Okay, so I'll be honest, this wasn't at all what I thought it would be. I'd like to say it was so much better, but I think I'd be lying. I was fairly convinced that this book would be a dystopian type setting. Which it kind of was. But I almost feel like it wanted to be more of a reality type, not fairy tale I mean. I still enjoyed it. Some of Grover's details did throw me off a bit. I loved the interaction between Tia and Mirko. The bond was really kind of cool. All in all, I'd give it a solid 3.75 stars. I might read her work should she choose to continue writing. That's all. It took a seriously long time to get into this book. I considered leaving it unfinished, several times, but pushed ahead and in the end, I was glad I did finish it.The saving grace was the bond Tiadone had with her raptor-type bird, Mirko. Their relationship and communication was the best part of this book for me.Other than that...the majority of this book was many pages of semi-boring endless days on guard duty at the edge of a desert mesa. The setting made me think of a central or South American tribe, or even some sort of Native American tribe in New Mexico or Arizona, several hundred years ago. There is obviously an element of magic/fantasy, with the rapion/human bonds and visions and things, which I enjoyed. But it was just so graphic and gruesome. I really didn't need to be grossed out on every page with vivid descriptions of how dusty, sweaty, and dirty these characters are...their matted, dirty hair...eating grey slop for every meal...catching snakes and lizards and gutting them and ripping out bloody entrails for their birds to snack on...it was just yucky. And that's not even getting into graphic details of a female character getting her first period, or a villain character spitting a big gob of spit that slides right between her toes. So very disgusting. I would've enjoyed this book so much more if I'd been spared many/most of these details. (There's a reason most books don't detail the characters' every visit to the bathroom!)Also, I was left with so many questions. I think if many of these questions had been answered, and incorporated into the plot, there would have been so much more action and interest. How did the Madronians conquer Tiadone's people? Is there a rebellion anywhere? What's the deal with the rapion and all the complicated rules around them? What lies at the edge of the desert/perimeter? For the sake of these questions, I do hope there is a sequel. I would read it, in the hopes that much of the boring inaction and graphic details were cut out and we would get on with the actual story much more quickly. (Because there wasn't much of a story, if any, in this book...it's basically a year in the mandatory guard-duty life of a girl who is forced to live as a boy.)
What do You think about Firstborn (2014)?
Quite drawn into this story, more than I thought I would be.
—lizzy
One of the most ambitious YA books I've read.
—jen
