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When She Woke (2011)

by Hillary Jordan(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1565126297 (ISBN13: 9781565126299)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Algonquin Books

review 1: I like this, but I didn't love it. It has a lot of promise in terms of the ideas and plot, and I liked the riff on Hawthorn, but I think the characters are a little flat. Hannah's character development doesn't always ring true. The writing gets the job done but doesn't have a lot of style, although there are a few passages of real beauty mixed in. It's been on my list for a while so I'm glad I finally got around to it, but I leave the book feeling a little unsatisfied, ultimately.
review 2: I think When She Woke should have been titled It's Personal. You'll understand why if you read it! It takes place in the not too distant future America.Hannah, the main character, has been devoted to church and her very strict family all her life, but she's accused of murder... more when she has an abortion. Roe vs Wade has been overturned. People don't go to prison in this new world. They are "chromed". That is, their skin is genetically altered to a different color, depending on the type of crime they've been convicted of. Hannah's is red. They begin on a table in a bare room wearing only a paper gown with cameras recording their every move, a really sinister form of reality tv. It's a futuristic version of The Scarlet Letter.There are no more lines between church and state and instead of prison, the "criminals" are released back into the general population where everyone can identify the type of crime they've committed and left to survive the best they can. She is forced to question her values and the laws of her country as she tries to find safety. I'm not usually one to read science fiction, but this was a book I couldn't put down! less

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