Firstborn

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.