Review; XVI, Julia Karr

Publisher: Speak
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Release: Januar 2011






Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world—even the most predatory of men—that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past—one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

Interesting, but not engaging

Imagine a future where every girl age sixteen or older has a tattoo on her wrist, signaling that she is ready to have sex. This is the world Nina Oberon lives in. The year is 2150, and Nina is soon going to turn sixteen and become a "sex-teen". Nina's best friend Sandy is looking forward to be what the government has labeled sexually mature, Nina is not.

This is a society where the government runs everyhing and there is a gap between citizens. People on welfare, for example, are feed non-healthy food to keep them overweight. The NonCons are trying to act against the goverment, and anyone being a NonCon can be arrested.

This book is a dystopian kind of fiction, and the main theme is sexuality and the sexual pressure teens must face. And that makes it an important and an interesting read. Unfortunately the book did not succeed in holding my interest and keeping me engage in the story. I constantly felt my thoughts straining whilst reading. The author has too much information on the future society pouring through the pages in the beginning, that I felt it hard to be engage in Nina and her story. We get a lot of descriptions about the world around her, but hardly anything about what she is feeling inside. That changes during the progress of the book, and we get a more complex picture of Nina. But sadly that was not enough for me.

I also had a hard time understanding some of the slang in this book. Maybe that is because I am Norwegian, but I would have prefered a list over unusual words and words made up for this book in the back.

I think this is a book that will be an interesting read in a class where the students may discuss the text afterwards. But I think the novel goes to too many lenghts to deem sex an evil thing that must be avoided at all costs, and some of the characters were a bit one dimensional. I mean, just being a guy does not meea your are about to have sex with every girl you see.


Other reviews:

Ya Librarian Tales
Phoebe North
Bloggers Heart Books

New Meme: Scandinavian Saturday

I am introducing a new meme on this blog: Scandinavian Saturday.

Scandinavian Saturday is a meme about all things Scandinavian. It can be about Scandinavian traditions, authors, books news or other relevant stuff.

Do you want to participate? I am going to write some of the posts myself, but I am also looking for people who want to do a guest post:

Maybe you have read a great book by a Scandinavian author and want to talk about it, or maybe one of your favorite authors is from Scandinavia.

Maybe you have a been on a trip to Scandinavia and want to write about that.

Maybe you are an author of books in the genres I read about to being published in Scandinavia and would want to talk about that.

Maybe you are a Scandinavian author about to being published in English.

Maybe you are a Scandinavian bookblogger.

There is a lot of possibilities. The point is that the entry must have something to do with Scandinavia.

If you would like to participate, please write me an email. I will talk about this meme on my Norwegian blog, so you will also get the opportunity to reach readers in Norway.

I will be starting the meme in March.

Trailer Thursday (1)

This week's trailer is the booktrailer for Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. It is so good, and makes me wanna read the book:

Challenges 2011

This is a post where I keep track off my progress in the challenges I am participating in this year.

*'Updating**



(20 / 100 books read)




Books read in this challenge (1/30)
1. Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of Hill House




Books read in this challenge: ( 0/6)

Teatser Tuesday (1)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

My teaser this week:

I exhaled. At least for a few more months I was fifteen - and safe.
page 6 - XVI by Julia Karr

Review: The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 246
Format: Paperback
Released: First released i 1959, this version came out in 2009

Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Luke, the adventurous future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with chilling, even horrifying occurrences beyond their control or understanding, they cannot possibly know what lies ahead. For Hill House is gathering its powers – and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

A very scary ghost story

The Haunting of Hill House is one of the best ghoststories I have ever read.

Dr. John Montague have studied antropology and is using his education to study supernatural phenomenon. He rents Hill House, which is known to be haunted, and sends out invitations for a stay to a group of people who all have experienced something paranormal earlier in their life. Together they will investigate if there is any truth in the stories that are being told about the house. Among the people arriving at the house, we find Eleanor Vance and Theodora. Luke Sanderson is the house owner's nephew. None of them have any clue what they are about to participate in.

Shirley Jackson's wellknown classic was not a all what I had anticipated, it was way better. It had me glued to the pages right from the first sentence. The opening of the book is one of the best I have ever read. Just listed to this:

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

The main character in this story is Eleanor Vance, and a lot of the scenes are experienced through her eyes. Eleanor has spent the last ten years taking care of her mother, and she is thrilled to get the opportunity to stay at Hill House, meet new people and experience something out of the ordinary. Jackson makes sure that our sympathy lies with her.

The suspense is slowly built up. We get a lot of hints about the house and its story, but it takes some time before there is any real drama. But that does not make the story boring in any way, when there is finally some real action you are already at the edge of your seat. And it gets more and more spooky. I would not want to read this story home alone at night. Even though I read it with my boyfriend sleeping next to me in bed, I was still scared.

The Haunting of Hill House is so spooky, and the story will continue to haunt you even when you have read the last page. Read it, if you dare.






Other reviews:
Dark Echo
The Liminal State

I read this as part of the Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge, and the Gothic reading challenge.

In My Mailbox (2)

This weekly meme focus on the books we got our hands on last week and is hosted by The Story Siren.

I have decided to not buy so many books this year. Maybe I told you that last time I did an IMM meme, but I still need to tell myself that some more. I have a lot of great books waiting in my shelfs, ready to be read and reviewed and it is about time I really dig into my reading pile. But, I got some books in the mail this week that I had preordered. I am still waiting for other books that I also have preorderer - mostly books written by debut-authors or books in series I read.

Bought:
Melissa Guibord: Warped
Alexandre Monir: Timeless
Julia Karr: XVI
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Have a great sunday everyone.