If I Should Die Before I Wake

by Han Nolan

Overview

As part of a neo-Nazi gang in her town, Hilary has 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 through the Holocaust and another's journey out of hatred and self-loathing.

Reader's guide and an interview with the author included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152046798
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/01/2003
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 6.94(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

HAN NOLAN is the author of several books, including Dancing on the Edge which won the National Book Award and Send Me Down a Miracle, a National Book Award finalist. She lives with her husband on the East Coast.

Reading Group Guide

1. Why is Hilary angry and full of hate? What are her reasons for turning her anger on her mother and on Jews?

2. Why does Hilary feel like she fits in with the Great Warriors?

3. Bubbe tells Chana that she must remember everything. Why is this important?

4. How can everyone share the same past and the same future yet see it differently? How does her experience with Chana change the way Hilary sees things?

5. Why did caring for Matel in Auschwitz save Chana? How might taking action, as Chana or Jakub or Bubbe did, affect one's chances of survival? What are the risks of taking action?

6. Hilary wonders if she's wicked. How would you answer her?

Copyright (c) 2003. Published in the U.S. by Harcourt, Inc.

Editorial Reviews

"Bold . . . deeply felt and often compelling."—Kirkus Reviews

"Brilliantly rendered."—Booklist

"Page-turning."—VOYA
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From the Publisher