XX

Polari Prize, 2019

ebook / ISBN-13: 9780349700236

Price: £9.99

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WINNER OF THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2019

FEATURED ON THE GUARDIAN’S BEST BOOKS OF 2018


‘One of the feminist novels of 2018’ Stylist

‘Handmaid’s Tale-shaped hole in your life? Read XXThe Times

‘A pacy dystopian thriller’ Red Magazine

‘A phenomenal debut’ Skinny

‘Emotionally compelling’ Lauren Wilkinson


HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO FOR A CHILD OF YOUR OWN?

When Rosie and Jules discover a ground-breaking clinical trial that enables two women to have a female baby, they jump at the chance to make history.

Fear-mongering politicians and right-wing movements are quick to latch on to the controversies surrounding Ovum-to-Ovum (o-o) technology and stoke the fears of the public. What will happen to the numbers of little boys born? Is there a sinister conspiracy to eradicate men at play?

In this toxic political climate, Jules and Rosie try to hide their baby from scrutiny. But when the news of Rosie’s pregnancy is leaked to the media, their relationship is put under a microscope and they’re forced to question the loyalty of those closest to them, and battle against a tirade of hate that threatens to split them apart…

Reviews

Fresh, compelling and thought-provoking - I was completely immersed from start to finish
Francesca Hornak, author of Seven Days of Us
One of the feminist novels of 2018
Stylist
A pacy dystopian thriller
Red Magazine
Clever and fast paced
Good Housekeeping
Topical, probing and quietly intense - XX is a phenomenal debut
Skinny
Fantastic - completely topical, utterly believable, and that rare thing: an issue-driven book that feels like a story, not an issue
Julie Cohen
This is really, really good! A commercial Handmaid's Tale meets Humans. Timely, current, controversial
Nina Potell, Prima
Can't recommend it enough . . . Exciting and a real breakthrough
Jessica Jarlvi
'This is politically and ethically engaging, as well as a very personal read. It shows a world that is only a few years away, and it left me with a lot of thoughts about gender and science. Excellent.'
Net Galley User
'I could not put this down, even when my heart was aching and my pulse was raging.'
Net Galley User
'Well written, perfectly paced and so timely,. Through excellent character development, Chadwick manages to explore the social, ethical and political questions raised, while still telling what is at its core a beautifully human story.'
Net Galley User
With the pace of a thriller and a sci-fi plot, XX is a cracking high-concept read
Grazia
This timely novel looks at reproductive rights, politics and parenthood
Stylist (The best LGBTQ+ books to read this Pride)
A page-turningly plausible tale of the first two-ovum baby and the cultural ructions it causes
Emma Donoghue, Observer