A review by sarahkuntsal
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

3.0

So much potential for this book...but it just didn't live up to what it could have been. The premise of the book is great - in the future, things have gone a bit wonky, the jails are full, and they need to find a way to release some of the people. So they start melachroming prisoners - dying their skin to signify what their crime was. This is the story of one woman who wakes up in prison with bright red skin. We learn what her crime was, how she ended up red, and what she does after she's released. The book "riffs on" The Scarlet Letter (riffs being her words, not mine), and though it does have similar ideas, they get lost in some of the fluff parts. What I disliked the most was all the harping on her "one true love"...It was very reminiscent of Twilight. Shiny boys that are just so attractive and so beautiful that life doesn't seem worth it without them...meh. It would have been ok in small doses - but it was just too much. It's unfortunate, because the story really could have been great.