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The XY

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The XY

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Overview

Deluxe edition with a custom transparent jacket—available on the first printing only!

From the author of H2O and The Storm—She's been taught to fear him. He's been taught to fear her. What if they're both wrong?

In River's world, XYs are a relic of the past, along with things like war and violence. Thanks to the Global Agreements, River's life is simple, safe, and peaceful…until she comes across a body in the road one day. A body that is definitely male, definitely still alive. River isn't prepared for this. There's nothing in the Agreements about how to deal with an XY. Yet one lies before her, sick, suffering, and at her mercy.

River can kill him, or she can save him. Either way, nothing will ever be the same.

Winner of the James Tiptree Jr. Literary Award.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492662181
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	879 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Virginia Bergin is the author of H2O, which The Horn Book Magazine called “Inspiring.” She lives in Bristol (UK). Visit her online at virginiabergin.com and on Twitter @VeeBergin.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

November’s Best New YA Books

This month’s best teen fiction is all about fantasy and science-fiction, whether set in the farthest realms of outer space, in a world with very few men and boys, or inspired by Japanese folklore. Superheroes and teens with extraordinary gifts will keep supernatural readers riveted, while a murder mystery and a heartbreaking love story round […]

New Releases: Factory Girls, Supervillains, and Undercover Debutantes

Blast off this week with two sci-fi adventures set among the stars, three fantasies inspired by Chinese, Japanese, and Irish folktales, and a futuristic character study set in a world without boys and men. In contemporary YA, a budding paleontologist gets a taste of professional rivalry, and a female mechanic tries to solve a mystery […]

10/08/2018
This near-future novel from Bergin (H2O) is set in southwest Britain, 60 years after a virus killed most of Earth’s biologically born men. Women run the world, and boys and men now spend their lives in sterilized Sanctuaries, valued only for their reproductive contributions. Teenage River has never even seen an “XY” until she stumbles across a sick, fearful boy lying in the road and saves him in accordance with the Global Agreements, which require citizens to help one another. According to River’s Mumma, their region’s National Council representative, protocol dictates that Mason receive no treatment other than painkillers. But the village’s remaining granmummas, who lost loved ones to the pandemic, are determined to save him. The mystery behind Mason’s provenance and apparent immunity power the plot, while the potential ramifications of his survival create tension. Bergin uses a clever premise and vividly sketched characters to illustrate the importance of compassion and inclusion, but stereotypically gendered world building (video games and organized sports don’t exist without men), together with reductivist reflections on the social construction of gender, lessen the story’s impact. Ages 14–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Bergin’s matriarchal world building is fascinating...Hand to teens thirsting for an original tale." — Booklist

"Bergin uses a clever premise and vividly sketched characters to illustrate the importance of compassion and inclusion," — Publishers Weekly

"A primer for Margaret Atwood’s adult works" — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"The XY explores ideas about stereotypes, power, and personal responsibility within a unique and intriguing world. It will leave its audience questioning the role of gender in social development." — Foreword Reviews

"The plot is compelling…[The XY is] An enjoyable quick read for those who love dystopian fiction." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—A virus wiped out almost all of the men on Earth. Those not infected were taken to "sanctuaries." Women survived and live in the normal world. The remaining men are used for their sperm to keep the species thriving. Male babies are taken to the sanctuaries after birth. When River stumbles across an XY named Mason, she is shocked but also fearful. He is obviously sick. Should River save him or report him? Although the writing is slow at first, the narrative quickly becomes engaging; the world-building will pull readers in. It is an intriguing premise—what the world would be like run solely by women. There are some disconnects, such as why the men who are being held in pseudo-prisons seem to have access to advanced technology while women see baths and electricity as extravagances. The plot is compelling until the very end, when the story line veers off course and the world-building falls apart. VERDICT An enjoyable quick read for those who love dystopian fiction and won't mind that the internal logic doesn't always pan out.—Jessica Perovich, US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Library

School Library Journal

2018-08-20
In a future United Kingdom, a male-specific virus forces survivors into Sanctuaries, creating Planet Girl; let the battle of the gender stereotypes begin.
Bergin (Who Runs the World?, 2017, etc.) wrestles with complicated issues in a gender-segregated future of all-female communities where everyone listens and agrees while the unfortunate males are imprisoned in Sanctuaries, valued only for their sperm count. XYs learn about life from sex vids and video games, passing their time running on literal and figurative treadmills. Mason, who speaks like a prospector from the Wild West ("Wimmin ain't supposed to be like this!") is rescued after nearly perishing during his escape from a Sanctuary by River, a future engineer who displays a puzzling lack of curiosity about anything except airplanes. Foiling Help and Rescue, the granmummas of the community, known for their grim memories and pot-growing, insist that Mason be saved. When River breaks one of the Seven Global Agreements, Mason relies on his Code of Honor to save her, launching their search for personal and political truths. Coarse language cobbles together a world with scarce electricity and few personal comforts that somehow manages the technological skills necessary for IVF, genetic modification, and world trade. Ironic character names and skillful foreshadowing earn literary nods in a story with more unanswered questions than a timed math test. Ethnicities are not specified.
A flood plain of a novel: all breadth and no depth. (Science fiction. 14-18)

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