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beastreader's review against another edition
4.0
I have seen this book a couple of times on different websites. I thought the cover was cool and the concept of the story intrigued me. I finally decided to check this book out and see what it really was all about. I have to say this book was way better then I thought it would be. I can not imagine growing up as a declared boy but actually being born a girl.
Tiadone was a good "boy". In fact, I thought she was better then some of the real boys. She was tougher. I loved Tiadone's companion, Mirko. The idea that every person has a bird that they share a bond with is cool. The world that Tiadone resides in is not one that I would want to live in, especially being a woman myself. While the back of the book hints at a possible romance between Tiadone and her best friend, Ratho, there was nothing that happened between the two. I am glad. It would have taken away from the story. The ending was a good one. I would like to see Tiadone again some day, if possible.
Tiadone was a good "boy". In fact, I thought she was better then some of the real boys. She was tougher. I loved Tiadone's companion, Mirko. The idea that every person has a bird that they share a bond with is cool. The world that Tiadone resides in is not one that I would want to live in, especially being a woman myself. While the back of the book hints at a possible romance between Tiadone and her best friend, Ratho, there was nothing that happened between the two. I am glad. It would have taken away from the story. The ending was a good one. I would like to see Tiadone again some day, if possible.
emeryrachelle's review against another edition
3.0
As soon as I saw this book in my BookSneeze email featuring reviewers' latest choices, I knew I wanted it. I was the first to request it -- the first day it was available. I mean, dystopian genre, made-up world, firstborn girl, story of girl power in male society... just seemed like my thing. Plus the whole bird thing looked intriguing.
And the story was that -- intriguing -- but it was also very, very confusing.
I've never heard of Lorie Ann Grover before this book, but I understand she has several other books out. Firstborn is her first book in a genre outside of contemporary fiction, and I think that's its main weakness. The world building is nice, but there's several everyday objects or clothing functions that resemble modern real life too much. Terms unique to this fictional world aren't explained, or are explained too late or too little for the reader to really understand what's going on. For example, the "twining" mentioned in relation to the bird in the back cover copy. When I read that on the cover, I thought it meant she had a birthmark or something. When the twining happened in the book, I didn't understand exactly what was going on or why it was important until a while after it occurred. So the meaning of that scene and its place in the plot was basically lost to me. The setup's a little confusing -- apparently the entire village knows Tia was born female and declared male, but it took me several chapters to figure that out. Based on how the book starts and what the back cover copy says, I thought her parents kept her gender a secret and claimed she really was a boy.
Plus, I understand Lorie Ann Grover is a Christian and is trying to carry that over to this made-up world in an original way, but the religion of this book was too weird for me. The birds started out cool, but some of the stuff that ties them to the people and their faith creeped me out. The whole male-dominance thing of Tia's people's oppressors was ridiculous, and that's sort-of touched on, but that was nothing compared to Tia's beliefs in her manhood and her amulet and all that. Her family's secret belief in one religion doesn't seem to mesh with Tia's clinging to the oppressors' superstitions. Actually, even religions aside, there were quite a few scenes I felt like shaking Tia and yelling at her. She was kind of clueless for such a "strong, girl power" type of character. Also, I thought this book would be about embracing womanhood, so I really hated all Tia's whining about being a girl. Yeah, considering the circumstances, it's not the most convenient. The girl has to hide it a lot, especially from the folks in charge. But you are a woman, Tiadone, and you should own it! Be proud! Quite griping already!
The plot was great. Very strong... Until stuff stopped making sense. Example: Tia accidentally found this sacred place, and burned her hands, and it was so obviously an important scene and had a lot to do with Tia's identity and purpose in life. But then the rest of the book continues like that never happened, and it's never explained! Hello, what just happened?
Also there was a lot of physical stuff in this book. I won't go into details. Basically, while it did pertain to the plot and Tia's inner struggle of gender and identity, I thought things got a little too much sometimes.
