An interesting dystopian premise that questions the ethics and practicality of cryogenic technologies. Our main character Alabine (yes that’s her name) is rudely awoken from 100 years of being cryogenically frozen. The world is against her, or at least the laws are. It’s an intriguing concept but I think I doing the first person narrative tricky to related to.

This book was interesting. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. This was an incredibly well written debut novel. It kept me entertained all the way through.

I was only able to make it 20% into this book before I had to stop. The story wasn't IG for me and I was losing interest. The characters felt cheesy and very bland. The action kicks in too early and I never got a sense for who everyone was.

This is not one I would normally read but the premise sounded interesting and I enjoyed it overall. Alabine Rivers is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes cryogenic preservation upon death and wakes up a century later in a world where she is hated and is in the middle of a revolution against people like her, The Awoken, as others are afraid of what it really means. She finds herself as the leader of this effort somehow, meanwhile being haunted by lucid memories of her prior life and the man she loved.

The audio for this was great and the story was really well done, especially for a debut novel. I liked the concept, thought it was executed well, and read this in a couple of sittings. It kept my attention and I have found myself thinking about it after finishing, mostly because it is probably not too far from reality in how we would treat people if we ever figured this out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the digital copy to review.

I already can see this played out as a movie! A woman who died wakes up a century later! How can this be?! She was cryogenically frozen. An underground militia has taken over since she died and she wakes up to a brand new world. This was a wild ride

Thank you #dutton and #netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this thought provoking, science fiction story, The book is about a woman basically frozen then thawed out many, many years later. Lots of action. Loved the unique plot!

I didn’t stop talking about this book for weeks. I’m fascinated by the ethics of scientific breakthroughs, and The Awoken led me down some mega rabbit trails of thought. What happens when future laws compromise past decisions?

That’s the world where Alabine Rivers wakes up. Alabine Rivers succumbed to cancer over 100 years ago, but cryogenics preserved her body until there was a cure. At least, that was the plan. When she is awoken, she finds that people like her are illegal, and it’s legal to shoot them on sight.

The Resurrectionists have chosen Alabine for a reason. As the militia fighting for the Awoken drives her past a billboard with her face on it, she learns that a lot has happened since she was frozen, and she might just be the key to stopping the destruction of full cryogenics facilities around the country.

This is a book about love, fear, prejudice, and, ultimately hope. And it’s one that I think everyone needs to read.

This is a story about a girl out of time.

I love the central concept here- the idea of people being frozen, then waking up in a time that doesn’t want them was disconcerting & there was an uncomfortable edge of realism in the political commentary. I also loved that ultimately, this was a story about love- the kind of love that lights the way & makes someone brave enough for incredible acts. One thing that took me a bit out of it, was the limited scope of the first person narrative..I would’ve loved a more broad picture of the world & information about the sociopolitical landscape. Overall, this was a solid dystopian!

Thank you so much @netgalley & @duttonbooks for the eArc & @prhaudio for the audio ♥️

First I want to say that I am sorry for taking so much time reviewing this book, it got lost in my books to read.

This story has it all, an amazing world building, really good characters, those character grow so much, almost more than the pages in the book allow them to grow, a really faulty society (that doesn’t seem that far from ours, even being 100 years in the future) and love, so much love, love for friends, love for a daughter and that daughter for his mother, love for a lover, ah, it really has it all.

It is beautifully written, in a way that even years after reading this book, it will live in my mind, of that I am sure, all that we learn in this story is through the eyes of Alabine Rivers (I must say that it really took me a while to fully accept this name haha, Alabine sounded so weird, but Rivers took me directly to River Song) and she tells her story in the first person, and some times the time of the verbs change and she speaks in an unknown future, and that keep me going, making me to want to know more, each turn and twist in the story keep me interested. I also loved the stories she told while in a dream state, that gave us glimpses of her story, how she got there, how she is who she is, of who Max Green, the man she loves grow to be the man that fought that much for her, who gave their love story to the world…

Alabine in 2021 she died, she had a cancer that we currently don’t have a cure, and after death, was keep under cryogenic, Max her boyfriend helped normalize the procedure telling the world about his love for Alabine and his wish to meet her when her cancer had a cure. In 2122 she is brought to life in a world she doesn’t recognize, and that is only the start of a story that will glue a reader to this pages.

