The Piper's Son
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication Date: 3/8/11
Publisher: Candlewick Press

Blurb (GR): Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it's Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can't forget. Shooting for oblivion, he's hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom's in no shape to mend what's broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper's Son redefines what it means to go home again.

Review:

I don't know how Melina Marchetta does it - takes a story that seems so soap-operish and turns it into something so honest and real.

Let me tell you what The Piper's Son is all about. Tom Mackee is a complete mess. His beloved uncle died 2 years ago, his father is lost somewhere, undoubtedly drunk, his mother and sister left his dad and moved to another state. Tom has been for years and still is lost and lonely. He takes drugs, he abandoned his friends, he betrayed the girl he loved, he dropped out of uni. All is bad until he hits the rock bottom and is forced to move in with his aunt Georgie who has a whole set of problems of her own - she is pregnant by the man who hurt her in the worst possible way, she is full of grief and despair. How will these people pull themselves together?

In someone else's hands such a plot can turn into cheap melodrama. But somehow Marchetta makes it a truly great story of pain, grief, betrayal, forgiveness and love. She just has this great way with words. You know how people often like to advise authors - "show not tell," well, Marchetta is a master of showing. It's not what her characters say, but what they do and how they do it that gives me goosebumps, or makes my heart ache or my eyes well up with tears.

I want to take a moment here to say how much I adore the cover of the Australian edition of the novel

It represents the mood of the story so well - Tom's loneliness and isolation are so palpable!

On the other hand, I despise American colorful cover which has nothing to do whatsoever with what is inside this book.

The Piper's Son is not my favorite Melina Marchetta book, Saving Francesca is. And Tom is not my favorite Marchetta boy, that title belongs to Jonah Griggs. But I loved this novel. I loved revisiting Francesca, Will and their relationship. I loved Justine and her violinist (will she ever call him BTW, or they need to get their own book to finally get together?). I loved watching Tom change and make up for his crappy behavior. But my favorite part was undoubtedly Georgie and Sam's story, it was heart-breakingly beautiful.

The Piper's Son was all I expected from the author. I can't wait to read it again and again...

5/5 stars

Saving Francesca
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication Date: 9/28/04
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Blurb (GR): Francesca used to think her biggest problem was transferring to St. Sebastian's--a school only recently turned coed: "What a dream come true, right? Seven hundred and fifty boys and thirty girls? But the reality is that it's either like living in a fish bowl or like you don't exist."

But now there's this matter of her usually vibrant and annoyingly optimistic mother Mia refusing to get up in the morning. Her taciturn father doesn't have much to say on the subject, her beloved little brother Luca is anxiously looking to her for answers, and her so-called friends from her old neighborhood seem to have abandoned her. So, Francesca keeps it all inside--her frustration with school (there aren't enough girl's bathrooms and no girl's sports teams); her fear making new friends (with the few girls who do go to St. Sebastian's); and her overwhelming hatred of the smug Will Trombal, who despite being completely infuriating, is also incredibly cute. Keeping this to herself when all she wants to do is spill it to her mother is killing Francesca, but with Mia trying to make herself well again, Francesca will have to figure out how to save herself.

Review:

Within just a few days (and books) Melina Marchetta has become one of my favorite YA writers. Just like my other favorite author E. Lockhart, she writes about teens and she knows what she is talking about, unlike some YA authors who should not be named.

Let's take Saving Francesca. The story is set in St. Sebastian - a not so long ago all-male school that just recently turned co-ed. You might expect this book to be quite a romp - this school at first appears to be a paradise for girls with male to female ratio of 25 to 1. But Marchetta knows better. St. Sebastian is a deeply sexist place where girls are either completely ignored or viewed as sexual objects. Neither are the boys portrayed as suave sex gods (as seems to be the trend these days). They are quite obnoxious, sometimes infuriating, and stinky creatures with (maybe) some redeeming qualities.

Francesca Spinelli is one of the "lucky" 30 girls. She is having a tough time. She doesn't have any friends in her new school and acquiring new girl friends out of so few is not easy. Plus, her mother, the rock of her family, suddenly succumbs to an acute depression.

Saving Francesca is about Francesca's journey to find her strength and save herself from despair, to find friendships in the most unexpected places and maybe love.

The book covers all familiar topics from Marchetta's other novels. It is about mothers and daughters, friendships, finding strength in yourself. It is full of humor and honest emotion. It is funny and it is heartbreaking.