After all that bad, I feel like explaining. There's a lot of good in this book! Like the birds themselves. Their part in Tia's faith may have been weird, but as characters, the rapiers are really cool. Very sweet and original and basically I loved them. Tia's best friend was a great character too, even if I did spend several chapters hating him for being stupid. I mean, he's a guy and the best friend and sort-of-not-really the love interest. He was gonna do something majorly stupid eventually, but of course we readers would get over it. Once I got into the book and things finally started making sense, the world was pretty cool. Yeah, parts of it were a little too real-world-reliant, but the rest of it was actually really original. The culture was well-painted. (I could have done with a good deal more description -- especially pertaining to clothing and mentioned-but-not-explained hand gestures -- but the big picture was unique, at least.) Like I said earlier, at least the first half of the book was strong plot-wise. I think the rest of the plot was well-thought-out, too, it just wasn't explored or explained to the reader well enough for us to get it.
Basically, it's an okay book for someone's first foray into dystopian. I would have given it more work before sending it out into the world, but honestly, I think part of my issue was that this writing style just isn't my cup of tea. Readers who favor minimalist writing that focuses more on plot and character and leaves out description will probably like Firstborn. More than I did, at least. Two and a half stars.
I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
And the story was that -- intriguing -- but it was also very, very confusing.
I've never heard of Lorie Ann Grover before this book, but I understand she has several other books out. Firstborn is her first book in a genre outside of contemporary fiction, and I think that's its main weakness. The world building is nice, but there's several everyday objects or clothing functions that resemble modern real life too much. Terms unique to this fictional world aren't explained, or are explained too late or too little for the reader to really understand what's going on. For example, the "twining" mentioned in relation to the bird in the back cover copy. When I read that on the cover, I thought it meant she had a birthmark or something. When the twining happened in the book, I didn't understand exactly what was going on or why it was important until a while after it occurred. So the meaning of that scene and its place in the plot was basically lost to me. The setup's a little confusing -- apparently the entire village knows Tia was born female and declared male, but it took me several chapters to figure that out. Based on how the book starts and what the back cover copy says, I thought her parents kept her gender a secret and claimed she really was a boy.
Plus, I understand Lorie Ann Grover is a Christian and is trying to carry that over to this made-up world in an original way, but the religion of this book was too weird for me. The birds started out cool, but some of the stuff that ties them to the people and their faith creeped me out. The whole male-dominance thing of Tia's people's oppressors was ridiculous, and that's sort-of touched on, but that was nothing compared to Tia's beliefs in her manhood and her amulet and all that. Her family's secret belief in one religion doesn't seem to mesh with Tia's clinging to the oppressors' superstitions. Actually, even religions aside, there were quite a few scenes I felt like shaking Tia and yelling at her. She was kind of clueless for such a "strong, girl power" type of character. Also, I thought this book would be about embracing womanhood, so I really hated all Tia's whining about being a girl. Yeah, considering the circumstances, it's not the most convenient. The girl has to hide it a lot, especially from the folks in charge. But you are a woman, Tiadone, and you should own it! Be proud! Quite griping already!
The plot was great. Very strong... Until stuff stopped making sense. Example: Tia accidentally found this sacred place, and burned her hands, and it was so obviously an important scene and had a lot to do with Tia's identity and purpose in life. But then the rest of the book continues like that never happened, and it's never explained! Hello, what just happened?
Also there was a lot of physical stuff in this book. I won't go into details. Basically, while it did pertain to the plot and Tia's inner struggle of gender and identity, I thought things got a little too much sometimes.