The evil from the ones in power, the devil among them, all those things that give meaning to the story actually for me this was a really powerful read, and one that I will highly recommend.

For me this was a perfect read, a book that made me fell in love with it, so much, that in my time away from it, I was bothering everyone around me, telling them how good the story was and how they would like it as well. One thing that I know people sometimes complain, but for me was just the way it was, is that the chapters are long, some more than 30 minutes long. Its mind blowing that this was a debut and again I cannot praise it enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Could not put this one down and absolutely cannot believe it’s a debut! I love sci-fi, but sometimes they can get heavy on the science and my brain hurts. I didn’t feel like that was the case here; The Awoken was easy to read and understand and didn’t get bogged down in too much detail. This book had me thinking a lot about the ethics of cryogenics and how far is too far to go to save a human life, there were also a lot of parallels to today’s political climate. Why four stars and not five, I found it a little repetitive at times and lack of communication in some scenes bothered me. The ending though… LOVED, it was absolutely perfect. Highly recommend this to fans of dystopian fiction.

The premise of this story had me really excited to start reading, and despite the clunky title I had high hopes for a new sci-fi adventure. Unfortunately the rest of the writing proved to be clunky as well, with barely contained plot holes and some strange character choices. I made it to the (rushed) ending to see how it would all play out, but left feeling disappointed.

Wow! The Awoken by Katelyn Monroe Howes is an all-encompassing book. It has action, drama and so many emotions. I kept putting this down to contemplate what was happening. Thought-provoking and cataclysmic are two words I would use to describe The Awoken.

In an environment as explored as science fiction or, in this case, speculative fiction, it is not always easy to find new, unique premises that are so involving in their approach, story, development, and execution.

This book presents us with a plausible, detailed scenario, rich in context and, even though it is not a very extensive work, it is captivating to the point of forcing us to turn page after page without wanting to stop.

Even in a story that plays with chaos and mystery, its most sentimental moments are bright and charming, being the icing on the cake in this book that I would not hesitate to recommend.

I received a free electronic copy of this book from NetGalley (and forgot about it so I also bought a copy - whoops) in exchange for my honest review.

The world of this book - a post-American society that prioritizes conformity and rejects many types of technology - is an interesting idea. Also interesting is the idea of successful use of cryogenic preservation and reanimation to cheat death. A main character reanimated into a technophobic world that rejects reanimated individuals is a good premise,

The story being told within that world felt more like the plot of a video game than a novel. Success in each level of peril got Alibene to the next level of peril. There wasn’t much character development, relationships weren’t deeply examined, and the final victory felt faintly unsatisfying.

This is a simply written but compelling thriller with a heavy dose of sentimentality. For that, it reminded me of Blake Crouch’s books, but as the story went on, it became less sci-fi and more political. While there’s an underlying love story that runs through it, ultimately, this is a book about activism. For me, it started to lose steam about halfway through, but there were some twists and turns later that it didn’t see coming.

Al, the main character, came across a tad melodramatic. It seemed she imprinted quickly on the people she just met in her second life. I could say her reactions were unrealistic, but then again, I’ve never been resurrected, so who’s to say what’s normal in that situation?

I wasn’t surprised at the news that this is being adapted for TV. It is very cinematic, and the prose is bare-bones, so you can easily see it as a movie/TV show. I look forward to seeing that.

#FirstLine - PROLOGUE : I was twenty-three years old when I died.

Original and interesting The Awoken is a debut that has so much readers will love...an original plot, dynamic characters and setting, thrills, love, some twists, some turns and a satisfying ending. A story that lovers of Dystopian Fiction and Science Fiction will love!!!!

It’s finding books like this one, written by a debut author, that reaffirms just how powerful reading can be for your soul.

It involves cryogenics, dying young due to an undiscovered cure, in hopes to be awoken again when there becomes a cure. In 2021, this process cost 200k and that is exactly what Alabine did at the tender newly wed age of 21.