I enjoyed every sentence of it.

5/5 stars

Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication Date: 8/26/08
Publisher: Harper Teen

Blurb (GR): "What do you want from me?" he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. More.

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.

In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

Review:

I don't often give books 5-star ratings. Normally these are the books that either horrify me (Unwind, The Handmaid's Tale) or delight me with superb writing (The Queen of Attolia, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks) or awe me with imaginative world building (The Left Hand of Darkness) or make me cry (Before I Die). Jellicoe Road definitely falls into this last "made-me-weep" category.

Jellicoe Road is the location of a boarding school for kids that are often neglected or with criminal tendencies. Taylor Markham is residing in the school because her mother had abandoned her at the age of 11 at a nearby 7-Eleven. Now Taylor is 17 and unexpectedly selected to be the school's leader in the game of territory wars with the Townies (locals from a tiny neighboring town) and Cadets (who spend several weeks a year in the Australian wilderness). Taylor is not sure she can handle the responsibility. She is uneasy more than ever - her mentor and friend Hannah disappears and Taylor is sure it has something to do with her mother; Jonah Griggs, a Cadet who she has a shared past with, is back and seems to know her all too well; she is plagued by dreams of a young boy who attempts to tell her something. What follows is Taylor's journey through the past and present to uncover the reasons why and how she was abandoned by her mother.

As always, it is hard for me to explain what I like about a 5-star book, but I'll try. Melina Marchetta draws characters that are deep, complex, and real. The relationships among them are touching - more than anything I think, this book is about the power of friendship and, boy, there are some magnificent examples of friendship in this book! The book is also about grief, guilt, forgiveness and, of course, love.

If I am forced to point out any flaws in this book, I'd say the writing some might find confusing in the beginning. It takes a few pages to figure out what is a dream and what is a page from a story Taylor is reading; what is from present and what is from the past. But soon enough all pieces of the puzzle fall together and you are faced with a deep, meaningful and heartbreaking story.

Another thing that might bother readers is that some characters go through a lot of tragic events, sometimes too many. However, the story never becomes overly melodramatic or emotionally manipulative IMO.

Jellicoe Road is a remarkable work of YA fiction and rightfully deserves the Printz award it was given in 2009. I have no doubt I will read Marchetta's books in future.

5/5 stars

Eona: The Last Dragoneye (Eon, #2)
Author: Alison Goodman
Publication Date: 3/29/12
Publisher: Firebird

Blurb (GR): Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power-and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic only Alison Goodman could create.

Review:
If you liked Eon: Dragoneye Reborn and your eyes didn't glaze over every time you read about Eona uniting with her dragon, easing into her mind-sight, channeling her Hua and so forth, I don't see any reason for you to dislike this novel. I really don't.

I feel like every issue I had with the 1st book of this duology was successfully fixed or improved upon in this sequel.

Eona, unlike its predecessor, has no info-dumping. Instead, it is a quest-type adventure in which Eona attempts to save her home country and in the process learn to control her newly acquired immense power.

It is also a very personal story. The time is no longer spent on extensive world-building, but on Eona's exploration of her power as both a Dragoneye and a woman.

Of course, everything is messy. With great power comes great responsibility - how much violence is justified in war? what is the rightful cause to use one's power against another person's will? who can be trusted with limitless access to power? and what can power do to a person who possesses it?

The romance story line is no less complicated - romantic relationships are convoluted by mistrust, fear of deception, power imbalances, questions of morality, loyalty and honor.

Every decision Eona has to make is ambiguous and difficult and requiring serious sacrifices, just the way I like them.

But the best part of the book for me was the fact that when I started it, I was sure it would simply be about saving the Empire of Celestial Dragons from Sethon, but it turned out to be much more than that, sort of like in Shadowfever (Note: no other similarities! So don't hold this comparison against me later on, ok?)

I am thoroughly impressed by this intelligent, complex and thoughtful story. Highly recommend it, unless, of course, you can't stand fantasy, dragons and heavy world building.

5/5 stars

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)
Author: Alison Goodman
Publication Date: 8/31/10
Publisher: Firebird

Blurb (GR): Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life.

Review:
When it comes to fantasy, I am a fan of the softer, girlier type, heavy on romance and relationships and lighter on mythology, magic and dragons. That's why it is such a surprise I liked this book so much, because Eon: Dragoneye Reborn is very mythology-oriented and prone to frequent info-dumping (especially in the beginning).

