When She Woke

"Chillingly credible. . . . Jordan's feverishly conceived dystopia holds its own alongside the dark inventions of Margaret Atwood and Ray Bradbury." —The New York Times Book Review

Bellwether Prize winner Hillary Jordan's provocative new novel, When She Woke, tells the story of a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed—their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crimes—and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.

In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.

"An utterly engrossing story, driven by a heroine as layered and magnetic as Hester Prynne herself, and reminiscent, too, of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Absolutely a must-read." —Booklist, starred review

"Christian fundamentalists may shun this novel, but book clubs will devour it, and savvy educators will pair it with Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Essential." —Library Journal

"[A] provocative, politically charged novel . . . equally chilling and riveting." —Family Circle

"[A] chilling futuristic novel." —O, The Oprah Magazine

"At its heart, a tense, energetic and lively paced story about self-discovery and reclamation in the wake of enormous shame. It is a story about the price of love." —Minneapolis Star Tribune

"As compulsively readable as it is thought-provoking." —The Denver Post

"Will spark many an intriguing book club discussion." —The Cleveland Plain Dealer