When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Chapel Hill, N.C. : Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2011.
In the not too distant future of the United States, criminals are no longer incarcerated, but their skin pigment is genetically altered (chromed) to fit the crime committed and set free to survive the best they can. Hannah Payne's skin is turned red to indicate the murder of her unborn child. In this society your prison term for your crime may be short, but your chroming (changing your skin to red, yellow, orange or green) may last 20 years or more. Imagine how your life will be changed as “normal” people mock you, gawk at you, beat you or even try to kill you because of your skin color. I think that Jordan has not only updated Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, but gives us food for thought about racism and our views on religion and government. I could only put it down long enough to write this blog posting.