'When She Woke' by Hillary Jordan

When She Woke, Hillary Jordan (4)

This novel is a modern re-telling of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ set in the relatively near future.  The interesting twist is that, due to prison overcrowding, people who have committed crimes are imprisoned in solitary for a short period and then released after being ‘chromed’, a process by which their skin color is changed to reflect their crime (i.e. red for murder, yellow for stealing).  This introduces the aspect of social judgment continuously during your sentence.  On a side note, this idea came to her from a relative who said ‘go ahead and legalize drugs, just make them turn your skin blue’. The book begins with the main character, Hannah, waking in her prison cell and her newly chromed red skin.  Throughout the story you find that she had an adulterous affair and subsequent abortion, which is now a murder offense.  The story thoughtfully shows her journey as she leaves prison and tries to survive.  Her family struggles with her silence (she never told who the father/adulterer was, as he was famous and she truly didn’t want to see his life ruined too).  She battles with being ostracized from both daily encounters with ordinary people and malicious groups organized to terrorize the Chromes.  While the idea of chroming seems expeditious, this story reveals the potential pitfalls of such a system and provokes a worthwhile discussion.