When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

I really loved this book! It was a unique concept that explored many current issues in our nation: treating people differently because of their color and preconceived notions of what they did and why they did it; pro-choice vs. pro-life as regards to abortion; the separation of church and state, or the lack of in this case; living under the watchful eye of Big Brother through tracking devices that allow every movement to be advertised for all to see. Hello Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,smart phones, iCloud, Google Maps, etc. We seem to already be on our way....  ;) The author said she got the idea for this book from a comment made by a family member. He said that drugs should be legalized and funded by the government, but whenever someone used drugs they should turn bright blue so everyone else can see who is high on drugs and be able to avoid them. What a clever idea! Hence, the idea for "When She Woke" was born.

I loved "watching" the transformation of Hannah as she evolves from an obedient, faithful, single-minded young woman to a brave, spirited, free-willed, open-minded young woman. The author threw in a couple of curve balls I didn't expect (hello Simone!), but they cemented the fact that Hannah was growing as a person and opening her mind to the possibilities. Since Hannah was discovering herself - and making decisions based on each discovery, many times "in the moment", I really didn't know how it was going to end. I was never really sure what Hannah would decide to do, but the decisions she made were consistent with her development as a character. Hannah had to make some difficult decisions, but I think they were the right ones for her. She was able to break out of the "box" once and for all. 

I thought it was interesting that the author felt the need to hit us upside the head with the comparison of Hannah Payne to Hester Prynne, even to the point of Hannah having an affair with a minister and naming her aborted child Pearl. Wow. Maybe not everyone has read The Scarlet Letter, so it wouldn't have been so obvious to all readers. Maybe. ;) Anyway, as a society we always seem to want to put the transgressions of others on public display. It could be wearing a scarlet "A", having red skin, or advertising it on social media - it's one and the same. I was very happy that Aidan did the right thing though! Wasn't sure he was brave enough to follow through with it, but he did, and that made the story even better in my opinion. Why should Hannah be the only one to suffer the consequences of their actions?? At the end, the one person I still felt really sad about is Hannah's father. I wish he could have had some closure - some knowledge of Hannah's plan and/or destination. Something.

Now I will absolutely have to read Mudbound, Hillary Jordan's award-winning first novel!

Wendy's Rating: *****