Hannah lived in an extreme religious community and had an adulterous affair with the religious leader Aiden. Hannah ended up pregnant and got an illegal abortion in the post Roe v. Wade days of the Scourge which had rendered most women barren. Every pregnancy was counted as a step against mankind's extinction.
But Hannah knew she and Aiden could never be a couple and she knew her community would never condone her unwed pregnancy, so she had an abortion. She was caught and tried and found guilty. Because she would not name the father, extra years were added to her sentence.
What was her sentence? A paltry 30 days in jail, and another 16 years living with her skin tinted a bright red (Called Chroming). This bright red tint signified to everyone that she was a murderer.
She thought she would be able to go back to her community and live there since she had been tried and found guilty. They would at least see her doing her penance. But her community wouldn't accept her and her own brother-in-law was in on trying to have her killed.
Realizing that she must escape before she was killed, she is helped by a group of people that work with people such as her to get them across the border to Canada where the tinting process can be reversed.
This is a very interesting story to read. The character Hannah has to deal with everyone knowing immediately that she killed someone and the abuse they dish out. One character in the book describes Chromes (those tinted a different color to demarcate their crime) as being a lower class than African Americans.
I thought it was also interesting because this book takes place in the not too distant future where things are pretty much the same as they are now - but only slightly different. It made the book seem very realistic.
Rating: 10 / 10
ISBN: 9781565126299
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Edition: 1st U.S. Edition
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