XX by Angela Chadwick
★★★★★
XX is the fictional story of two women, Jules and Rosie, who are offered a place on an experimental trial of ovum-to-ovum fertilisation. As the possibility of reproduction without sperm starts to become a realistic possibility, and conspiracy theories start to form, Jules tries desperately to protect her and Rosie from the outside world.
This book sat on my shelf for over a year before I decided to give it a go. An avid reader of all things Stephen King, horror and the occasional classic, it doesn’t really fall into my usual category.
To say that it’s possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read is something that I wasn’t expecting. Although I am not usually drawn to this type of book I was completely captivated by this story. Jules is a wonderful character, she cares only for those around her, and not a single ounce for herself. She is selfless, loving, caring and she can’t see that she is running herself into the ground for those that are around her – and at times certainly don’t deserve her. I found her so interesting, and at times my heart really ached for her.
As a whole, the characters all seemed very real to me - which actually saddens me more than anything. Reading realistic characters isn’t something I come across a lot in my preferred genre of reading, but I was drawn to their negativity - that was when their characters came to life.
It was incredibly well written, and difficult to put down. Chadwick has painted the exact picture of how the world would – unfortunately – react if O-to-O fertility treatment became a possibility. She’s also captured the emotions of becoming parents perfectly. Having done this twice myself, I felt like I was reliving those familiar emotions. I also felt myself constantly rooting for this to be a success for Jules and Rosie, I was their own personal cheerleader, almost a part of the story myself.
On the outside, this is a story about ovum-to-ovum fertilisation, but it’s also about love and hate, about picking sides, and about the way the press can destroy just about anything. The theme of wrong versus right carries all the way through as the individual characters try to navigate a world where two women may be able to conceive a child of their very own. Something that should be wonderful but in turn shows us how people will find the power to ruin, judge and hate just because of something they read on the front page of a newspaper.
As I flew through chapter after chapter, I found myself gripped. It was that feeling of constantly wondering what will happen next, picking it up even if it means just reading one or two pages while you wait for the tea to cook in the evening. I love that feeling with books, and I find it happens less often, the older I get. There were pages where I would find myself cheering Jules on and pages where tears would be rolling down my cheeks, my eyes unblinking as I drank in every word, unable to stop to wipe the tears away. I think the subject matter, and realism of this story, pulled on my heart strings, drastically.
I would recommend this amazing book to the majority of women I know. As a straight woman, I didn’t feel I was the target audience, but after having read it, I feel I was wrong.
It’s about two strong women, finding their way to try and have a baby. It’s about becoming parents through any means possible, it’s about making choices based on your moral compass. It creates an interesting debate about how life is created. If you have experienced problems with fertility, or baby loss, it may not be something you want to pick up right away, however, I feel I must add a trigger warning for anyone who does wish to read this book – there are certain passages that you may find difficult.
My overall rating for this book is 5/5, as I couldn’t put it down, and I loved every part of it. There wasn’t a part I found disappointing, or boring, it was excellently written, and I still think about it to this day.
