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Firstborn, by Lorie Ann Grover is a young adult fiction novel. There is a dystopian element to it. This book tackles the issue of female genocide, which is still prevalent in countries around the world today. In the book's dystopian world, firstborn females are sacrificed as they are not as worthy as males. The protagonist, a firstborn daughter, has been raised as a male in an effort to save her life from her society's cruel tradition. As she reaches her teens, she wrestles with her feelings and self-identification, finding frustration in living a lie, being who she is not. Without giving away the plot and story, she comes to a decision between continuing to live her lie to protect her family and culture or proving to her society the true value of woman and of her own value as a person.
The author of this book has been very outspoken about the practice of female genocide. She used Firstborn as a way for teen readers to understand the need to speak out against this cultural tradition and to help inspire them in knowing that women are strong, and as valuable as men, regardless of what society may say.
Firstborn received a Kirkus Starred Review in 2014 and was nominated for the Kirkus Prize.
This book is well worth the read for fiction lovers, educators, and those who are looking for books with strong positive female characters and a feminist message.
