A review by stateofgrace
XX by Angela Chadwick

4.0

The plot leaned more towards speculative fiction and literary fiction than science fiction and thriller. I was really interested in how the technology and science of the Ovum-to-Ovum innovation converged with the societal and political response to the new technology. Even though it was science fiction, it felt very realistic.

My favorite part of this book is Jules's character arc of coming to terms with her feelings about being a parent. The final twist —

the fact that the eggs were mislabelled, meaning that the baby might not actually be the biological child of Rosie and Jules

— did a really good job of resolving Jules's character arc. In particular, I loved this quote from the end of the book:  

“I see now that the merging of blood that once held the promise of an idyllic future was nothing but a happy fantasy. We will make this child ours through love. And sheer hard work.” 

This book really grapples with homophobia, so be warned that the amount of homophobia in this book is staggering. It isn't really resolved either — it's clear to the reader that this is something that Rosie and Jules will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.