When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

When She Woke is not a new novel; it was first published in 2011. But, as I've said before, a book is new to you if you haven't read it yet, no matter when it was published. I've seen this book around for years; knew a general sketchy outline of what it was about, and didn't have any interest in reading it. Anything that involves a futuristic America that has women's rights severely diminished is an immediate "no thanks" for me. There is something in me that reacts in a very visceral way. But, I chose this for a book group, and that forced me to read it. It's taken me a few weeks, when it should have taken me a few days. I had to read it in chunks, and I promised myself I wouldn't read it before I went to bed. I wasn't looking forward to reading it at all. 

That being said, I am glad I read it, but I will confess I now have to read something fun and light, because the subject matter was not easy for me to swallow and left me a bit broody and down. A quick rundown of the plot:

It's a future America where religion and government are no longer separate, and a bizarre plague rendered many women infertile until a cure was found. Unfortunately for a lot of women, it was too late and they didn't regain their fertility. It created a crisis, and abortions were outlawed and considered a felon. Too much money for prisons and criminal care drove the government to the brink of ruin, so instead of locking criminals up, they are now "chromed"--they are literally turned a color according to their crime: red for murder, yellow for misdemeanors, blue for child molesters and rapists. They spend 30 days in a cell, TV cameras live feeding their every move to the world, where people can watch from the comfort of their homes. Once released, they are on their own, to survive until their sentence is up and they are no longer chromed. If they do not visit the authorities to be "rechromed" every so many months, they slowly start to go crazy and usually end up dead. Sounds like fun, right?

Hannah Payne is a red; her crime is murder of her unborn child. She had a secret abortion, because she was having an affair with Aiden Dale, who is the new Secretary of Faith for the U.S. government. A married man, deeply faithful, he falls in love with Hannah and they secretly meet for two years before she discovers her pregnancy. Knowing she can never name the baby's father (which would be demanded of her once her pregnancy became known), she secretly aborts the child and gets caught, tried, and convicted to 15 years as a chromed person. Reds are particularly harshly treated by the public; women are seen as easy prey and are often raped and murdered. 

Hannah at first seems to be someone who can't cope with the loss of her family, her friends, and her life as she knew it. Her love for Aiden is still strong, but she knows he is lost to her. She undergoes some pretty harsh treatment, and instead of breaking her, she begins to find her inner strength and begins to question her whole life before her sentence. Did her parents do the right thing, raising her the way they did? What would she do if she was free, in Canada, where they don't chrome people? Can she leave everything behind in Texas and make it to Canada and freedom?

I've read a lot of reviews about this novel, and many people thought the book sputtered out a bit at the end after a strong beginning. I didn't really feel that way; I was focused on Hannah growing and finding herself and her purpose. It will be interesting to have a discussion with my group about this. The story is told through Hannah's experiences, so you don't exactly know what anyone else is feeling or their motives. It's a definite take on The Scarlett Letter, but enough differences to make it interesting. 

Rating: 4/6 for a novel about women's choices over their bodies, one women's journey from shame and public humiliation into a fierce strength and the courage to survive on her terms. 

Available in paperback, large print, audio, and ebook. 

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When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

This book has been on my "gotta read" list for over a year.  I finally got the chance to read it, thanks to Rebecca at Penguin-Random House books.  I'll admit I had a vague idea of what this book was about, and that drove me to read it.  But what I thought it was about and what is actually was about ended up being different, and much more than I expected.

This novel is based on two women who had the guts to stand up against slavery and the lack of rights for women in the 1820's.  A hundred years before women got the right to vote.  Sometimes a loud roar starts off with a quiet growl.  Sarah and Nina Grimke form two parts of an amazing trio of women; the third woman, Handful, was Sarah's slave.  Sarah's mother gives Handful to Sarah on her 11th birthday.  Sarah is a pretty smart kid.  She reads books from her father's library (he's a judge, wealthy, slave owner, and lives in Charleston) and dreams of one day becoming a lawyer.  She is horrified at the gift her mother gives her, and refuses to become the owner of Handful.  She even writes out a statement freeing Handful and leaves it for her father, sure he'll abide by her wishes.  Instead, the statement is ripped up and left outside her bedroom door.  She is Handful's mistress whether she likes it or not.  Thus begins a 30 year journey between two woman: one black, one white, one free, one enslaved. 

We come to know Handful and her mother, Charlotte, the family's seamstress.  Charlotte is feisty and determined to one day be free.  She quilts her family's history and sneaks out to make extra money to one day buy her and Handful's freedom.  And yes, you guessed it--things don't go so well.  The brutality and downright wrongness of slavery makes blatant appearances to Handful and Charlotte, as well as Nina  and Sarah.  The relationship between Sarah and Handful was a complex one; I expected more of a novel about a close relationship between the women, but that didn't happen.  Sarah is haunted by Charlotte's demand that one day Sarah free Handful.  Sarah finds it much harder to do this than she ever imagines; can she ever grant this wish and free Handful?   Sarah's life as a privileged upper-class white woman in Charleston has left her in a prison created by society's rigid rules and regulations regarding women.  While Nina became the more famous of the Grimke sisters, it is Sarah's story that is the focus of this novel.