After all that bad, I feel like explaining. There's a lot of good in this book! Like the birds themselves. Their part in Tia's faith may have been weird, but as characters, the rapiers are really cool. Very sweet and original and basically I loved them. Tia's best friend was a great character too, even if I did spend several chapters hating him for being stupid. I mean, he's a guy and the best friend and sort-of-not-really the love interest. He was gonna do something majorly stupid eventually, but of course we readers would get over it. Once I got into the book and things finally started making sense, the world was pretty cool. Yeah, parts of it were a little too real-world-reliant, but the rest of it was actually really original. The culture was well-painted. (I could have done with a good deal more description -- especially pertaining to clothing and mentioned-but-not-explained hand gestures -- but the big picture was unique, at least.) Like I said earlier, at least the first half of the book was strong plot-wise. I think the rest of the plot was well-thought-out, too, it just wasn't explored or explained to the reader well enough for us to get it.
Basically, it's an okay book for someone's first foray into dystopian. I would have given it more work before sending it out into the world, but honestly, I think part of my issue was that this writing style just isn't my cup of tea. Readers who favor minimalist writing that focuses more on plot and character and leaves out description will probably like Firstborn. More than I did, at least. Two and a half stars.
I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
2.0
So I’ve had this book since it came out in January. And I finally got around to reading it. But I was beyond disappointed. This book had so much potential with the themes and topics it dealt with. I feel like Grover barely scratched the surface when it came to dealing with the gender roles and the flaws in the society.
And for a book that I believe is a stand-alone, it sure did leave the ending very open. To me there was no real conclusion. She never really proved to everyone that she was just as good if not better than the boys her age. The only ones to truly accept her were Mirko and Ratho. And those stories are left somewhat open as well.
I was also disappointed with how the plot panned out. We learn a lot about the Madronian rule and R’tan culture but then there is no conclusion to the problems that plagued the world. This isn’t technically a spoiler, but I feel like the end was just Tiadone running away from all the problems in the world to be on her own. That is not the sign of a strong female character. Tiadone shows throughout the book that she is equal to the other males, but the ending kind of reverses some of that.
Overall, there was potential with this world and the storyline but it was poorly executed in my opinion. Because I liked the concept I have to get it 2.5 out of 5 Stars even if I felt the novel overall to be lacking.
And for a book that I believe is a stand-alone, it sure did leave the ending very open. To me there was no real conclusion. She never really proved to everyone that she was just as good if not better than the boys her age. The only ones to truly accept her were Mirko and Ratho. And those stories are left somewhat open as well.
I was also disappointed with how the plot panned out. We learn a lot about the Madronian rule and R’tan culture but then there is no conclusion to the problems that plagued the world. This isn’t technically a spoiler, but I feel like the end was just Tiadone running away from all the problems in the world to be on her own. That is not the sign of a strong female character. Tiadone shows throughout the book that she is equal to the other males, but the ending kind of reverses some of that.
Overall, there was potential with this world and the storyline but it was poorly executed in my opinion. Because I liked the concept I have to get it 2.5 out of 5 Stars even if I felt the novel overall to be lacking.
l1brarygirl's review against another edition
3.0
See this review over on my YA blog.
The setting for this book is hard to place in the context of time. It could be a past civilization or it could be set in the future, or even on a different planet for that matter. The R'tan village of R'tania has been taken over and ruled by the Madronians for years. They don't allow the R'tans to have first born females and they take these girls away and leave them to die on a cliff. A way to save the child is to declare the girl as a male. She must be brought up as a male and contribute to society as a male.
Tiadone is the first female to be declared male. The time is approaching where the males and females go through a "rite of passage" so to speak - males go off to defend the borders as soldiers and the females are secluded and focus on having visions of the future.
In order to "suppress" her feminine traits, Tiadone wears an amulet that seems to hang down over her pelvic region. This amulet contains the heart of a desert cat wrapped in her father's hair coils.
Another aspect of both their religion and this rite of passage is the hatching of a Rapion (bird) from an egg that they carry on their person at all times. Each child recieves an egg after birth when their parents offer the placenta to the grown Rapions at a cave-like place. The Rapions take the placenta and leave an egg in its' place.
