Title : When She Woke
Author : Hillary Jordan
Narrators : Heather Corrigan
Genre : Dystopian
Publisher : Highbridge
Listening Length : 10 hours 47 minutes
Rating : 2/5
Narrator Rating : 4.5/5
When She Woke is a dystopian novel set in a future where reproductive rights have been curtailed and abortion is a crime. Punishment is meted out by “chroming” – changing of skin color. Young Hannah Payne has been convicted of abortion and “chromed” red for 16 years. Hannah has been raised a conservative Christian in Texas but loves married Reverend Aidan Dale. Aidan has fathered her child but while Hannah takes the blame because she won’t reveal the father’s name, Aidan continues to lead a mega-church along with wife Alyssa and remains widely regarded as the moral leader of his community.
I picked up the book because of the fascinating premise, especially because I just reread “The Handmaid’s Tale” and am now watching the Hulu series. Hannah was an interesting character and we see her evolve from ardently following the conservative principles her parents have drilled into her head to questioning them. The concept of “chroming” was also thought-provoking – Jordan touches upon the process itself, merits and demerits, the life of a chrome after being released into society.
However, the main flaw, and it’s a big one, is that Hannah is a weak character and not really heroine material. She’s living a cloistered, sheltered life, a little lamb with blinders on, who has no curiosity or opinions although she is suffocating and needs private outlets to live her confined life. She only questions what she does because special circumstances are visited upon her, she has no sense of outrage or questioning on her own. And yes, the change in her comes gradually, but it wasn’t convincing. She seemed too meek and docile to take a stand. I liked her friend Kayla a whole lot more than her.
It is interesting that in these dystopian worlds Canada still remains the bastion of the free, and whether it be “When She Woke” or “Handmaid’s Tale”, everyone who wants to escape oppressive society in America must flee to Canada.
Heather Corrigan does a fine job of voicing Hannah – hesitant, young and unsure. It is a pity that the voice does not increase in surety and confidence but Jordan not Corrigan is to blame for that.
