At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh in order to save the royal house of his homeland, Lumatere. And so he stands on the rock of three wonders with his childhood friend Prince Balthazar and the prince's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood. And Lumatere is safe. 
 Until the 'five days of the unspeakable', when the King and Queen and their children are slaughtered in the palace. And an imposter king takes the throne. And a curse is put on Lumatere, which traps those caught inside and forces thousands of others to roam the land as exiles, dying of fever and persecution in foreign camps. 
 But ten years later Finnikin is led to another rock to meet the young novice, Evanjalin. A girl plagued by dark dreams, who holds the key to their return to the Land of light... 
 Often at times when an author is a renowned talent in their chosen genre such as Melina Marchetta, any deviation tends to result in a lack or complete failure in the magic their writing usually holds. This is absolutely, most definitely not the case with Marchetta. She manages to construct the same page turner plot line and brilliantly provocative and emotionally fueled characters in her debut diversion towards the fantasy genre in Finnikin of the Rock. As she has done countless times before with every other one of her masterpieces such as: 'Looking For Alibrandi', 'Saving Francesca' and 'On the Jellicoe Road'. 
 While the pacing within the end climatic sequences could of been picked up a little, subtly lacking the extreme high point action needed to highlight the idea behind the completely displaced and desperate people of Lumatere, fighting to regain access to their homeland again, this small fault is countered by the heart warming construction of every single character within the book and their overlapping relationships. This story is mainly about people, their identities and how they rise to the challenge against the greatest of odds. It is Marchetta's vivid depiction of characters in their times of adversity that is her literary shining glory. 
 Marchetta not only creates a remarkable male lead in the form of Finnikin of the Rock, but also brilliantly constructs a hard headed, stubborn, supremely likable and utterly mysterious and strong female lead in the form of Evangeline of the Monts. She not only serves as competition to Finnikin in smarts, values, skills and leadership, but wakes him up to the harsher realities of life and helps lead him to the road that contains his true destiny.(view spoiler)[... (hide spoiler)] Though on the other hand, she acts as his confidant, friend and eventually, a beautifully formed and not all too rushed or cliched love interest. Evanjalin's show of fierce determination to bring hope to the sick, poverty stricken, exiled people of Lumatere is truly remarkable, and the mysterious past and unspoken truths that surround her are a part of the well constructed plot that will keep you wanting to quickly turn every page until you reach the very end. (And even then you'll be hoping for more). I lived and breathed Marchetta's characters to the end and was left wishing I could live and be among them. 
 While the novel is set in the fantasy world of Skuldenore and containing an ever present undercurrent of old world magic, with complicated political alliances, extensive warring hatred between the two main introduced countries of Lumatere and Charyn, the fact that characters within the book face displacement, poverty, epidemic sickness, death, slavery and rape, the book also holds itself in the form of relating to contemporary issues, thus creating a sense of dramatic realism that Marchetta is known for. 
 This book has an ending that definitely leaves you completely satisfied, and while there is room for a sequel (to which there now is one - 'Froi of the Exiles') it can genuinely and happily be read as a stand alone novel. 
 All I can say is I will definitely be reading 'Froi of the Exiles' and any more books set in the land of Lumatere and the fanatsy world that Marchetta has created. For to spend even a minute more in Evanjalin and Finnikin's world, is time flawlessly and breathtakingly well spent. 
 Finnikin of the Rock kept me riveted with hope, redemption and its sheer brilliance. I can happily admit to claiming this is one of my absolute favourite novels, if not one of the best I have read to date so far. 
 RATING: Absolutely 5/5 stars