When She Woke

by Hillary Jordan

When she woke, she was red. Not flushed, not sunburned, but the solid, declarative red of a stop sign. An enthralling and chilling novel from the author of MUDBOUND, for fans of THE HANDMAID'S TALE and THE SCARLET LETTER. Hannah Payne's life has been devoted to church and family, but after her arrest, she awakens to a nightmare: she is lying on a table in a bare room, covered only by a paper gown, with cameras broadcasting her every move to millions at home, for whom observing new Chromes - criminals whose skin colour has been genetically altered to match the class of their crime - is a new and sinister form of entertainment. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder. The victim, according to the State of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father, a public figure with whom she's shared a fierce and forbidden love. WHEN SHE WOKE is a fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future - where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed and released back into the population to survive as best they can.
In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.

• ISBN10: 1565126297
• ISBN13: 9781565126299
• Publish Date: 4 October 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 344
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber]

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/11/when-she-woke-by-hillary-jordan.html

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I had seen some friends rave about this book, and so I was really excited to finally get to it last month. Unfortunately, I didn't like it.

The beginning of the novel was promising. I really liked the concept of there being a world in which abortion was banned, and the main character being punished for it. Not because I agree, but because it's interesting... or, at least, it could have been. Despite my hopes, the book was just dull.


There were some really good moments sprinkled throughout, but most of the book felt like I was on a boring car journey through the desert with nothing at all to look at, not even cacti. Add to that your dad pointing out rocks that all look the same and you don't get a very good adventure. I'm not sure where I was going with that, but there it is. Boring boring boring.

The world it was set in was my favourite part about the novel. Criminals, rather than being imprisoned, get their skin dyed different colours to reflect their crimes. This is considered by most to be worse than imprisonment, due to the rest of the citizens treatment of the criminals. They become victims. I do wonder, though, what would happen if someone committed two crimes. I'd assume that if one was something like murder and the other was a petty crime then they'd be marked for murder, but what if the two crimes were as bad as each other?

There is a random lesbian love scene which I would have ADORED it if it had been developed more, but instead it felt as though it had just been thrown in. There was no build up to it, no curiosity from the main character (who started out as quite homophobic), and then it wasn't even mentioned again after it happened. What.

I don't even know what happened to Hannah's character. She seemed to yo-yo throughout the novel, which was incredibly annoying since we were stuck in the metaphorical car with her for the entire metaphorical journey. One minute she's against religion, the next she's completely for it. She didn't even develop into a badass by the end, by which I was incredibly disappointed.

Overall, it was a boring book with a stagnant main character. I wouldn't recommend it, despite the message... wait, what message was it even trying to send?

[ibeforem]

I was pulled towards this book the moment I received the ARC from Algonquin Books – it was one of the most gorgeous ARCs I had ever seen. So I flipped over and read the back, and was further intrigued. I’ve never read The Scarlet Letter but I have read The Handmaid’s Tale, and I thought the story had potential.

I wasn’t disappointed. I thought this book was very entertaining, and I was sucked into it almost instantly.

When we meet Hannah, she is just waking up after her “chroming”. She has aborted her child and was caught, and now her punishment is to be marked as a murderer for the next 16 years. Not only will she be tracked everywhere she goes, but her skin is the bright red of a ripe tomato.

Hannah’s United States is one that is ruled by religion in its most stringent and conservative forms. To add to that, Hannah’s family is ultra-religious, which has sheltered her even further and made her punishment that much more difficult to handle.

Hannah is young and naive in many ways. She was raised to be dependent upon others, so once she is released and is essentially on her own, she has no idea what to do other than to find someone else to be dependent on. But who can she trust?

There were definitely pieces of dialogue that made me sit up and take notice. This passage, in particular:

“Her mother held up a forefinger. ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ A second finger. ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s husband.’ A third. ‘You shall not murder.’ The little finger. ‘Honor your father and mother, so that you may—’

Her anger woke Hannah’s own. ‘Careful, Mama,’ she said, ‘you’ll run out of fingers.’”

I also though the author did a good job of sneaking in world-building background. Such as:

“When she was twelve, she’d snuck out of the house on Angeles Day for an illicit bike ride. She’d been restless and tired of the day’s solemnity, of kneeling all morning with her parents and praying for the souls of the innocent dead, of waiting for the clock’s hands to reach the fateful moment of 11:37 and the bells of the neighborhood churches to begin their mournful tolling; and then afterward, of watching the familiar montage of images on the vid: the mushroom cloud rising over the Pacific, the miles of rubble strewn with the charred bodies of the victims, the mass burials and funerals, the bombs falling on Tehran.”

Quick paragraphs like that were enough to give us an idea of how society could change so drastically.

The book does have its problems. Some parts of Hannah’s story take way too long, while others, that could have been expanded upon, are rushed. Her brief relationship with Simone has no real purpose. There are many minor characters whose only purpose is to be the counterpoint to another character, often a blatant direct opposite. And the ending is way too pat. I think it would have been better if it had been left open-ended.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and its twist on a classic.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

When She Woke is in essence a modern version of The Scarlet Letter, but instead of the letter A, her skin is turned bright red. The book is set in the not so distant future, where religion is in control, and everyone is a religious fanatic; that’s right, its set in Texas. Imagine a world where the Westboro church is in charge and you pretty much have an idea of this dystopian society. This is a rather good modernisation of the classic Nathaniel Hawthorne story; it has taken all the key elements from The Scarlet Letter and added to this book. It tackles Religion, Rape, Murder and mainly Abortion and the effects it has on the woman and the people around her. This isn’t really a pro-choice or pro-life book, but instead it tries to explore both angles without trying to force you to pick a side. I had some issues with the story but all in all it was rather good.