Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/04/when-we-wake-by-karen-healey.htmlWhat the heck? I was totally into this book until Tegan made it to high school.Okay, so Tegan died and she revived 100 years later. Totally cool how Healey mentions things that other books don't.For instance, Tegan wakes up and she finds that her entire body has been shaved. Yeap, she has no body hair; not under her armpits and not down there. I found this totally realistic. Hello! In those other dystopian stories girls run and run for days and, what do they do with underarm hair?Second instance, Tegan is running up the stairs and she feels uncomfortable running without a bra. Yeap, I can totally picture the boobs going up and down. In all other dystopian books out there, are girls flat-chested? The issue of bras and underwear never comes up!So the story was going all good until Tegan got to high school and meets Abdi, a boy who looks just like her 100-years-ex-boyfriend. She calls after this Abdi "Dalmar! Dalmar!" because, you know... what are the chances of the actual Dalmar really being there? In the future, with her?Then the obvious happens and she falls for this Dalmar/Abdi boy. From here on the story is pathetic and simple. Tegan and friends become the next Spy Kids besides being heavily body-guarded 24/7. She lost all appeal and became meeeeh! Ah! Also, Tegan new best friend is a Muslim girl (wearing the veil and everything) who had a girlfriend. As in, in love with another girl. This is totally fine but didn't make sense. Don't throw the religion staff in to couple it with something that doesn't make sense without explaining it. So, in the future Muslin people will be more liberal? Freer? What was the point of making this Muslim teenager like girls? Just to make you like the book for being unconventional? In a conversation with this new friend, Tegan mentions that her ex boyfriend, Dalmar, was a Sunni Muslim too. Where did that come from? I mean, it was perfectly okay, but a little background, please? What was the point of this?And something about Tegan's skin being so pale... is everybody in the future tanned? Can somebody clarify this for me?I also liked a few things that we might (or might not) have in the future: the awesome technology! Two thumps up to Healey for making this up.
