XVI

by Julia Karr

[Angie]

I was very intrigued by the premise of XVI: family secrets and government secrets and a disturbing dystopian setting! Unfortunately, while there are a lot of good ideas here, nothing makes any sense. I have no idea why the world is the way it is. I'm sure this is in part to those secrets, and will be revealed later, but we don't even get the "cover story" or what the government wants people to believe. So how am I suppose to care about what they're lying about it and trying to cover up, if I don't even know what they're telling as truth?

In XVI, we're about 200 years into the future and everything is completely different. There are advertisements everywhere at all times, showing off the latest trends and gadgets. The government can listen in to any conversation, anywhere, at any time unless you're in a dead zone. The moon has apparently been colonized, and there's miners on Mars. Cows and chickens are zoo animals, since no one eats meat anymore. And most importantly, teenagers are considered legal at 16, although I'm not sure what that entails except for sex, more sex, and a wrist tattoo marking them as legal...for sex.

Nina is our narrator and she's dreading turning 16. She has no interest in sex at all, partly thanks to her mother making sure Nina knows how to think for herself and not just accepting everything that the media tells her. Then her mother is murdered, and her dying words leave Nina quite confused. Apparently her father, whom she thought died when she was baby, is still alive and all of the answers are hidden inside her younger half-sister's baby book. Of course, Nina's parents are part of some resistance group against the government, so now her life is in all kinds of danger as she figures out their secrets. But, like I said, this world makes no sense, so I have no clue what they're fighting against.

XVI does have a lot of interesting elements in the world building. I was definitely disturbed, yet fascinated, by this world where the media is catered to teenagers and promoting sex, particularly at girls. There's also some mentions of the government emulating dystopic societies from novels, before promptly banning those books from the public. That's certainly a unique idea, but it doesn't explain why the government has gone in this direction, or what being "sex-teen" has to do with anything. We are told about some disasters of the past, and there's new holidays like End of Wars Day, and Lunar Settlement day, so obviously some major events happened, but they're just glazed over or used in a context that explains some music trend. Not exactly helpful.

In all honesty, I believe this whole being legal at 16 years old was just an excuse to use the word "sex-teen" a bunch of times. It's catchy and clever, but what does it mean for this society? There is no reason for the government to make sex legal at 16, and then basically brand everyone on their birthday, so that they become easy targets. Apparently a lot of girls are raped but no legal action is taken, because they're 16 and should want it. It's all about sex, sex, sex! There are some hints at brainwashing by the government, but that still doesn't account for this general preoccupation with turning 16 and finally being able to do the deed. Then there's also this program known as FeLS, which only female virgins are selected for, since they're some kind of diplomats, or something. I don't even know, since it's not explained at all, and of course it's one of those things the government has been lying about, which I figured out early on.

In the end, XVI didn't work for me. The world building is basically nonexistent, so I'm not sure how I'm suppose to care about any rebellion against it. There is seriously no reason for the government to care about teens having sex. I can understand the no meat, alternate fuel, and maybe spying on citizens, but encouraging teenage boys to take advantage of teenage girls once they turn 16? No way.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.