XVI
-
- £3.49
-
- £3.49
Publisher Description
In a dystopian world where a tattoo signifies sexual maturity, a young girl embarks on a chilling journey to find her mother’s killer.
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 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gender politics and sexual awareness play prominent roles in Karr's thought-provoking dystopian debut, set in a totalitarian future where world peace came at the cost of certain civil liberties and personal freedoms. At 16, every girl gets a XVI tattoo to signify her status as a sexually legal adult, along with a chance to join the Female Liaison Specialists (FeLS), often the only hope "low-tier" girls have of escaping poverty. Despite mounting peer pressure, Nina refuses to buy into the "sex-teen" mindset thrust on her and her friends since they were young. After her mother is murdered, Nina embarks on a hunt for the father she never knew, even as her mother's creepy boyfriend stalks her for unknown reasons. Nina may possess a key to shattering the corrupt government and the secret behind FeLS, but must decipher it before tragedy strikes again. An unusual blend of futuristic thriller and pro-abstinence advocacy, Karr's story has much to say about the increasing sexualization of teenagers. The balance between plot and preaching can be wobbly, but overall, it's a solid, enjoyable story. Ages 14 up.
