October 2011
Hillary Jordan’s debut novel, MUDBOUND, won a number of prizes and became a reader favorite for its honest portrayal of a family struggling to make ends meet on its Mississippi Delta farm during the 1940s. The topic of WHEN SHE WOKE couldn’t be much more of a 180, as it’s a dystopian novel set in the not-too-distant future where criminals are referred to as Chromes. The skin color of all Chromes is dyed to reflect their crime. At the start of the sentence, their jail time is continuously filmed in a reality show kind of format, and their actions are broadcast nationwide. Once released from their original sentence, they remain dyed, and their skin tones define them and keep them ostracized from the general public. It’s chilling and haunting and a brilliant social commentary.
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