X is For XVI, by Julia Karr

A little note for everyone stopping by for the A to Z challenge:

First off, hi! Welcome! Look around, have fun. My posts will be short this month, but they'll be following a theme: Books and Authors. I'll be showcasing some of my favorites within those categories. But I'll also be having some special posts regarding the release of my debut novel, Elemental, from time to time.    


Oh, I know what you were thinking, dear readers. You thought there was NO way I'd find something for "x." Well, let me tell you something. 


You are, thankfully, wrong. ;)

Summary (taken from Goodreads):

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 just may hold the key to her past.

But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure...

For Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet

I really liked XVI, by Julia Karr not because it was necessarily different from a lot of the other dystopians out there, but because the characters were very realistic. And the story was good! The MC irritated me a little in the end, but here's the thing; I like characters who do that from time to time because that makes them real people. The MC here isn't perfect. She makes mistakes and she suffers the consequences of them. I like that. Often, I read books about MCs who make mistakes but everyone forgives them, they forgive themselves, and life carries on. And while that's a great message to send sometimes to teens, I think it's also a great message to share the one where people suffer consequences from bad decisions.

So, I think you should check this one out! Enjoy!

XVI, by Julia Karr

Description:

Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world - even the most predatory of men - that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past - one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.


Sounds pretty awesome, right?  


Well, it seems like Nina is pretty much alone when it comes to her sex-teens (cute little nickname society has given to the momentous occasion).  She doesn't want them to happen.  She doesn't want sex and she certainly  doesn't want to get a tattoo telling everyone she's open for business.  Her friend, Sandy, on the other hand is bordering on obsession over it.  Wait.  Who am I kidding?  She's not bordering anything.  Sandy's walking around in the skimpiest clothes she can find and tossing her hair at any guy who passes by.


It's a very disturbing story, when you get down to it, but for a dystopian, it actually reads light-hearted.  Though the topic itself is disturbing (and even a few things that happen are quite chilling), the tone of the writing doesn't match the darkness I've read in most dystopian novels.  Maybe this is a good thing.  It's actually quite nice to not be depressed throughout an entire novel.  And the ending?  Despite being the first book in a series, XVI actually stands alone!  All the little details wrap themselves up quite nicely.  And let me tell you, dear readers, I appreciated that little courtesy from Julia Karr.  


While most of the story and characters gripped me in their authenticity and scope (all the extra details she put into how society worked and the technology was astounding), there were some parts that bordered dangerously close to cheesy romance.  I may have yelled once or twice, "No! No teenage boy would EVER say that!"  But you know what?  I'm a 27 year old woman.  The target audience of teenage girls will eat that stuff up.  So good job, Ms. Karr!  


Out of a rating system that goes like this:

1 star: Don't even bother
2 stars: It may be your cup of tea, but it ain't mine
3 stars: Pick it up at the library some time
4 stars: Go ahead and buy it!  You might like it!
5 stars: What are you doing still looking at this post?  Go out and buy it NOW!

I'm going to give this book...

4 stars!

Go ahead and stop by Amazon today. :)