I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I mean, the premise of it is mind-blowing. A dystopian society that governs when teens are technically allowed to have sex? Pretty insane.

The first thing you will notice when reading XVI is the language. Julia Karr so immerses you in her futuristic world that she had not problem using *their* slang and words, which can at times leave the reader a bit confused. The first few chapters were a bit tricky to navigate because Nina, our protagonist, uses many euphemisms that I was not at all familiar with. However, if you can get past that, then the story really picks up.

The love story of Nina and Sal is bittersweet because you wonder, along with Nina, does she have real feelings for him? Or is her body simply reacting to the "sex-teen" hype everyone is spouting? It would be easy to dismiss this book as a book about teenage sexuality, but the underlying issue is how much control should the government have over its people?

Karr's debut novel is quite good, but the ending left me wondering. She leaves more lose ends than she ties up, but I still recommend the book. The writing is solid and the plot is original.

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