Tiadone's bird hatches with a unique and what most in her village believe to be an evil trait - it is a Singer. Rapions are "meant" to be silent and the fact that her bird sings is a bad omen.
We then begin the adventure and trials Tiadone faces as a declared male on the border & her growing feelings of attraction towards her best friend, Ratho. This of course leads to trouble and the fact that she openly defies the rulers.
This book is full of religious undertones and is closely reminiscent of the early explorers coming to native cultures and forcing their own religion on the people. Madronians conquer and force the R'tans to convert to their belief in the Four Winged Condor. They must give up their belief in the Creator Spirit and they destroy their holy texts - the "Oracles of the Creator."
Tiadone fights this and worships her own god in secret (as her father taught her). There are scenes towards the end of the book that further this fight for her own religion.
Some may not like this undertone, but I think it's good to experience and learn about beliefs other than our own. This also plays a big role in Tiadone's coming of age and finding her true self.
The ending is open-ended and though it could stand alone, I would prefer to see a sequel that continues her story (and that of Ratho & the new character introduced). The ending reminds me of a different dystopian book, [b:Birthmarked|6909544|Birthmarked (Birthmarked, #1)|Caragh M. O'Brien|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1393127168s/6909544.jpg|7134814].
The setting for this book is hard to place in the context of time. It could be a past civilization or it could be set in the future, or even on a different planet for that matter. The R'tan village of R'tania has been taken over and ruled by the Madronians for years. They don't allow the R'tans to have first born females and they take these girls away and leave them to die on a cliff. A way to save the child is to declare the girl as a male. She must be brought up as a male and contribute to society as a male.
"'Remember the Madronians believe the first living child carries the greatest strength. Can you imagine them permitting a girl to have that power in a conquered village, or that they'd allow a family to offer only females to society? And we can be thankful they offer us the chance to declare our firstborn girls male to avoid ekthesis on the Scree.'"
"'But ekthesis is murder! There's no way a babe can survive if she's left alone in that shale wilderness. And what of those parents? That father? He didn't want to risk his future on a female?" My fear claws up and hisses, firstborn females are worthless. "Do you doubt I will provide for you in your old age?'" - Firstborn, 14
Tiadone is the first female to be declared male. The time is approaching where the males and females go through a "rite of passage" so to speak - males go off to defend the borders as soldiers and the females are secluded and focus on having visions of the future.
In order to "suppress" her feminine traits, Tiadone wears an amulet that seems to hang down over her pelvic region. This amulet contains the heart of a desert cat wrapped in her father's hair coils.
"..imbue me with the power of the fiercest, most dreaded in our desert, the cat. The amulet makes me male in my mind and in society. As a declared male, I'll wear the amulet for life and contribute as any other male in our village." - Firstborn, 15
Another aspect of both their religion and this rite of passage is the hatching of a Rapion (bird) from an egg that they carry on their person at all times. Each child recieves an egg after birth when their parents offer the placenta to the grown Rapions at a cave-like place. The Rapions take the placenta and leave an egg in its' place.
Tiadone's bird hatches with a unique and what most in her village believe to be an evil trait - it is a Singer. Rapions are "meant" to be silent and the fact that her bird sings is a bad omen.
We then begin the adventure and trials Tiadone faces as a declared male on the border & her growing feelings of attraction towards her best friend, Ratho. This of course leads to trouble and the fact that she openly defies the rulers.
This book is full of religious undertones and is closely reminiscent of the early explorers coming to native cultures and forcing their own religion on the people. Madronians conquer and force the R'tans to convert to their belief in the Four Winged Condor. They must give up their belief in the Creator Spirit and they destroy their holy texts - the "Oracles of the Creator."
Tiadone fights this and worships her own god in secret (as her father taught her). There are scenes towards the end of the book that further this fight for her own religion.
Some may not like this undertone, but I think it's good to experience and learn about beliefs other than our own. This also plays a big role in Tiadone's coming of age and finding her true self.
