ARC Review: Before You Wake by Cheyanne Young
Before You Wake
Author: Cheyanne Young
To Be Published: TOMORROW: June 7, 2022
248 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 11-22, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
The day after Millie’s crush asks her on a date, a comatose teenager arrives at the hospital where she volunteers. He’s labeled as a John Doe, but Millie would recognize Wesley anywhere. Thanks to a teensy misunderstanding by an elderly nurse, everyone thinks Millie is Wesley’s girlfriend.
As Wesley’s condition worsens, Millie spends all her volunteer time at his bedside, reading him Jane Austen and waiting for him to wake up. Then his group of friends show up, including Sloane, a beautiful and charismatic girl who instantly takes a liking to Millie. They invite her out with them, and Millie seizes the moment. She’s never had friends like this before and it feels great to be included.
The longer Wesley’s coma goes on, the more attached she becomes to his friends and her shiny new life in the popular crowd. Millie knows she’ll have to come clean before he wakes up, but she’s in too deep, and her lies have become the foundation of the very real friendships she’s made. Revealing the truth now would cost her everything. But keeping her secrets will cost even more.
Jessica’s Review:
Before You Wake is a YA retelling of the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. I loved that movie, so I was excited when I heard about this one and ready to read it! I was excited to see where a YA novel would go in this direction.
If you have not seen it before, I would recommend watching While You Were Sleeping to see where Young got her inspiration from! Unlike a fun and cute-ish romantic comedy film, Before You Wake came off realistic for me.
We have Millie who is a loner who volunteers at the hospital. And what starts out as a misunderstanding becomes a lie that escalates. Before she knows it, Millie is in way too deep and cannot figure out how to tell these people the truth. Because she knows that when the truth comes out it will hurt all involved and she has formed attachments that become very important to her. And even living the lie a little bit is worth it to Millie.
Before just continues to build on the lie and I did not know what was going to happen. Millie constantly is wanting to tell but also not wanting to tell knowing how everything will fall apart. There is also twist that happens in regards to Wesley’s injuries and I liked where the novel went there.
If you are a fan of Jane Austin and Pride and Prejudice, you are also in for a treat with this novel!
I received an arc copy from Young to read and review, and I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a signed copy from her Etsy shop. You can buy Before You Wake from her directly and get it personally signed. And she even sent some extra goodies with the book! I really enjoyed this novel, and have read three of Young’s novels and have given them all 5 stars!
While You Were Sleeping Trailer:
Purchase Links for Before You Wake:
Cheyanne Young Etsy Shop **You can buy a personalized signed copy from the author!**
Amazon US
Amazon UK
