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Reviewed by Brit Rossie for Readers' Favorite
The First Singers by Kat Doughty introduces us to the rapidly changing world of Teena, who on her 18th birthday receives a piece of cake, a watch, and an opportunity to implement a survival strategy since it’s a tradition to be hunted by the other children in the orphanage-style base she has lived on her whole life. She just has to survive for 12 hours - if she does, she gets to return to the base and ultimately go to The Island with the other survivors. But during the hunt she encounters a boy, a Feral, and everything she has learned about people who live outside (and even inside) the base gets turned upside down. With the assistance of her new friend, she learns that beneath the facade of her peaceful upbringing, a bigger plan - much darker and more sinister than she could ever imagine - is unfolding. By accident, she makes a discovery that could thwart the twisted plan, but the odds are strongly against her implementing it.
The First Singers is an incredibly creative story with otherworldly characters and traits, and believable and captivating human characters. This story really sets the stage and builds the wild world that our main character must learn to navigate if she is to survive with her friends. The stakes are high, the villains truly sinister, and the obstacles to overcome are difficult. The Asin are incredibly creative villains and using children is always spectacularly dark and evil. The book has a great heroine and supporting cast. The romance was not my favorite aspect. Normally I like a good balance of adventure plot and romance plot, but the dystopian survival aspect of this novel won me over way more than the romantic sub-plots did.