The ending is open-ended and though it could stand alone, I would prefer to see a sequel that continues her story (and that of Ratho & the new character introduced). The ending reminds me of a different dystopian book, [b:Birthmarked|6909544|Birthmarked (Birthmarked, #1)|Caragh M. O'Brien|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1393127168s/6909544.jpg|7134814].
drolefille's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook version. This was a rough one. Cool world and set up but sounded really awkward to listen to. I think I'd rather have read it, and hope that any sequels and future novels only improve on the writing from here.
anniemariek's review against another edition
3.0
I went into this one blind--I hadn't heard anything about it, but it looked interesting, so I thought, "Why not?" The premise is unique, and the setting was, too, but it never felt fully fleshed-out. The "declared male" aspect doesn't make any sense. This society has no place for firstborn girls, so if your first baby is female, she's abandoned. In the main character Tiadone's case, her father basically said, "Well, this baby is a girl, but I'm going to raise her as a boy even though we all know she's not." It would make sense if nobody knew her true gender, but they did. In that case, what's the point?
Tiadone's relationship with her best male friend, Ratho, made no sense. First Ratho liked her, then hated her, then liked her again. Then they had a brief, intense making-out session where they talked about marriage. Then they never spoke again. This is one of the most confusing and spontaneous cases of insta-love I've ever seen.
I wish this book had a plot. At the beginning, it seemed like it was there, but after Tiadone started her patrol duty, there was no overarching conflict. It was just descriptions of Tiadone's various struggles with her gender identity. The description is misleading. What's this about
Overall, this had so much potential, but it just wasn't there. The writing was awkward and weirdly phrases. The dialogue felt off. Tiadone wasn't a particularly interesting character, despite her situation. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't like it, either.
Similar Books: It's a fantasy novel with a unique desert setting like Vessel or Daughter of the Centaurs. It also reminded me of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
Tiadone's relationship with her best male friend, Ratho, made no sense. First Ratho liked her, then hated her, then liked her again. Then they had a brief, intense making-out session where they talked about marriage. Then they never spoke again. This is one of the most confusing and spontaneous cases of insta-love I've ever seen.
I wish this book had a plot. At the beginning, it seemed like it was there, but after Tiadone started her patrol duty, there was no overarching conflict. It was just descriptions of Tiadone's various struggles with her gender identity. The description is misleading. What's this about
Spoiler
Tiadone freeing her people from the despotic ruler? That never happened. The book literally ends with Tiadone running into the forest with her stepmother's female baby, which accomplishes nothing.Overall, this had so much potential, but it just wasn't there. The writing was awkward and weirdly phrases. The dialogue felt off. Tiadone wasn't a particularly interesting character, despite her situation. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't like it, either.
Similar Books: It's a fantasy novel with a unique desert setting like Vessel or Daughter of the Centaurs. It also reminded me of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
theawkwardbookw's review against another edition
2.0
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2.5/5 Stars
In a society where females are not wanted, Tiadone was declared male at birth. This means that she is given an amulet at birth that suppresses all feminine features. As Tiadone grows up, she struggles with her femininity and the feelings she develops for her childhood friend.
I was not the biggest fan of this book... For the most part, I was bored and didn't care about Tiadone or any of the other characters. The writing was weirdly paced and I didn't care for the style. The only redeeming factor was Mirko, a bird... which tells you a lot.
2.5/5 Stars
In a society where females are not wanted, Tiadone was declared male at birth. This means that she is given an amulet at birth that suppresses all feminine features. As Tiadone grows up, she struggles with her femininity and the feelings she develops for her childhood friend.
I was not the biggest fan of this book... For the most part, I was bored and didn't care about Tiadone or any of the other characters. The writing was weirdly paced and I didn't care for the style. The only redeeming factor was Mirko, a bird... which tells you a lot.
couillac's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating premise and good world-building (if a bit info-dumpy), but I couldn't get into it enough to keep reading. Still, lots of potential, and maybe one to come back to.
the_cover_contessa's review against another edition
3.0
I want to thank Zondervan for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.
