Finnikin of the Rock: Review

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.


I can't express my love for this book in enough words. I've been trying to form the right words over the past couple weeks, but I'm still having difficulty. It's just such a...beautiful book. I think beautiful describes the book justly. After I finished it, I wanted to hug it to my chest for a couple more hours, savoring the ending.

Finnikin of the Rock is one of the most creative fantasy books I've read. It avoids all the tropes and cliches most fantasy books have and goes straight onto my list of most favorite worlds(if I had a list). Not only does it have an original world, but it also has the best world-building. The build is steady and increases gently through the book, easing us into the book wonderfully. Some people might not like the sound of "steady" and "gently" as I know certain people want a roller coaster start. Let me soothe your worries. Finnikin is never boring. If you read the prologue, I hope you see what I mean. If you don't like the prologue, it's a sign that this book isn't for you. It's definitely a darker book; there's talk of rape and murder often. But that's honestly why I loved it. It didn't shy away from topics that authors might feel uncomfortable talking about. It not only does this, but it portrays the emotions of families affected by these treacherous offenses realistically. They feel grief, rage, and so many other feelings. They don't forgive or forget easily. The whole book actually depends on these emotions and what these emotions lead to.

The characters were all affected by the deaths of loved ones or rape. The reason why the characters appealed to me so much is that they all went through tragedy. And their tragedies all shaped and molded them into different characters. Most of the main characters, from the beginning to the end, go through some major character growth as they address their past, and I really enjoyed watching them grow. If I had to pinpoint my favorite part of the Finnikin, it would be the characters. It's impossible not to feel for the characters, because they've gone through so much. They were the reasons why I had gallons of feels throughout the book.

The reason why I think the word beautiful fits this book so well is the writing. Melina Marchetta weaves an enchanting, effortless tale. Like I mentioned, there's never a dull moment and Marchetta proves that an author can appropriately introduce a new world while also telling an interesting story.

Overall, Finnikin of the Rock is a must read for fans of fantasy. I highly, highly recommend this book. The story itself was fantastic and interesting, the world creative and original, and the characters were well-developed and engrossing to read about.