At first, the story is reminiscent of Alanna: The First Adventure. Eon(a) is a 16-year old girl who pretends to be a 12-year old boy in order to have a chance of becoming a Dragoneye - an apprentice to one of the 12 dragons. The Dragoneye help channel and manipulate the dragons' energies. Eona has to conceal her sex because only men are allowed to be the Dragoneye and if her true identity is found out, her death is imminent.

Soon, however, the story becomes something 10 times more exciting than Tamora Pierce ever offered. Once the day when the ascending dragon chooses his new apprentice approaches, Eona finds herself at a center of a complex political intrigue that threatens the future of the whole country. She has to make alliances, she has to pick the side she wants to be on, she has to make some tough decisions.

Although I admit, I missed the romance and some tear-inducing moments in this book, the impeccable, magnificent world created by Alison Goodman completely captured my imagination and made me forget about the slight deficiencies in characterization. The world of the Empire of the Celestial Dragons is simply a magical mix of Chinese mythology and astrology, Feng Shui, Tai Chi meditation and various aspect of many Eastern cultures! It is is very ceremonious, very precise and measured. I particularly liked the whole concept of dragons that are essentially bodiless energies rather that fire-spitting reptiles. And the book cover is simply perfect fit for this story, it's an epitome of how I imagine the world of Eon. Isn't it gorgeous?

And don't let me forget to mention the gender-bender twists in this book. Not every YA novel has cross-dressers, transsexuals and eunuchs in it!

Can't wait for the sequel!

4/5 stars

Singing the Dogstar Blues
Author: Alison Goodman
Publication Date: 4/12/12
Publisher: Firebird

Blurb (GR): Seventeen-year-old Joss is a rebel and a student of time travel. This year, an alien student, Mavkel, from the planet Choria, has chosen Joss as his study partner. Can this very different pair manage to live together--even learn from each other?

Review:
Singing the Dogstar Blues is that rare specimen of YA fiction called science fiction. That's right, not dystopia or rather dystopian romance, not sci-fi romance, but real deal sci-fi. There are no love triangles in it, no angst, no moping around boys. Gee, no wonder nobody read it. My library book was bought 6 years and looks as if nobody ever even touched it.

Joss Aaronson is a 1st year student at a time travel school. She is about to be paired up with her permanent TT partner who would accompany her on all her adventures. Her partner turns out to be the first alien admitted to the TT school Mavkel. For some reason he feels Joss is his perfect mate. Mavkel's race is deeply dual. Its species live in telepathically connected pairs. Mavkel needs to establish a psychic connection with Joss without which he can't exist. After several failed attempts to connect, the couple's last resort is to travel back into the past to seek the missing ingredient to assist their union.

Great things about Singing the Dogstar Blues:

1) time travel! - I craved more of it though.

2) aliens! - Mavkel is the cutest alien with a fab personality and the whole concept of his society is very curious.

3) futuristic setting! - loved the cyberpunky feel of it.

4) emphasis on developing of friendship instead of romance!

5) a heroine who kicks ass and who is rebellious without being annoying.

6) mystery! - yes, an actual mystery involving assassins, sperm donors and DNA.

I mean, what's not to like here? Why aren't there more books like this? It is always such a pleasure to read teen books that are both entertaining, light and not dumb. I can't read Le Guin's complex and thought-provoking sci-fi all the time, right? Some fun teen sci-fi is necessary too.
 
4/5 star

The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Publication Date: 3/14/06
Publisher: Knopf

Blurb (GR): It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. 


Review:
I find it so exciting that every book is its own adventure. Though each of them is merely a cover and pieces of paper, the author has filled it with words that make it unique and the reader has only vague ideas of what might be coming in the hours of reading ahead. This book has been haunting me foryears. I attempted to read it several times and ended up just putting it down but since my new book club picked it for our first meeting, I was somewhat obligated to finish it. I'm extremely glad I did. 

This novel, narrated by Death itself, tells the story of a young German girl, Liesel Meiminger, growing up during the Holocaust/WWII era. She starts her life with her mother and brother and we follow her journey as a foster child in a small town outside Munich. Though this book is labeled young adult, for reasons completely unknown to me (perhaps merely the fact that Liesel is a child?), I definitely enjoyed it as literature. Then again, you'd never hear me utter a blasphemous word about the young adult genre--as it stands, I find myself reading about 70% young adult literature these days. I guess the point I am trying (horribly) to make here is that it saddens me that perhaps less people will have easy access or hear of this book (or the many, many other AMAZING young adult books) because of marketing and chosen publishing audiences. 

