Honestly I did not have high hopes for this book because of it's deja vu Across the Universe storyline but this was actually really good!

So, in the year of 2027, Teegan was living the best day of her life. However, that ends abruptly when she gets shot and finds herself 100 years into the future when she wakes up from being cryonically frozen.

The world building of When we wake was explored quite well. The story is set in Melbourne, and in 2127, the environment is severely damaged, with oceans rising and extreme weather patterns. Meat has become frowned upon and almost everyone is a vegetarian.

In the novel, Australia has become the new superpower of the world, a land of sources and an open minded continent in terms of gender and sexual orientation.

However, it has a no migrant policy and anyone who tries to come into its borders is sent to detention camps. People from other countries who have received government permission to stay in Australia are called Thirdies and are treated with an less than welcoming attitude.



It was a pretty realistic future where all the electricity are generated by solar/hydro/wind while third world countries still use fossil fuel because they have more oil sources and it's much easier/cheaper for them to do so.

There are some twists to the story, and while they're not that obvious, I wasn't all that surprised when the revelations were revealed.

Now, onto the characters:
Teegan was a great protagonist. When she found out that she was 100 years into the future, she didn't believe it and still felt like she was living in the past, with her boyfriend, family and friends' memories still fresh in her mind.

She wasn't really your typical brooding heroine who complains about her situation. She dealt with the condition she was in (even though she still felt like it was 2027)and tried to live a normal life even though the government is pampering her as this miracle that woke up 100 years later.

The secondary characters were diverse and very likeable. However, because they're not your average YA secondary characters, Teegan stands out in contrast due to her typical YA female looks. Which was a little bit disappointing. It didn't bother me much but still.

And of course we have romance.

The romance between Teegan and Abdi took the back seat of the story and burned slow and sweet. It didn't feel rushed (considering Teegan still had feelings for her boyfriend from the past when she woke up) and as far as I know, I don't think there'll be a love triangle.

So why did I give this 4 and not 5 stars? Well, the similarity of concepts between this and Across the Universe annoyed me a bit, even though it was done quite well.

Also, Teegan was cryonically frozen when she was dead. The process/science as to how the freezing process can bring her back to life was never explained properly. In the story, Teegan said she didn't understood much of the science terminology and steps to comprehend how she was frozen felt like a cop out to me.

Aside from that, I enjoyed the book alot. The ending tied its knots together perfectly and even though there's no cliffhanger (thank god) I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!