XVI by Julia Karr
Paperback, 272 Pages
2011, Speak
ISBN: 0142417718
Synopsis
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.
Review
XVI is a confusing, but well intentioned, dystopian novel. Set in the future, the world in XVI has come to view women basically nothing more than a means of sexual release. Girls receive the XVI tattoo upon their 16th birthdays, marking them as sex-teens. Old enough to engage in sex. Supposedly, this is to protect them, but I can't quite see how that would work out right. Once girls become sixteen, they are expected to become very, very interested in sex. In fact, they are expected to study all types of moves and tricks to catch a man's interest while awaiting their 16th birthdays. What wasn't quite explained was why.
The tattoos that mark a girl as sixteen seem to open the door to potential rape. The book conveys the message that even if a girl of sixteen is forced to have sex, no one will believe her because she's a sex-teen and supposed to want it. The entire book has a completely separate, thoroughly engrossing story line about Nina's family which is totally worth the read. But be forewarned, the message about women's rights to their bodies is jumbled in the details. Beyond that, the stereotypical attitude towards men may really offend some readers. Men in XVI, those over 18, are all looked at as sexual deviants of some nature. Eighteen-year-old's are viewed as unable to prevent themselves, or really even want to prevent themselves, from forcing themselves on girls with the XVI tattoo. Coupled with talk of older men who stare inappropriately at their step-daughters, beat women and god forbid, watch porn, make the entire gender out to be nothing more than uncontrolled hormones with rage issues.
I wish the story hadn't tried to be so strongly feminist, because it seems to be missing the point. If women are now in this position, how did things become this way? How is it supposed to be helping society? I understand the desire to send the message that women should have sole rights to their bodies, but the real issue should be what happened for society to get there from where we are now?
In a novel so laden with sexual subject matter, one has to wonder why the author would have chosen to use a term that stood out to me like a glaring issue. In this future world, slang seems to have effected certain words (as it often does in novels of this sort). As an example, advertisements are called verts. Another example, transportation is called trannies. Yup. I'm not making this up. In its first usage: "Three trannies had slammed into each other right in the middle of the street." Now, of course, I envision three transgendered individuals walking into each other. It seems strange and I wonder where this is all going. Eventually, we learn trannies are supposed to be like cars or buses, but how do you not constantly have to remind yourself of that? And trannies come up a lot in this book.
XVI has its share of issues, but its heart seems to be in the right place. The message is sound, but the execution is flawed. Nina's personal life and the mystery that surrounds her family is the most important aspect in the book, but it gets bogged down in the world it's set in. I think most readers will either absolutely love this book or hate it to their very core. Personally, I want to love it, but can't get past not understanding how things got so bad.
Rating
Links
No comments :
Post a Comment