I read this book as part of the Debut Author Challenge 2011.Publication date: January 6th, 2011
Summary: Every girl gets one. An XVI tattoo on the wrist -- sixteen. They say they're there for protection.
Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though, she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay. Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help - and he may just hold the key to her past.
But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as whisper, one thing is for sure...
for Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.
Review:
A glance at the cover already tells you that turning sixteen and the tattoo accompanying that age aren't all sunshine and roses. In Nina's world when you turn sixteen you're allowed to have sex and that makes girls vulnerable to sexual predators who just have take a look at your wrist to determine if they'll have to face repercussions for assaulting you.
XVI is set in a future where Mars and Moon are colonized, people are vegetarians, commercials (verts how it's called in the book) blurt from speakers at every corner and the population is divided into tiers ( a modern caste system).
I love the dystopian world Julia Karr created, though I'd hate to live in it. Girls with the XVI on their wrist are like prey - feminism is dead. As a reader I was constantly worried for Nina. I felt her fear of getting the XVI tattoo and it added to the suspense.
It took me a few pages to get used to the slang Julia Karr created for her dystopian world but then I was so immersed in her world that words like FeLS, trannie, mannebots or NonCon became second nature to me.
XVI is a suspenseful read that makes you turn page after page. If you love dystopians, then this is a must-read. I can't wait for the sequel (I hope there'll be one!!).
Have you read XVI yet?
4 comments:
Oh ~ what a FANTASTIC review. I am not a HUGE fan of dystopia's (I haven't actually read that many...) ~ but this one sounds compelling and different.
Thanks heaps for sharing and I hope you have a FAB weekend!
Great review and fantastic book. (Yes, I've read it!)
I read the book in just two sittings, which should tell you something. I enjoyed the book and look forward to her next one.
Great review--this book sounds really awesome! Thanks, Sus! :)
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