KDL Recommends

Finnikin of the Rock

ISBN: 0763643610

Title: Finnikin of the Rock

Author: Melina Marchetta

KDL Description:

The kingdom of Lumatere has been overpowered by an imposter and then cursed, an act which has closed the walls and left homeless those citizens who had escaped. Finnikin is the son of the head of the King’s Guard of Lumatere who grew up with the royal children, but now ten years later his life is spent traveling the neighboring countries trying to record the fate of his people. When he is introduced to Evanjelin, a mysterious girl who claims to know the location of Prince Balthazar, his childhood friend and heir to Lumatere, Finnikin and his companions face a perilous journey back to their homeland.

Amazon Description:

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.