Sadie Hawkins Sunday Review #18: Review: Finnikin of the Rock

Finnikin of the Rock
Lumatere Chronicles, Book 1

Author: Melina Marchetta
Pages: 399
Publisher: Candlewick
Read: June 15-19, 2013
Source: Library
Recommended by: Lynn (@kuro_rin01) and Steph of Cuddlebuggery

Description from Goodreads:
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.

First Sentence: "A long time ago, in the spring before the five days of the unspeakable, Finnikin of the Rock dreamed that he was to sacrifice a pound of flesh to save the royal house of Lumatere."

Review:
If you blog YA books, you can't avoid hearing about Melina Marchetta. I've had almost all of her books on my to-read list for years, just because of how good I've heard her writing is, but this is my first venture into her fiction. Finnikin of the Rock was not the book I was expecting it to be in a lot of ways, because I went in hoping for it to be the perfect book for me, and it wasn't. However, it's also a well-written book that sort of sneaks up on you, so that I went from being bored to grinning like an idiot at the end.

Usually I start with all the good stuff, but today I'm going to start with the flaw: the beginning of Finnikin of the Rock is slow and boring, at least if you're a character reader like me. There's a lot of journeying, vignettes of travel and the political situation of these realms with very little characterization. If you get off on world building, then the first hundred pages might be fascinating, but until I care about the characters I don't give much of a shit about the world, so it's just something to be got through. Of course, this is super common in epic and high fantasy, which do have a lot of world building to do, but the characterization in Finnikin felt like it moved especially slowly.

Though I never got super feelsy about Finnikin, Evanjelin, Froi, and the rest, they did grow on me. Only at the very end did I have any feels whatsoever, in that last chapter of awesome. Marchetta never really did go super character-focused, but the bits and pieces slowly added up into people that I cared about. Finnikin of the Rock is a book that gets better with every single page, and, from what I've heard, the whole series continues that. I much prefer a book to be a slow starter and a strong finisher than vice versa.

What Melina Marchetta does best is darkness. There are creepy and intense things that go down in this book starting on the first page, in which children cut chunks of flesh from their legs to swear an oath. So, yeah, intense. The people of Lumatere were attacked, cursed, and thrown out of their kingdom, left to the mercy of their neighbors, most of whom aren't merciful. The people of Lumatere are hardened, without hope, and ravaged by their experiences. Every single Lumateran still alive is a survivor in the truest sense of the world; they've all been through hardships and are scarred one, mentally and/or physically. Even the heroes and heroines of Finnikin of the Rock are not pure and perfect: they lie, they kill, one even attempts a rape.

It is into this bleak landscape that the reader arrives. Finnikin has been called to pick up a novice from a far temple. This novice, Evanjalin, claims that she has walked the dreams of Balthazar, who would be king if he truly lived. Finnikin and Topher, the right hand man of the king that was, escort Evanjalin on a mission to rebuild Lumatere, slowly assembling the people and preparing to make war on the imposter king who took the throne. As hope grows, the people come out of their shells and the characterization picks up.

[Let's sidebar briefly and talk about how dark the book is. You may notice that I've tagged this review adult, rather than young adult, because Finnikin of the Rock really doesn't read like a young adult book to me. This is not because of the intense subject matter (I think teens can handle way more than we generally give them credit for), but because nothing in the book really seems to delve into issues of being a teenager. Though Finnikin and Evanjalin may be teenagers (I'm honestly not sure just how old they are), they are adults in their world, mature and responsible for their own lives. Of course, defining young adult fiction is pretty much impossible, but I felt I should mention it, because I found the YA designation puzzling; if you have insights, I'd be happy to discuss them.]

Despite all the darkness, there is a thin vein of humor and lightness. Much of it is the sort of humor that men of war will engage in, a sort of gallows humor and ribbing of compatriots. The romance too is a source of humor and light, as both parties pretend disinterest while fooling absolutely no one. Marchetta keeps the romance very low key, but still manages to convey a powerful sense of longing and a strong connection, even if it does initially seem to burgeon out of nowhere.

The last chapter of Finnikin of the Rock was just about the most adorable thing ever. If I could write up the whole thing for my favorite quote, I WOULD. After the darkness of the book, it's fluffy and light and full of banter and just the most adorable thing in the world. I LOVE it. Also, I gather that Finnikin and company will be big players in book two, but that it will follow Froi as the main character, which sounds super awesome.

Though I'm not sure if Finnikin of the Rock is the ideal first Marchetta experience, it's well worth reading for a patient reader. By the end, I want nothing more than to read the next one, though that will have to wait a few weeks.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote: "'Oh, that leaders of kingdoms should feel the pain of every one of their citizens who they send out to fight their wars.'"

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Up Next:

The next Sadie Hawkins Sunday book will be Death Watch by Ari Berk, chosen by the bullying Kara of Great Imaginations. Seriously, you tell her that her book is up soon and she'll ask DAILY when you're reading it. Sheesh. What a jerk!*

*Just kidding. I love her.

Want to tell me what to read? Fill out the following form with a suggestion! For more details, check this post.