I found so many elements of the first half appealing, Hannah's fear of those around her, the religious guilt she feels over the abortion itself, but also the lingering idea in the back of her mind that maybe her punishment isn't fair after all. Hannah has had an abortion and therefore is chromed red for murder. It sounds a little ridiculous but I found it rather easy to believe in. I have never read that book so I cannot compare the two, but all you need to know is that criminals are chromed a colour to match their crime and released back into a society that shuns them. Then comes the whole The Scarlet Letter side of things. This is all very The Handmaid's Tale-ish. Abortion is now illegal and women nearly always stay in the home in order to most effectively benefit their husbands. It isa story where the religious right in the US have basically taken over. I don't know how many times I've criticised dystopian books because of their lack of explanation, it's almost as if the author doesn't know themselves how their imagined society would have come about. It was well-paced, fast without feeling rushed, and it was very clear to me how such a society could easily be developed. The first half of this book was at least a solid four stars. Unfortunately, this is not one of those books that I can say starts off not so good but finishes on a high note on the contrary, the first half was one of the strongest dystopian openings I've read in a long while and the second was just, well.

I wish I could write two reviews for When She Woke, one for the first half of the book and another for the second.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan