XX Review

XX by Angela Chadwick tells the story of Jules and Rosie, a couple who take part in a trial to conceive the first babies fertilised from two eggs. Jules makes for an engaging narrator - she's journalist (like the author) and so has an investigative, and perhaps sometimes cynical, mindset. The exploration of how the pregnancy and the inevitable media frenzy around it affects her relationship with Rosie is well-drawn and compelling.

But what most struck me about the book was its willingness to look at thoughts and feelings about motherhood that a lot of people might find unpalatable, but will make Jules even more sympathetic to some. It's a brave choice, somewhat undermined by the ultimate conclusion, but an interesting added level to the issues faced by the protagonist in this well-written and engrossing tale.