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A review by gabbiest
Secondborn by Amy A. Bartol
3.0
This was my Kindle First pick for July. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got. Secondborn is a set in a government divided by nine fates, each with their own unique function, and ruled by first born children. Second born children are "transitioned" into lives of supporting and serving the first born, and they can only elevate their status if their older sibling dies or if they win the second born trials.
Roselle, the main character, is the second born daughter of the Clarity of Swords (essentially the ruler of the military) and because she is a threat to her first born brother, is transitioned out to the front lines of a war with the rebellion. She is very attractive and draws attention wherever she goes. Everyone seems to be either out to kill her or control her. Roselle has rare moments where she makes decisions for herself, but mostly she does whatever the closest person to her tells her to do. I understand that being young can mean you're easily influenced, but it bothered me how wishy-washy she could be.
Another problem I had with this book was that it seemed like it was taking many elements from various popular YA books and mashing them together. For example, the fates are similar to factions in Divergent, or Roselle does some press conferences and has an flamboyant assistant who dresses her that is eerily similar to Cinna from The Hunger Games. There are even cyborg hounds similar to the mutant hounds at the end of Hunger Games.There is a point in the middle where it moves from one element to the next without any real plot or direction.
There is also a good deal of political dealings in this book that can be interesting at times, but we never find out how things were established into the fates and firstborn rule. I would have liked to understand more about it as I felt like the book only scratched the surface when it was touched on.
I'm not thrilled about the way the book turned out, but it was still entertaining, so I gave it three out of five stars. I'd be open to reading a second book if there is another one.
Roselle, the main character, is the second born daughter of the Clarity of Swords (essentially the ruler of the military) and because she is a threat to her first born brother, is transitioned out to the front lines of a war with the rebellion. She is very attractive and draws attention wherever she goes. Everyone seems to be either out to kill her or control her. Roselle has rare moments where she makes decisions for herself, but mostly she does whatever the closest person to her tells her to do. I understand that being young can mean you're easily influenced, but it bothered me how wishy-washy she could be.
Another problem I had with this book was that it seemed like it was taking many elements from various popular YA books and mashing them together. For example, the fates are similar to factions in Divergent, or Roselle does some press conferences and has an flamboyant assistant who dresses her that is eerily similar to Cinna from The Hunger Games. There are even cyborg hounds similar to the mutant hounds at the end of Hunger Games.There is a point in the middle where it moves from one element to the next without any real plot or direction.
There is also a good deal of political dealings in this book that can be interesting at times, but we never find out how things were established into the fates and firstborn rule. I would have liked to understand more about it as I felt like the book only scratched the surface when it was touched on.
I'm not thrilled about the way the book turned out, but it was still entertaining, so I gave it three out of five stars. I'd be open to reading a second book if there is another one.