The narration of this book took a little getting used to, but once I was with the program, I found Death's asides to be some of my favorite parts of the book. He (she?) filled me in with those details that might be left hanging in other books. Death also left a lot of vivid imagery for my imagination, though Liesel and Max's relationship was what brought me the most pleasure from this story. I found the descriptions of the clouds lovely and the thought of the brightness of the stars blinding Max was rather poignant. 

It was definitely interesting reading a story from the German aspect of WWII. Though I am doubtful that any story relating to the atrocities of the Holocaust can actually be termed "accessible," I thought Zusak did a great job of describing what one girl's life during that period could've encompassed. I loved her friendship with Rudy and the characters in the neighborhood were perfect--every neighborhood has people like each of them. 

The most meaningful part of this book to me was the way it nailed the wonders of being a reader. Mark Twain once said, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." Liesel was on a mission to learn to read and her journey of learning and then of actually reading certain stories defined a lot of her experiences. Reading is powerful, just look at how much influence Hitler had with Mein Kampf. (sorry to state the obvious) Not a day goes by that I don't think of at least one idea from a book I've read or about what I want to read next. There is an unlimited supply of adventures out there for those that are looking for something--I'm only saddened by the fact that more people don't realize what they are missing. 

5/5 stars

A Little Wanting Song (aka Chasing Charlie Duskin)
Author: Cath Crowley
Publication Date: 6/8/10
Publisher: Knopf

Blurb (GR):
A summer of friendship, romance, and songs in major chords. . . 

CHARLIE DUSKIN loves music, and she knows she's good at it. But she only sings when she's alone, on the moonlit porch or in the back room at Old Gus's Secondhand Record and CD Store. Charlie's mom and grandmother have both died, and this summer she's visiting her grandpa in the country, surrounded by ghosts and grieving family, and serving burgers to the local kids at the milk bar. She's got her iPod, her guitar, and all her recording equipment, but she wants more: A friend. A dad who notices her. The chance to show Dave Robbie that she's not entirely unspectacular.

ROSE BUTLER lives next door to Charlie's grandfather and spends her days watching cars pass on the freeway and hanging out with her troublemaker boyfriend. She loves Luke but can't wait to leave their small country town. And she's figured out a way: she's won a scholarship to a science school in the city, and now she has to convince her parents to let her go. This is where Charlie comes in. Charlie, who lives in the city, and whom Rose has ignored for years. Charlie, who just might be Rose's ticket out.

Told in alternating voices and filled with music, friendship, and romance, Charlie and Rose's "little wanting song" is about the kind of longing that begins as a heavy ache but ultimately makes us feel hopeful and wonderfully alive. 

Review:
“We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep and the air felt heavy with maybe.”

The Aussies hit it out of the park again. Seriously, I’m beginning to wonder if there is something in the water down under that allows them to produce amazing YA lit. (or maybe all of it is put through a strainer and only the best of the best is published in the US—either way, I haven’t read a bad Aussie YA book yet) And I can’t wait to get my grubby hands on Graffiti Moon. 

Charlotte (Charlie) Duskin has been going to stay in her grandparents’ town every summer since she was young. Though she lost her mother several years earlier, her grandmother recently passed away and her father and grandfather are still mourning their losses. Charlie always saw Rose, Dave, and Luke playing around town but was never a part of their fun. Before she left the city for the summer, she had a huge fight with her best friend and was embarrassed in front of tons of her peers. She’s looking for an escape.

Rose Butler feels stuck. She’s lived in the same small town forever and, though she loves her family and her two best friends, she wants to go to school in the city. After taking an entry exam and winning a scholarship, her summer plan is to befriend Charlie Duskin and then return to stay with her family so she can attend the school. Only no one knows about Rose’s plan…and there’s that lovely hump of an entire childhood of being a total jerk to get over.

This author takes several of my pet peeves and then serves them back to me on a silver platter. And they tasted like enchiladas….mmm, enchiladas. We’ve got shifting narrators—usually, this is a major buzzkill for me but I smiled over and over when the author replayed the same conversation from the other side. And a musical theme—I usually tire of that after a chapter or two. I get it, you like the GD guitar. Here, it was endearing. Charlie’s personality and the song lyrics (which are interspersed in the text) are just lovely. I especially loved her snark—“tell anyone who doesn’t like it to shove it up their arse.” 

