Author Interview: Julia Karr

Today's guest is debut author Julia Karr, who brought us the great dystopian XVI, which throws a sex-teen culture at us, mixed with government control and one girl's testing of it all.

How do you think you'd react to be thrown into Nina's world, and made open for sex on your 16th birthday?

Tough question. I’ve always been pretty stubborn and don’t like having people (or governments) telling me what I should feel like or be like. I would definitely not have been on the sex-teen end of the spectrum. I would’ve been really ticked off. Sex is a personal decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. To be thrown into a world where it’s almost like recreation, yeah... I wouldn’t be happy about that.

What was the reasoning behind the magic number being 16, rather than a different age?

Sixteen, at least when I was a teenager, was a big deal. Most girls had to wait until they were sixteen to go out on dates. (At least in my hometown that was pretty much the way it was.) That’s when you could get your driver’s license. Also, you started getting greater independence and were looked on as being practically an adult.

Also - I turned sixteen a few months after I moved to Chicago - and that completed turned my world upside down and changed my life.

If you could pair Nina and Sal with any characters from any book, what would your picks for each be?

Oooo, this is a toughie, too. I could see Sal with Jenna Fox. For Nina... well, I could see her with Jacob Black.

What is the most private thing you're willing to share?

Hmmm... I’m a pretty private person, but... I will share that I’m a total teen girls movies fan. I can watch certain ones over and over again: Ever After, Mean Girls, A Cinderella Story, Teenage Drama Queen, What a Girl Wants, and my favorite... Clueless.

What kind of cookie would you describe yourself as?

Peanut butter. Crunchy on the outside, a bit soft of the inside, sweet, but really kinda good for you!


Thank you, Julia, for taking the time to answer my questions. And I have to admit, I can see Nina with Jacob Black as well. They'd definitely challenge the things they are supposed to think.