When We Wake

by Karen Healey

'A gripping, human story set against the backdrop of a chillingly plausible future here.' - Sean Williams'A stirring and century-spanning adventure story that vividly shows how the future is created by our mistakes, our triumphs, and our love.' - Scott WesterfeldSixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027 - she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice. But on what should have been the best day of Tegan's life, she dies - and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.Tegan is the first person to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity - though all she wants is to rebuild some semblance of a normal life . including spending as much time as possible with musically gifted Abdi, even if he does seem to hate the sight of her.
But the future isn't all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?Award-winning author Karen Healey has created a gripping tale of an inspiring heroine living in a not-so-distant future that could easily be our own.

• ISBN13: 9781742378084
• Publish Date: 29 January 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: AU
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin
• Imprint: A&U Children
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 300
• Language: English
• URL: https://allenandunwin.com/browse/books/9781742378084

Reviews

[Angie]

When We Wake was not what I was expecting, but I still mostly enjoyed it. It’s the story of Tegan, a sixteen year old girl who was accidentally shot and killed, then brought back to life 100 years later. She had been cryonically frozen and was the first successful revival, making her the face of this controversial project. However, the military also has other plans for Tegan that she doesn’t discover until it’s too late.

Just a quick a note about the writing style, since I know some people aren’t a fan of this kind. There is breaking of the fourth wall in When We Wake. It’s told in a way that the whole story has already happened and Tegan is telling us about it. She mostly stays in the past, but occasionally she’ll bring up events and feelings from the present. I actually like this, since it felt very conversational. It also kept me engaged since I wanted to know how she got to where she is and why she feels the need to tell us the entire story.

At times When We Wake felt like a political agenda disguised as a Dystopian novel. It was a little off putting. I know that the political situation often plays an important part in the world building of a Dystopian, but in this case it was very overwhelming. I felt like the author was essentially writing a call to action rather than a piece of fiction. The world is ours 100 years later and almost every single one of today’s issues has gotten worse. For the most part the focus is on climate change, immigration, and military spending. I did like the climate change aspect, since I did get my degree in environmental science. I also agreed with the views presented on the subject, but as for the other two? I felt bombarded with information and opinions and I didn’t like it. The theme of standing up for what’s right and trying to make change is great, but it took over this book.

Another thing that I didn’t like was all of the Beatles references. This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t like them and I think that they’re overrated. Somehow Tegan is able to twist almost every conversation into something about the Beatles and it got really annoying. The chapter titles are cute, but everything else was a little much.

I did enjoy the plot. It’s fast paced and action packed. Tegan refuses to just blindly follow what the military tells her to do. She stands up for herself and others which is quite admirable. When she realizes that she wasn’t brought back to life for the reasons she thought, she begins an investigation which leads her and her new friends into lots of trouble. The second half of the story picks up a strong religious angle, since a fanatical group is quite opposed to Tegan’s resurrection, but it wasn’t quite as forceful as the politics.

In the end, I did enjoy When We Wake. The plot and characters are great, and the overall message is one I can get behind. However, the heavy use of politics (and to some extent, religion) just kept me from rating it higher. It just didn’t feel like fiction to me, but more like the author was pushing her own opinions. Of course, I don’t know how the author feels on these issues, but that’s how I felt she presented them.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.