Kyle Gagne
June 18, 2013
Reading Writing Workshop
Block 4 Day 1

The book I read during this term was If I Should Die Before I wake by Han Nolan. If I die Before I wake is a fictional book about a girl who starts off in a ghetto and then got moved to a death camp where she tells her story and survival through the holocaust during World War Two. It gives you a firsthand look at what happened during the war and what it was like to have to get through the holocaust and the death camps. It is not about an actual person but while you reading it you feel that you are actually with them and you start to know how they felt when this happened. After an accident Hilary’s mind set changes and she thinks that she is a girl named Chana who is in the camps struggling to get by.

This book was a very confusing book at some points, but I do feel that it does describe the Holocaust and what happened very well from a first person point of view. I don’t like how the author starts off as Hilary starts off as a very mean person who just downright hates Jews and wants them gone and then when the accident happens she somehow thinks that she is a Jewish girl in a Nazi Death camp. Almost the whole book I thought that Chana and Hilary were two different people. Not the same person. The way the book ends is very confusing. At the beginning there is a clear cut definition between the two girls and they are the exact opposite. If the ending hadn't ended the way it did by Chana remembering what happened I think that it would have been a much better book.

If I had to recommend this book to anyone I would recommend it for the people who love to read and learn new things about history and the holocaust and also World War Two. It’s a good read for anyone who likes history. It’s a little difficult to understand at some points (especially the end) but I think the way the author does a very exceptional job on explaining what happened and making me feel like I’m there. The age group I would recommend this book is about 13 and on because there are some points where it talks about things in great detail and it might be a little disturbing for little kids. I would give this book four out of five stars because I feel it has very good descriptions in it but the ending is not expected and got me a little annoyed at the book. This is one of the best if not the best fictional book I have ever read and I would recommend it to anyone.