However, the world is a completely different horrific place when she is awoken a century later. She has no idea why they would bring her back in this time of war?


This is a love story like no other you have ever imagined and it is breathtakingly brilliant.

Awakening to a Changed World

Alabine Rivers, a young political activist, is devastated when she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer at twenty-three. With encouragement from her boyfriend, Max, she agrees to be cryogenically frozen in the hope that a cure will be discovered.

A century later, she’s revived and awakens to a changed world. America is no longer the place she remembered. She finds herself in the midst of a revolution. The governing class is against the people who have been brought back after being frozen. The Awoken have been declared outside the law with no rights. They can be shot on sight.

The Resurrectionists who are responsible for bringing Alabine back to life have an ulterior motive. They want her to be a leader in the movement for the survival of the Awoken.

This is a dystopian novel with echoes of America today. Society is not accepting of differences, everyone is supposed to think alike. This is a frightening world for Alabine. She struggles to understand her new environment while having flashbacks to the old way of life. I thought she was a great character. It’s not easy to have your entire world completely changed, but she struggles and survives.

This is a book that makes you think. It addresses many issues of the rights of groups that are not mainstream. It even tackles the moral question of cryogenics and the rights of people who have been brought back to life. If you enjoy dystopian novels, this is a good one.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Alabine decided to undergo cryogenic freezing upon her death from cancer, to hopefully suspend her body until a cure is found. But when she is awoken a century later, it is to a world where cryogenics is outlawed and those who have undergone the procedure and been illegally ‘awoken’ are feared and hated. Joining up with the band of rebels who woke her, Alabine is still fighting for her life - both from the cancer that killed her the first time and those who want her dead again.

This book seemed to take me forever to read. I don’t know if it was the book just not holding my interest or me being distracted. The first half of the book dragged for me, and the writing seemed a bit - maybe juvenile? It read as quite clunky and unpolished, but the second half seemed to flow a lot easier and the pace picked right up.

It was definitely an interesting concept, especially the lack of technology in the future and the government’s attempt at squashing everyone’s individuality, to create the illusion of everyone being exactly the same. There was just a requirement to suspend belief a little too far at times.

I think lovers of dystopian books like Divergent will enjoy this one.

This story is told in first person from the point of view of Alabine Rivers, 23 years old, madly in love and dying of cancer far too young. In a last hurrah, she and her beloved Max, decide that she should be cryogenically frozen in the hopes that there might be a cure found for her illness and scientists would figure out how to resurrect her. Approximately one hundred years later, Alabine is awoken to a new America divided by revolution where Resurrectionists are considered terrorists and they plan for her to play a vital role in their quest for the survival of the Awoken.

The way our political and governmental systems evolved in this dystopian future was realistically horrifying. There are no races, everyone is American. There is no culture except for American. Differences are not celebrated. Everyone is equally American, supposedly, except for the Awoken. There are no phones, tvs, or internet. Technology and science are both suspect and disliked in general. Alabine has some difficult choices to make including whether to support the group that has resurrected her for their own purposes, find out what happened to the love her life and whether she even wants to be in this new reality at all. Alabine also must navigate this new environment with no idea who to trust, the Resurrectionists, the other Awoken, the average citizens who appear to abhor her for reasons she doesn’t understand, or politicians who continuously make appealing offers with strings attached.

In her initial state of shock after being awoken, Alabine sometimes falls into a lucid dream state where her reality and key moments from her past seem to intertwine. This appears to be a coping mechanization created for the Awoken to mentally reconcile their new reality with their past. Alabine can use this process to destress and sometimes to avoid the scary reality of her new life. I really enjoyed the passages where her mental state was blended between current and past timelines. It was a creative way to flash back the reader to tell her love story.

I had a small quibble with the science behind the health status of some of the characters who had undergone cryogenics. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, especially the friendships that Alabine found with several of the other Awoken. I also enjoyed the way the emotions were portrayed in all their complicated glory, in relationship with humanity and communities from love and hate to greed and apathy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton Books for a copy provided for an honest review.