When We Wake by Karen Healey
Publisher-Little Brown Books
Released- March 5th 2013
Purchase- Amazon / B & N
My name is Tegan Oglietti, and on the last day of my first lifetime, I was so, so happy.Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027--she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice.But on what should have been the best day of Tegan's life, she dies--and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.Tegan is the first government guinea pig to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity--even though all she wants to do is try to rebuild some semblance of a normal life. But the future isn't all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?Award-winning author Karen Healey has created a haunting, cautionary tale of an inspiring protagonist living in a not-so-distant future that could easily be our own.
My Thoughts:
It's the year 2027 in Australia - Melbourne and sixteen year old Tegan Oglietti is having a typical happy day. She's off to a political rally with her best friend Alex and new boyfriend Dalmar. The day was looking up and things couldn't be more perfect.
Till it all faded to black and Tegan woke up in the year 2128, a hundred years into the future.
A sniper was after the Prime Minister that faithful day, but he was sloppy and hit Tegan instead. She died on the way to the hospital but she signed up for a donation program, donating her body to science, only this is a very different kind of science.
Tegan is the first candidate to successfully survive cryonics, a frozen coma. But the future has it's problems and it's secrets and Tegan must choose what kind of role she wants to play in this new life.
When We Wake is a though-provoking, cruel and unique look into one girls journey in life, after death. In this book Tegan is talking straight to the reader as she tells us her story. What it was like in her old life and what's happening now. I really enjoyed the way this was delivered. It felt more personal and emotional. It was very sad to hear about Alex and her mom and Dalmar since it felt like she could have had such a wonderful life before her untimely death. Specially with Dalmar, the boy she's always loved and was only with him for one day before this all happened. I've always been a sucker for friends-turned-romance so this was even more bittersweet.
I really enjoy Karen Healey's writing, I've read one of her other books before, Guardian of the Dead and even then I found her work refreshing. But I'd be lying if I said I understood the entire world that Healey tried to convey in the book. It has a very heavy morality and religious approach as well as political and government scandals. Then we have the futuristic conditions and cultural shock and how strange this new reality is to both Tegan and the readers. There was quite a bit of information to process and a lot to take in which made this book a little hard to connect with, but I still found the the general concept pretty incredible.
Tegan is a very easy character to lose yourself with. Her story is terrible and sad but at the same time it's absolutely fascinating. I love the fact that she has her own mind and her own will. She doesn't just roll over and play nice, she does things her way and is determined to have a life according to her rules. I also thought her love for the Beatles was great and I loved that the name of the songs were chapter titles.
When We Wake is a though-provoking, cruel and unique look into one girls journey in life, after death. In this book Tegan is talking straight to the reader as she tells us her story. What it was like in her old life and what's happening now. I really enjoyed the way this was delivered. It felt more personal and emotional. It was very sad to hear about Alex and her mom and Dalmar since it felt like she could have had such a wonderful life before her untimely death. Specially with Dalmar, the boy she's always loved and was only with him for one day before this all happened. I've always been a sucker for friends-turned-romance so this was even more bittersweet.
I really enjoy Karen Healey's writing, I've read one of her other books before, Guardian of the Dead and even then I found her work refreshing. But I'd be lying if I said I understood the entire world that Healey tried to convey in the book. It has a very heavy morality and religious approach as well as political and government scandals. Then we have the futuristic conditions and cultural shock and how strange this new reality is to both Tegan and the readers. There was quite a bit of information to process and a lot to take in which made this book a little hard to connect with, but I still found the the general concept pretty incredible.
Tegan is a very easy character to lose yourself with. Her story is terrible and sad but at the same time it's absolutely fascinating. I love the fact that she has her own mind and her own will. She doesn't just roll over and play nice, she does things her way and is determined to have a life according to her rules. I also thought her love for the Beatles was great and I loved that the name of the songs were chapter titles.
Abdi was hard to connect with when we first met him, but eventually he started to grow on me more throughout the book. The romance is light, but it would have felt off if it was anything more then what we got.
I also enjoyed what Marie brought into the story and was glad that she stayed good people since I wasn't sure who I could trust once we get deeper into the story line.
All in all, this turned out to be a decent read. It has it's flaws but it also has it's moments where I was glued to the pages. The characters are intriguing, the writing and the concept fascinating and this really is one of those story that makes you really ponder the possibility of what the future holds. Very scary stuff my friends. I may not have loved this the way I wanted to, but I think fans of this genre will want to experience this spine-tingling dystopia sci-fi thriller escape that is like no other!
All in all, this turned out to be a decent read. It has it's flaws but it also has it's moments where I was glued to the pages. The characters are intriguing, the writing and the concept fascinating and this really is one of those story that makes you really ponder the possibility of what the future holds. Very scary stuff my friends. I may not have loved this the way I wanted to, but I think fans of this genre will want to experience this spine-tingling dystopia sci-fi thriller escape that is like no other!
I love the cover of this one so much, I have definitely been curious about it and the summary is enough to make me just have to read it and see for myself despite what any of the reviews say , Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteKristin @ Young Adult Book Haven
The cover really is cool:) Hope you enjoy this when you get the chance to read it:)
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