Julia Karr
XVI (XVI, Book 1)
Penguin (US: 6th January 2011; CA: 11th January 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
There’s no chance of forgetting this is a futuristic, with so much slang, similes, info dumps within dialogue, and whatnot slammed into the first 90 pages. After that, they aren’t as distracting, and the story really shines. Government conspiracies, fake deaths, and talk of shagging abound, with the eerie threat of being sent as a Cinderella girl to Mars. In a society where virginity is everyone’s business, Nina Oberon is a little too perfect to be fully believable, but it’s easy to sympathise. Sandy is dreadfully annoying, but Dee is less so. If only Mars Rising was a real book; I’ve love to read it!