2008 Printz Award Winner Melina Marchetta crafts an epic fantasy of ancient magic, exile, feudal intrigue, and romance that rivets from the first page. Finnikin was only a child during the five days of the unspeakable, when the royal family of Lumatere were brutally murdered, and an imposter seized the throne. Now a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere’s walls, and those who escaped roam the surrounding lands as exiles, persecuted and despairing, dying by the thousands in fever camps. In a narrative crackling with the tension of an imminent storm, Finnikin, now on the cusp of manhood, is compelled to join forces with an arrogant and enigmatic young novice named Evanjalin, who claims that her dark dreams will lead the exiles to a surviving royal child and a way to pierce the cursed barrier and regain the land of Lumatere. But Evanjalin’s unpredictable behavior suggests that she 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.
I heard such wonderful things about this book, but it fell short for me. First I shall start with the positives. The world building and characters were wonderful for a YA fantasy novel. The beginning cryptic prologue involving three boys and blood oaths really had me captivated from the start. At one point I could barely put this novel down while at work because the description of the land, the history of the people, and the puzzling characters had me so engrossed.
But then.... it just started to become uninteresting. Despite not much happening at times, I was still drawn to the story because a lot was being revealed throughout their journey. Yet despite all that, I still felt something was lacking. Maybe it didn't work for me near the end because I started reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson before finishing this novel. And I probably began to compare them. This story just stopped flowing for me somewhere in the middle and I began to lose interest in what happened to the people of Lumatare. So overall this was an enjoyable read. Just make sure you don't compare it to something as epic and fantastic as Mistborn because it will fall short. It did for me. This is a good YA fantasy novel though despite its shortcomings. I would start with this one if you would like to jump into YA fantasy.
