Finnkin Of The Rock by Melina Marchetta

Released: September 29th, 2008

Publisher: Viking (Australia) 
Pages: 416
Rating: 5/5

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he 
must sacrifice a pound of flesh in order to save the royal house of his homeland, Lumatere.

And so he stands on the rock of three wonders with his childhood friend Prince Balthazar and the prince's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood. And Lumatere is safe.

Until the 'five days of the unspeakable', when the King and Queen and their children are slaughtered in the palace. And an imposter king takes the throne.
And a curse is put on Lumatere, which traps those caught inside and forces thousands of others to roam the land as exiles, dying of fever and persecution in foreign camps.

But ten years later Finnikin is led to another rock to meet the young novice, Evanjalin. A girl plagued by dark dreams, who holds the key to their return to the Land of light...


Hallelujah! This book was AMAZING, definitely one of the best books I have ever read! Marchetta has created a believable fantastical world in her book Finnikin of the Rock. As soon as I started reading I was absorbed into the action and I can't wait to read more about Finnikin's world. This book picked me up for a whirlwind ride and before I knew it I was done and wanting more.


Everything about this book was just phenomenal. It had me going on a crazy roller coaster of emotions and I actually cried in some parts! Finnikin Of The Rock is the first and only novel I have read by the Aussie author, Melina Marchetta. Her writing is amazing. She has a way with words that is sometimes lyrical and yet very rich and descriptive. The characters in this book are strong and their personalities are clear. The world that the story is set in is well built and believable. The differences between people living so close, and yet the just on the other side of a border are so similar to those in real life.


The story-line goes along quite quickly with twists and turns aplenty. The story probably goes longer than it should, to leave the readers with a happy ending but I like that it does this. I'm not very imaginative so I want to know how the characters end up. I'm not a big fan of loose ends and I can't think of any from this book.
Overall Finnikin of the Rock deserves the highest rating possible in my opinion, so I'm giving it 5 stars out of 5. I recommend it to lovers of adventure,coming-of-age and just a little bit of romance.