which did not confuse me. I have read other books that switch between more than just too characters and doesn’t tell you whose perspective it is. I wish that Nolan would have shown a little more of Hilary’s perspective. It was a very abrupt change in her thinking, not as gradual as I would have hoped for. Also at the end, I felt like Nolan could have cut back on Chana’s perspective at Auschwitz because her life got really repetitive. In fact, I skipped over half of Chana’s last bit to Hilary because I wanted to know how it ended. I was glad I did because the book needed another Hilary part in between there. Even with these faults I would still give the novel 4 of 5 stars.
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Mar 21, 2013 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beware of what you see behind closed eyes.
Hilary Burke is a Jew hating Neo-Nazi that has finally found a sense of belonging. But that all changes when she is critically injured in a motorcycle accident. Lying in a Jewish hospital, Hilary is flashing in and out of consciousness and being bombarded with memories from Poland and a life she never lived. Hilary becomes Chana , a polish girl in World War 2, a girl fighting for her life. Chana and her family, like most, are forced from there home and...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Ayanna Muhammad rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think that If I Should Die Before I wake by Han Nolan was overall a really interesting book. I like it because it because of the detail and it made you feel what the other characters were feeling. Also, the book had a great story line and nice transitions when it switched characters through the chapters. One of the settings of the book in a Jewish hospital. The other setting is in Poland and eventually ends up at a concentration camp in Germany. Some of the main characters in the book are. Cha...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Victoria D. rated it 5 of 5 stars

"If I should die before I wake" by Han Nolan is now my favorite book. In the first couple chapters, I'ts a little confusing. But then the book gets really good and you understand it better. The book is about a girl named Hilary. She hates jews. Hilary is a neo-nazi who critically injured in a motercycle accident. While she is in a coma, she somehow becomes Chana. A jewish girl fighting for her life during World War II. The Nazis force her and her family to live in the ghetto where she fights for...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Jorge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hilary is a girl who hates Jews. She is a member of a Neo-Nazi gang known as the Anryan Wariors. Hilary's friends praise Hitler, make fun of Jews, and beat up Jews. But they go too far when they put a Jewish boy named Simon in a locker at school and leave him there.
But when she and her friends try to escape from the cops after they attack a Jew, an accident occurs. Hillary's life soon takes a turn when she is hospitalized. She is left in a coma after a serious motorcycle accident. While in her...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Sierra Wurmnest rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sierra Wurmnest
5/7/12
6th hour

If I Should Die Before I Wake
Han Nolan
This book was really good. I loved it. After reading about 10 chapters I really wanted to keep reading, but I don’t like books. This book had awesome details and it really made you feel like you were in the book. The graphic parts really had good detail and made you picture what it would look like if you were sitting right there watching it happen.

The main settings in, If I Should Die Before I Wake, changed a lot but mostly i...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Angel Hague rated it 5 of 5 stars

I greatly enjoyed the novel If I should die before I wake by Han Nolan. What made this book so enjoyable was how there was never a dull moment, there was always some kind of struggle or external conflict. The main setting took place at a Jewish Hospital and at the Birkenau concentration camp in Auschwitz. Chana, Hilary and Bubbe were the main characters in this novel. Chana faced the struggle of hard working conditions and trying to survive on little food and water shelter and clothes. Living in...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hilary, an angry teenager, is part of a neo-Nazi group in her town. After she is involved in a terrible accident and in a coma Hilary is transported through her dreams to the life of Chana a young Jewish girl living in Poland and struggling to survive the many atrocities the Nazis force upon the Jews. At the start this book grabs your attention with the vulgar thoughts of Hilary as she enters the Jewish hospital. However as the book continues we see less and less of Hilary and more and more of C...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Kylie Steel rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book "If I Should Die Before I Wake" by Han Nolan was a very good book. I personally did not want to put it down.The way that Chana and Hilary's life combined made the story even better. I liked the book because It showed that your not alone. Even if you feel like no one out there understands you, there is always someone.The main settings of the book are during World War II and modern times. The main characters are Chana and Hilary. The main conflict is Hilary hates Jews and is in a coma, wh...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Amanda Friese rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can't remember the exact day that I read this book. The only thing I am sure about is that it is a book I read during high school. I'm not much of a person who reads books about wars or anything relating to wars, but when I read the description for this book, I couldn't resist picking it up and reading it. It's a great book for young adults to read because as a young adult myself we often struggle immensely with our identity. Who are we? What are we living here for? Often, we find ourselves be...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Anya S rated it 5 of 5 stars

It made me laugh, it made me cry... one of the few books that truly did. Chana provides an excellent example of the suffering millions were (and still are) forced to endure. We are so blessed to be living without fear. Praise God for such a book! We are fed, clothed, live in warm houses. We aren't forced to worry about surviving, taking one painful day after another. This is a phenomenal read, and though at first it was confusing, it catches up toward the end. Each chapter was more grossly inter...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Chloe Sanford rated it 3 of 5 stars

The last book I read during my eighth grade year was "If I Should Die Before I Wake" by Han Nolan. I love historical fiction, so I enjoyed this book. The book is set between a modern day town and WWII era Poland (?). In the beginning, we meet 15 year old Hilary. Hilary is a neo-Nazi in her town. One night after getting in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend Brad, she finds herself in a small hospital, in a coma. During this coma, she comes in and out of reality. When out of reality, Hilary...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wrote elsewhere about the dangers of fictionalising the Holocaust, but I think Nolan started to make a really good impression here. It tells the tale of Hilary, a teenage girl who has become involved with a neo-Nazi organisation. Injured in a road accident, she finds herself in a Jewish hospital, slipping in and out of consciousness. In her unconscious state, she relives the Holocaust experiences of Chana, a teenage Jewish girl in Poland. [return][return]This stands out as a cautionary tale fo...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Brandy James rated it 5 of 5 stars