When it comes down to it, this book is between 4 and 5 stars for me but I'm feeling especially happy after reading it so BAM! 5 stars it is. 

5/5 stars

Froi of the Exiles
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication Date: 3/13/12
Publisher: Candlewick Press

Blurb (GR): Blood sings to blood, Froi . . .
Those born last will make the first . . .
For Charyn will be barren no more.

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home... Or so he believes...

Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.

And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Gripping and intense, complex and richly imagined, Froi of the Exiles is a dazzling sequel to Finnikin of the Rock, from the internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, On the Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son.

Review:
Finnikin of the Rock was a fine fantasy novel in itself, but I think there is more of everything in its sequel. There is more heartache, more pain, more adventure, more mystery, more secrets, more magic, more intrigue and more madness.

Three years after the breaking of the Lumateran curse Froi is sent to neighboring Charyn on a revenge mission. What first is thought to be a simple avenge-and-escape task, quickly becomes something more when Froi learns of a curse hanging over Charyn, a curse that is even more horrifying than the Lumateran one. And the person who seems to suffer the most because of it is the half-mad Princess of Charyn Quintana. Hers is the unbearable and thankless burden to save the country which is about to explode from the inside.

Now, I will refrain from saying more about the plot to stay away from inadvertently revealing secrets and plot twists. Trust me, there are many. But I will tease you with a few things: Quintana - she broke my heart, a poor girl who has to serve her land by doing things most degrading; Lucian - I was ashamed of him in the beginning, I was in pain for him in the end; Froi - he has become a man of wondrous strength and depth and he might have met his match - someone of equal passion and darkness of soul. These are only a few familiar characters that took possession of my heart, but there are more, equally fierce and unforgettable - a couple of old men with dark pasts, a defiant whore, a stuttering idiot girl who finds her worth in spite of everyone calling her useless.

It won't be a proper Melina Marchetta book review if I don't mention how much I cried over it. And, of course, I did quite a bit. I cried because I felt shame and of pity and in triumph.

Froi of the Exiles is a huge book. It is so big, I am actually surprised it wasn't split into two, because, if you look at it, the climax of the story happens at about half way point. But for such a lengthy book, it is surprisingly unputdownable and very tightly written.

You also need to know that this is only a half of the story. The cliffhanger is big, softened only by a mercifully hopeful epilogue.

I remember Marchetta promised not more than a year between publications of Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn. I sure hope it's true. I foresee this wait to be quite agonizing.

5/5 stars

Finnikin of the Rock
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication Date: 2/9/10
Publisher: Candlewick Press

Blurb (GR): At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere.

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere's walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock--to meet Evanjalin, a young novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere, is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilously toward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day rise united? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will test Finnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

In a bold departure from her acclaimed contemporary novels, Printz Medalist Melina Marchetta has crafted an epic fantasy of ancient magic, feudal intrigue, romance, and bloodshed that will rivet you from the first page.

Review:
My second reading of Finnikin of the Rock and I am changing my mind - 5 stars!

Now, when I have more fantasy under my belt to compare this book to, I am pretty confident it offers something that many others in the genre don't. This is a fantasy that is not drowned in clunky, 1000-pages long world-building, this is a book about people. People whose country is torn into pieces, people exiled from their homeland, lost, damaged, abused men, women and children. As a story of a displaced, broken nation that fights to rebuild itself Finnikin of the Rock is almost without a flaw.

But of course there is more to love. All the nuances of the narrative, plot lines that make Melina's works so rich - there is a love story in which a couple struggle for the upper hand in their young relationship; there are scenes of friendship and loyalty; there are intricacies of the relationships between fathers and sons, respect, pride and competitiveness all tangled; there is a heartbreak of a love once powerful but now sullied by years of violence and abuse; there is an enemy, despicable and crass, but now not reformed but changed; there are strong men and there are even stronger women. It's hard to list it all, but Melina writes everything with such power, managing to break your heart with a sentence, a word, a glance.

I still think the pacing could have been better though. The climax, the high point of the story, is simply too short, too understated. There is not enough feeling of a lot being at stake, it lacks danger and excitement.

However, there are so many other things about Finnikin of the Rock I loved that I am happy to overlook the obvious flaws, to stick to my 5 stars and to wait for Froi of the Exiles with eager anticipation.

5/5 stars