Blurb from Goodreads:
Tiadone has been forced to live her entire life as a female accepted as male in her community in order to survive as a firstborn child. But when she needs to pass the rites of manhood, she finds the Creator may have use for her feminine traits after all.
Upon reading the blurb for this book, I thought it would be interesting. A girl who must disguise herself as a boy or she would be killed. I can only imagine the struggle that would ensue. Tiadone was born female, but she was claimed as male so that she could live (as firstborn females are put to death otherwise). We follow her as she takes the steps to become a productive member of society through specialized training with weapons and intermingling with the other boys turning to men. Except Tiadone must hide all her female traits to be accepted. And she never really feels truly accepted. Why would she? She's female and grows breasts and has her first bleed while training.
I have to say that the story was an interesting one, but really there's not much to it. You follow Tiadone through her required service, but nothing truly happens. She finds herself attracted to some of the boys around her, but knows she can't act on it for fear of being put to death and causing her family shame and imprisonment. I was rather bored for most of the book waiting for something to happen. It's quite repetitive in it's descriptions.
I really couldn't connect with any of the character, even the main one. She was quite flat and to be honest, I didn't really feel or see her change all that much (even thought the story drags you through her changes in her life). I did see her become stronger, but other than that, she spent much of the time confused. She has an interesting relationship with her bird, Mirko.
The book is well written with detailed descriptions of the landscape and characters. The world building is well done, although I do question some of the motives behind the people who have condemned Tiadones people to give up their firstborn girl. The chapters are rather short, so the book gives nice places to put it down and pick it back up easily. The book is very bound in gendercide as well as religious beliefs and how people are persecuted for them.
The ending was a bit disappointing for me. I like the Tiadone comes into herself, but there is so much left unsaid and undone, I feel like it needed a better wrap up for me. It was rather lackluster. For those who enjoy a dystopian type/fantasy read this might be up your ally but beware the very religious undertones.
Blurb from Goodreads:
Tiadone has been forced to live her entire life as a female accepted as male in her community in order to survive as a firstborn child. But when she needs to pass the rites of manhood, she finds the Creator may have use for her feminine traits after all.
Upon reading the blurb for this book, I thought it would be interesting. A girl who must disguise herself as a boy or she would be killed. I can only imagine the struggle that would ensue. Tiadone was born female, but she was claimed as male so that she could live (as firstborn females are put to death otherwise). We follow her as she takes the steps to become a productive member of society through specialized training with weapons and intermingling with the other boys turning to men. Except Tiadone must hide all her female traits to be accepted. And she never really feels truly accepted. Why would she? She's female and grows breasts and has her first bleed while training.
I have to say that the story was an interesting one, but really there's not much to it. You follow Tiadone through her required service, but nothing truly happens. She finds herself attracted to some of the boys around her, but knows she can't act on it for fear of being put to death and causing her family shame and imprisonment. I was rather bored for most of the book waiting for something to happen. It's quite repetitive in it's descriptions.
I really couldn't connect with any of the character, even the main one. She was quite flat and to be honest, I didn't really feel or see her change all that much (even thought the story drags you through her changes in her life). I did see her become stronger, but other than that, she spent much of the time confused. She has an interesting relationship with her bird, Mirko.
The book is well written with detailed descriptions of the landscape and characters. The world building is well done, although I do question some of the motives behind the people who have condemned Tiadones people to give up their firstborn girl. The chapters are rather short, so the book gives nice places to put it down and pick it back up easily. The book is very bound in gendercide as well as religious beliefs and how people are persecuted for them.
The ending was a bit disappointing for me. I like the Tiadone comes into herself, but there is so much left unsaid and undone, I feel like it needed a better wrap up for me. It was rather lackluster. For those who enjoy a dystopian type/fantasy read this might be up your ally but beware the very religious undertones.