I do think that the book "If I Should Die Before I Wake" by Han Nolan was a very good book. I did like the book. I liked the book because it made me think about not to judge other people until you've walked a least a mile in there shoes. The main seting is Hilary in a Jew hospital and also in Chana's world is in camps and prison's. The main character in the book include: Chana, Bubbe, Matel, Zayden, Grandmaw, Nadzia,& Jakub. Hilliary is in a Jew hospital because she was in a car accident. Wh...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Kaylee L rated it 5 of 5 stars

The name of my book is If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan, I actualy thought the book was boring in the beginning of the book but the book got really really good when I got more into the book. I liked the book because it makes you stop and think of how thankful you should be for all the stuff you have cause alot of people have it ALOT WORSE than you so dont sit there and think your life is bad, because at least you have a home and a warm bed to sleep in. The main setting was basically th...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Whitney Oaks rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow. I loved this book. It should be a requirement for all high school Holocaust/history students.

Hilary is a neo-Nazi sixteen-year-old who is injured in a motorcycle accident and sent to a Jewish hospital, where she lies in a coma. She begins to relive the life of Chana, a Jewish teenager whose family suffered tremendously during the reign of Hitler in Poland.

The story as a whole makes you realize that no matter how bad you think you have it, someone somewhere else has had it worse. This is a...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Hanna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, 8th-grade, sad

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. i gave it three stars because of the content. Han Nolan couldnt really help that the Holocuast was so horrendous, but the story was good.
Hilary is in a motorcycle accident. She is part of a neo-nazi group. that is a group of people whose beliefs are inspired by Nazism and it started in 1945, when WWII ended. I should have looked that up earlier because i didnt know when it took place or what neo-nazi even meant. So i think she is from 1994 in Philadelphia.
okay, so anyway she was in this car...more i gave it three stars because of the content. Han Nolan couldnt really help that the Holocuast was so horrendous, but the story was good.
Hilary is in a motorcycle accident. She is part of a neo-nazi group. that is a group of people whose beliefs are inspired by Nazism and it started in 1945, when WWII ended. I should have looked that up earlier because i didnt know when it took place or what neo-nazi even meant. So i think she is from 1994 in Philadelphia.
okay, so anyway she was in this car crash and now she is in a coma.Hilary is so hateful it is almost unbelievable! It's awful! Her dad died when she was five and then her mom abandoned her for 3 days. Hilary never forgave her mom. she never really had any friends until she joined this group. She had a crappy life and it turned her into an EVIL person.
While she is in her coma she is experiencing the life of a Polish Jew, Chana, who lived during WWII. The things that happened to her are... there are no words even for how horrible the things are. When she is 13, i believe, her Dad and her brother's best friend are shot and killed by Nazis. Then her mom sends her baby sister with another family who is going to England to keep the baby safe.
Soon her family is sent to a ghetto. They live in extreme poverty that no human should have to live in. Then her grandfather dies. Everyone is dying. Her younger sister and mom are chosen to go on the trains. Channa and Bubbe try to escape with the help of Jakub, but they are caught and thrown in jail where they are beaten in order to get information, which they dont give. Then they are moved to another camp, but it has all right living comditions.
Finally they are sent to a work camp. Conditions there are horrid. Chana meets a girl named Matel and they become family. Matel gets sick and right when they think she will be alright, she dies! it was horrible!
Chana is sent to the music hut. That was terrible that they used music as a way to torture people. The people there are treated a ton better, but the other girls are so mean to channa because she is Jewish. The guy in charge makes her play something but she blanks. This girl had Channa's old violin but she wouldnt give it to Chana. But she does then and she says play for your tata. i completely lost it there!! It was so heartbreaking! Channa faints afterwards and sees all her dead relatives and friends. It was so touching!! Channa is the only person in her family who survives the Holocaust.
While Hilary is in her coma, some kids from her neo-nazi group try to set the Jewish hospital on fire! i just dont understand how people can hate a group of other people so much. Were all the same. it doesnt make any sense!! (less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Atiyaa Bolling rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this book, If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan, a girl named Hilary, who hates jewish people, becomes a girl name Chana who is Jewish girl. Chana is forced to live in ghetto, when her Mom and sister leave she no longer wants to stay there. She and her grandmother, Bubbe, try to escape. They end up getting captured. Over a period of months they get moved from prison to prison until they finally end up in a concentration camp. Chana has to rely in her faith in God to get her through the...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Naomi M. rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book I read was "If I Should Die Before I Wake" by Han Nolan. I really liked this book because it showed you different prespectives of peoples life and you never know what is going to happen next. The main settings in this book are in a hospital, Poland, and prison camps. The main characters in this book are mainly Hilary and Chana. Hilary is a person who hates jews and Chana is a jew. The main conflict in this book is that Hilary is a neo-nazi and she gets in a car accident and has dreams a...more

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Quotes from If I Should Die Before...

“When God's moving his hands through your life, you had better sit up and take notice” — 6 people liked it

“I stepped back and looked at all the people as they continued to weave in and out, around and around, faster and faster until they were one blur, until they were One. And then I knew what Bubbe meant. Here, was God.” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240167.If_I_Should_Die_Before_I_Wake?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328877032l/240167.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240167.If_I_Should_Die_Before_I_Wake?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan[/url]

If I Should Die Before I Wake

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