Wednesday, July 27, 2011

2011 book 191

Hillary Jordan's When She Woke
So this book is basically The Scarlet Letter meets The Handmaid's Tale. Hannah lives in a near-future dystopia where, after having an abortion, she's arrested and dyed red (criminals are dyed different colors; red = murder). Then some other stuff happens to her--she makes a friend, she falls in with a mysterious group, she's ostracized from society, and through it all, she's still in love with the man who knocked her up. Jordan is occasionally heavy-handed with her world-building (I completely agree with what clearly are her political views, but this book isn't going to convince anyone who doesn't) but the story is engrossing and moves quickly (I read it all in one sitting) and Hannah's struggles with religion make her even more sympathetic. A-.


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A galley was provided by the publisher.

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