If I Should Die Before I Wake weaves together the stories of two teenage girls, one a present-day neo-Nazi and the other a Jewish teenager living in Poland during World War II. When Hillary is involved in a motorcycle accident, she begins to flash back to a different life, a life involving a young girl named Chana who comes under persectution from the Nazis and is eventually moved into the Lodz ghetto. A tale of discovery, If I Should Die Before I Wake does a beautiful job of illustrating the changes a person makes when they truly understand someone else's point of view.
Content Notes:
There is some slight language in this text which would earn it a PG rating. Towards the end of the book there is discussion of concentration camps which, while completely historicaly accurate, may be disturbing to some students. If made into a movie, this book would be rated PG13.
Teacher Notes:
This book has a lexile level of 840. This story is told from multiple points of view and requires that a reader be able to flash back between points of view and time periods. Struggling readers may want to create a chart for each main character with bulleted notes as they read or create Somebody Wanted But So summary statements for each chapter in order to keep the storyline straight.
Similar Books:
Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
This sounds like a wonderful book! I can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteI love books that are told from multiple points of view! Sounds like a great read!
ReplyDeleteLove the blog!
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