When She Woke in Bound Together

Jul 16, 2012 Britany rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian, bookriot, science-fiction

A Modern day, dystopian Scarlet Letter.

I devoured this novel like it was a chocolate covered caramel. When She Woke follows Hannah Payne, as she had an affair with a prestigious man involved in the church. She becomes pregnant and decides to abort the fetus.

This book takes place in a society where the church rules most of the law and the government is overally involved in people's lives. Abortion is considered murder and is handled underground. You have revolutionaries that are feminists and ar ...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Penny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary

I read this as I so loved Mudbound and leapt at the chance to read more of this author.
This is nothing like Mudbound as its set in the future and has some futuristic aspects such as colour-chroming of the skin for criminals, it is not a book I would normally choose or enjoy. Yet I loved this. The story follows a young girl's life after being 'chromed' bright red following an abortion. It is set in the near future in a USA that has become very extreme. The author cleverly weaves ideologies and 'd ...more

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Jul 16, 2012 ♥ Sandi ❣ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library

I enjoyed this book with its parallel to the Scarlet Letter. It shows what inhumanities our society is capable of. Altho Hannah would not have been my friend I could empathize with her.The writing made me push for a conclusion. 3.5 stars

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Feb 25, 2013 Mairzi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If not for the last section of the book, I would have given this 5 stars. It is a really interesting, well written story.

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Mar 07, 2013 Martha☀ rated it it was ok

Shelves: dystopian, own

(2.5 stars)
Imagine a society that coloured the skin of their criminals. Each type of crime has its own colour. Red, of course, is for murderers. Yellow for thieves. Blue for molesters. This is the world that Hannah was raised in and believed was just. But after having an abortion, Hannah finds herself on the other end of the reality and suffers dearly because of it. After a month of TV-monitored imprisonment, she is free to re-enter society, wearing her crime on her skin. She discovers a whole w (2.5 stars)
Imagine a society that coloured the skin of their criminals. Each type of crime has its own colour. Red, of course, is for murderers. Yellow for thieves. Blue for molesters. This is the world that Hannah was raised in and believed was just. But after having an abortion, Hannah finds herself on the other end of the reality and suffers dearly because of it. After a month of TV-monitored imprisonment, she is free to re-enter society, wearing her crime on her skin. She discovers a whole world of evil and finds that her life is threatened at every turn.
Jordan has a great idea for a dystopian society here but be prepared for the religious preaching that thickly coats each chapter. Until the very end, I was unsure if Jordan was mocking the Christian religion for its inflexible thinking and hypocritical attitude or if Jordan was trying to recruit a few new members to her strict sect. Being an unreligious person, I found this aspect of the novel offensive and I would have closed the book for good, had it not been for my partner-read commitment! In the end, (view spoiler)
Hannah is a flat, unlikeable character. It is difficult to root for her as she escapes misfortune when you don't really care about her. For such a Christian-raised person, she sure is quick to judge and quicker to hate. Actually, most of the characters are flat and unlikeable. Aidan is weakly developed; her mother is cold and unloving; her sister is a spineless follower; her brother-in-law hates and rages for no reason; even Simone is ugly and stiff.
As with The Slap, people seemed to fly into a rage for no reason at all. Hannah would be having a conversation with someone and suddenly envision herself strangling that person or hurling insults their way for no apparent reason. Do people really do this?
Another aspect that irked me was Jordan's obvious confusion between feminism and lesbianism. At one point, Hannah is being protected by a feminist group, who have pro-choice beliefs, and within a week in their care, Hannah initiates a lesbian encounter with her protector. A bit out-of-character, I say, since this same Hannah recently believed that homosexuals were worms in the eyes of god. Jordan needs to learn the difference between feminism and lesbianism before she treats their topics in a novel. Bah...
Considering the enormous potential of the dystopian society that Jordan created, it was a highly disappointing read. ...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Joanne rated it liked it

Enjoyed the read. I felt that the author skimped on the ending.
I felt let down after the journey, to have the end finish in just a few pages.
Otherwise it was a good read.

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Feb 25, 2013 ✿Sandra rated it really liked it

Shelves: bt-group, nook-borrowed

I'm giving this book 4 stars because it covered many hot topics: religion; abortion; affairs; politics; the judicial system, etc. I never felt the book was preachy on any of these subjects, but I did feel that it got me thinking on both sides of the topics and pondering my true feelings.
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