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Cold Awakening
The Cold Awakening series by Robin Wasserman has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Skinned (2008).
- Books
- 3 books
- First published
- 2008
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Skinned (2008) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
About the Cold Awakening series
Lia Kahn was a popular, thoughtless teenager until a car accident should have killed her -- except her wealthy parents had her mind uploaded into a mechanical body before she died, making her one of the first "skinners," humans reborn as immortal androids. Robin Wasserman's trilogy follows Lia as she's shunned by her old friends, rejected by her own family, and forced to find a new community among other skinners who are, depending who you ask, either humanity's next evolutionary step or something that should never have been allowed to exist. Skinned (2008) establishes Lia's isolation and the raw philosophical question underneath the premise: if a copy of your mind runs in a machine, is it still you?
Crashed (2009) and Wired (2010) push that question further as Lia is drawn into a radical skinner rights movement and has to decide how far she's willing to go -- and how human she still wants to be -- in a society that increasingly treats her kind as a threat. Published in the UK as Frozen, Shattered and Torn, the trilogy is dystopian YA science fiction in the identity-crisis mode of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies or M.T. Anderson's Feed, using body-horror and post-human uncertainty to interrogate ordinary teenage alienation.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Cold Awakening trilogy?
Three: Skinned (2008), Crashed (2009), and Wired (2010) -- published in the UK as Frozen, Shattered, and Torn.
What order should I read the Cold Awakening trilogy in?
Publication order: Skinned, Crashed, Wired. It's one continuous story following the same protagonist's arc.
What is Cold Awakening about?
After a fatal car accident, teenager Lia Kahn's mind is uploaded into a mechanical body by her wealthy parents, making her one of the first 'skinners' -- and forcing her to navigate a society, and a former life, that doesn't know how to treat her as still human.
Why is this series called both Cold Awakening and Skinned?
Skinned is the title of the first book and the original series name used by some retailers and editions; Cold Awakening is the umbrella series name used elsewhere (including by Simon Pulse). Both refer to the same three-book trilogy.
Is the Cold Awakening trilogy complete?
Yes, it concludes with Wired/Torn (2010) and no further entries have been announced.
If you like the Cold Awakening series
Reading order last verified .