This book came highley recommended to me by a friend. When she described it, I was immediately interested. When I read the book blurb, I was even more so. 
 When She Woke takes place in a future time (indeterminable, but close to our own) where things like abortion have become illegal and having one can get you sentenced for murder. This is what happens to Hannah. Hannah was raised in a very religious household. Yet she questions. She's a very curious character, yet her parents try to keep her from asking questions, especially ones that put God's word to the test. She begins having an affair with the Reverend of her Church 9as very well respected man) and she becomes pregnant. She decides to have an abortion. When she's arrested, she refuses to name the father and that of the abortionist. The punishment: Melachroming. Infusing the human body with pigmented dye. In Hannah's case, murderers are dyed Red. Different criminals / crimes are different colors, then the criminals are released back out into society with their dyed skin and forced to live in a world where everyone can know what they've done just by looking at them. Their skin remains dyed for the duration of the sentence (obviously depending how bad the crime). 
 Chromes, as they are called, being released back out into society usually find it difficult to go back to a normal-type life. And here is one of the things that is so interesting about this book because, it's true, there are some people out there who probably deserve what they get. They deserve others to know the crimes and atrocities they've committed and have them publicized for everyone to see. But who makes that decision of who deserves it and who doesn't? Since Hannah's story is the focus of the book we sympathize (maybe empathize) with her situation. We know the type of person she is, but the people making the decisions for her don't. This book also goes a long way to bring up the issue of where does the government (or Church) become the entity with the right to make decisions about your body, or religious beliefs, or sexual orientation? To name a few. 
 Jordan does a wonderful job of bringing all this up, yet not being preachy one way or the other. She brings up wonderful points about future American society and it is at times a little scarey. It kind of makes you want to take a look at the current state of the issues and superimpose them over what they could be in a year, or two, or twenty. Would we all be better off, or worse? 
 It seems like a lot to take on in a book that's only about 350 pages long, but like I said Jordan doesn't make it seem to jam packed. She does a great job of taking the important ones in our heroine Hannah's own life and making it universal. Or with each of Hannah's new experiences she learns a little more about the society she's been sheltered from since she was born. She learns what it's like to begin to live and live how she wants. There's a lot of unspoken hope and promise in the book by the end. 
 I highly recommend this book to others. This is only the author's second work, behindMudbound. I have yet to read her first book, but if this is any indication, I'm sure it's well thought out. I look forward to reading other things by Hillary Jordan in the future. Until Then!