Author: Karen Healey    Published: 2014 Series: When We Wake #2

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Drama, Romance

By: Zoe

Previously, I followed the life of Tegan Oglietti after she was cryonically frozen and successfully revived in the book ‘When We Wake’.

In her first life, she died on what she claimed to be the best day of her life. Tegan was unaware of what had occurred when woken from her 100-year sleep. She became an instant celebrity and was controlled by the government. The future is not what she expected. She meets a gifted boy named Abdi Taalib throughout her journey to fight for freedom and a better future. They become close friends and share many experiences together. She attempts to change the broken and distressed world. That book is written from Tegan’s perspective and how she adapts to the dramatically different future. 

The sequel to ‘When We Wake’ is ‘While We Run’. This book continues the story from Abdi Taalib’s perspective and his reaction and response following Tegan’s revival. Abdi is a ‘thirdie’, a musically gifted, young, reserved boy who had been smuggling medication across borders to his homeland from Australia, before encountering Tegan. The two share a close bond, however they have caused a lot of chaos. After spilling multiple government secrets about the cryonic projects program, Abdi and Tegan are forced to flee.

This book is about the journey of escaping custody and torture from the government who claimed to own Tegan Oglietti. The pair, alongside friends who believe this project is wrong, attempt to overthrow the government and share the issue with the world.  However, they must be careful, as they can trust no one.

I was absorbed by how Abdi experiences self-doubt and finds himself caught between staying with Tegan or returning home to his family.

I really enjoyed ‘While We Run’, as I was eager for more after reading ‘When We Wake’. It was genuinely interesting to read Abdi’s perspective, following Tegan’s revival and their journey. This book was full of unexpected twists and controversial characters. The excitement left me wanting to read ‘just one more chapter’, when I really didn’t have time! I found that throughout this book we learnt more about each individual character. I particularly enjoyed the fact that these certain ideas in the book could be future possibilities.

I would recommend ‘While We Run’ to anyone to read, as it was a splendid book. Although, if you want to understand the series concept, I advise you to read book one, ‘When We Wake’ first. This will allow you to understand and like the books even more. This book is perfect for anyone wanting a controversial and exciting read.

While We Run – Goodreads details here

When We Wake Series – Goodreads details here.