XVI by Julia Karr

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.


Dystopian books are taking over the universe, and I love it. It’s books like XVI that make me happy to be a reader of Young Adult Fiction. Nina was an amazing lead character, and her friend was hilariously blind to what was going on around her. When I first started reading XVI, it didn’t suck me in immediately. I kept reading because a lot of people I had talked to told me that they loved it. Boy am I glad that I kept reading! XVI turned out to be really addicting after the first 50 pages. I stayed up until the wee hours of the night to finish reading, and even once I had finished I wanted to read more.
One of my favorite things about this novel was how it relates to real life. It takes an issue that is discussed daily, and multiplies it by ten thousand. It was fun to see how the different characters reacted to what was going on around them. I recommend this book to people who love reading dystopians. Karr wrote an addicting book that will keep readers thinking.


FTC- Publisher.