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amandawije's review against another edition
1.0
I give this book 1.5 stars. The beginning of this book drew me in and I was excited to read it. However, I struggled to make it to 100 pages as things started to slow down. I struggled to stay interested throughout the rest of the book and realized this wasn't at all what I expected. Even though the main characters of the book didn't consider themselves religious, much of the book focused on religion. These types of books are hard to keep my attention so I gave 1.5 stars for drawing me in at the beginning.
beetree's review against another edition
4.0
This book is was staff pick at my local library. I tore through it in a couple of days; it's an easy read and moves quickly. I absolutely enjoyed it, but from reading the back, I was expecting far more moral ambiguity than there actually was (similar to "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult). There was clearly a right side and a wrong side throughout, and the way the evil side just sort of evaporates at the end makes this book a lot shallower than it could have been. This book does have a lot of strong points though. The premise is quite captivating, the narration style, flipping between the characters, is genuinely well done, and the characters themselves, particularly Karen and Simon as they struggle within their marriage are relevant, realistic and interesting.
act_10's review against another edition
4.0
Read my review here!
http://areadersrapture.blogspot.ca/2012/11/books-to-read-and-before-i-wake.html
http://areadersrapture.blogspot.ca/2012/11/books-to-read-and-before-i-wake.html
christiek's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book up because I so enjoyed The World More Full of Weeping. The topic (child death or near death) is not really a topic I am interested in, but Wiersema's writing in Weeping is so enveloping I gave it a shot. It starts off fairly uninteresting and predictable. Child hit by car, marriage falls apart and my emotions get tugged around (really, it isn't that hard to do). A third of the way through the book, the spark catches and Wiersema gets a nice flame going for an unusual story. I wish he'd have found a way to have give accident and marriage disintegration details as a back story. We just get glimpses of the writing that Wiersema is capable of. I sure do look forward to his next work.
ceeb's review against another edition
4.0
Before I wake is a great debut novel, the writing is captivating and the story flows beautifully. It's not entirely my cup of tea with a God complex as the underlying theme however, still a nice read.
islandgeekgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Gave me chills and made me cry. Passed it on through my whole family.
sarskaa's review against another edition
4.0
Compelling and mesmerizing. The author grew up where I live and that's why I read the book the first time, but I'll go back and read it again. Bought it for my Kobo.
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so different than I expected. It's a dark tale that took me on a roller coaster ride through despair and hope. Before I Wake is unlike anything I've read before. For that reason alone, I gave it a rating of 4 out of 5. I read a lot so different and surprising are good things.