Short and Sweet: XVI is an intriguing dystopian read which tended to both thrill and confuse me as a reader. On one side, I was fascinated by the world that Karr created. I would be lying if I said it was not a little bit shocked to see sixteen year old girls believing that this is the appropriated age to begin procreation. However, as much as I loved this shock factor, I must admit that I was a little more than lost at times within XVI. Karr beautifully sets up the world that Nina lives in, but I never understood why these girls had the mentality that they did. Brain-washing? Government mandate due to lack of babies in the society? It never really was clear. Maybe if I had been given a bit more back story about the society I could have followed along better.Final Verdict: While not a complete waste of time, XVI left me with a feeling that I was missing an important piece of the puzzle. A piece that I think if I had, would have made quite a few details fall better into place. As it is, XVI was enjoyable, just not the awesomeness that I have been hoping for.