The novel is told in alternating chapters between Sarah and Handful.  It took me a bit to get into the story, and I think this was because I kept getting distracted from the book.  The ending is one that made me tear up.  It comes full circle.  Knowing some background of the Grimke sisters certainly helped me have a good framework before I got too deep into the story, and I would certainly read the author's notes in the back of the book before you begin the novel.  

A powerful novel about the horror of slavery, friendship in all of it's complications, and amazing women who were afraid but stepped forward and fought anyway.  

Available in paperback, hardcover, e-book, and audio.  

Thank you to Rebecca from Penguin/Random House for a copy of the book!  

Rating:  8/10 for a novel about women who saw wrong and fought hard to change it, sometimes at great cost to themselves.  

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The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

A Violet Season by Kathy Leonard Czepiel

If this cover doesn't make you pick up this book, I don't know what will.  But make sure you do, because it is a compelling story about  family dynamics, long burning resentment, and a mother and daughter who find themselves struggling to deal with betrayal and hard choices.


This novel takes place in the Hudson Valley in 1898 and centers around the violet industry.  Did you have any idea there were violet farms?  According to the author, this area in  "the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries" was known as "the Violet Capital of the World."  Before roses become popular, everyone wanted violets.  And violets play a huge part in this story.


Ida Fletcher is married to Frank, who is the youngest of three brothers who own a violet farm.  He's the best with the violets, but he is paid a minimum wage, and is not a partner in the farm.  Why?  Because Frank did something really foolish 23 years earlier, and is being punished by his brothers.  Until he can pay back the debt he owes the farm, he will not be a partner, and he and Ida and their children will have to live in a small home on the farm, while his brothers and their wives lives in much nicer homes and enjoy the money the violet farm produces.  This has created quite a bit of anger in Frank, and it's been brewing for years.  


Ida works at being a wet nurse for extra income, and also helps with the violets on top of keeping house and taking care of her kids.  Her oldest daughter, Alice, is being pressured by Frank to either get married or find a job to help the family.  One day, Frank takes Alice and a few of the younger kids to New York City to a horse show.  When he returns, Alice is not with him.  This begins the turning point in the story, and Ida's fight to find out where Alice is and to contact her.  Frank does nothing to help Ida, and we don't know the true depths of his deception until a bit later in the book.  When Ida finds out just where Alice is, and what Frank has done, she is forced to make a huge choice that will change the lives of her children, herself, and Frank.  


Ida is an interesting character--she's been married to Frank for 23 years, and slowly realizes he's not the man she thought he was--actually, he never was that man, and she just never realized it.  The women's movement is gathering steam, and Ida is becoming aware of the choices women should have in their lives.  She's also struggling to establish her relationship with Alice.  Can they find a common ground?  And Alice.  What a strong young woman.  She's put in a horrible situation, and does what she has to in order to survive.  Feeling betrayed by her parents, she changes into a tough, silent woman trying to sort out her life.  


I enjoyed this novel because it was so very different.  And I learned something new--violets farms?  Hmm.  Pretty darn interesting!  The story moves along at a good pace, and the women are all strong personalities.  The relationship between Frank and his brothers is one that will have you talking to your friends, as is Ida's marriage to Frank.  He is one interesting, very complex person.  


My rating:  3/5 for story setting and historical background, strong female characters, and Frank as a complex man with many secrets.


This book is available in paperback as as an e-book.  Thanks to Wendy at Simon & Schuster for providing me with a ARC of this book.

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A Violet Season by Kathy Leonard Czepiel

The Birth House by Ami McKay

The Birth House by Ami McKay was recommended to me by a fellow co-worker.  I'm glad I listened to her!

The Birth House was a refreshing change from some of the novels I've been reading lately.  It takes place in the small town of Scots Bay, Nova Scotia in 1917.  Miss B. is the town midwife, who's schooled not only in the arts of midwifery, but healing with herbs and potions.  People revere her, yet whisper she's a witch, too.

Dora Rare is the first daughter in five generations to be born to the Dare family.  Her unusual dark coloring, being born with a caul over her face, and her intelligent nature mark her as "odd" by the community.  She is taken under the wing of Miss B, and soon is learning about midwifery and how to treat the town's ills.

Dora's story takes place during World War I, which forms a backdrop to the story.  Her brothers and other men from town go to fight, and through letters and newspaper articles, we learn what's going on not only with her brothers, but also with Dora.  She's challenged by a medical doctor, who opens a women's birthing clinic in a nearby town, and sets out to convince the women of Scots Bay to have him deliver their babies away from home and with ether and forceps.  It's the new way--no pain for the mother.  Isn't that so much better than suffering at home, with an uneducated midwife helping you along?

I really liked the historical background of this novel.  Dora struggles through a major change in women's reproductive rights.  The worlds of science and old fashioned medicine clash, and Dora's in the middle.  Women are marching for the right to vote, and the right to determine their choices to make as mothers.  At the same time, Dora is being pushed to marry someone she doesn't really love, and retire to a life of domesticity and childbearing.  What about women's "hysterics?"  Nothing that a medical doctor with an electric machine can't solve.  It's laughable now that people, particularly men, believed women needed to stay calm and quiet, and any sign of rebellion was a sign that their nerves were on edge and science needed to save them.

The Birth House  is a great novel for anyone who's interested in the struggle for women's rights, World War I, and the slowly disappearing life of a small town in the advancement of technology and science.  I really enjoyed it!  And you will love Dora Rare.

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The Birth House by Ami McKay