A wonderful story, not at all like anything Melina Marchetta has written before. The only way in which it is similar to her past works is that it is fabulous! A great read for anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre or wants something a bit different.

A change of style for Melina Marchetta, who also wrote Looking for Alibrandi. This is a fantasy story with a land cursed and it's inhabitants either trapped inside the borders of the country now ruled by a cruel imposter king or trapped outside forced to live a homeless existence as refugees. Finnikin and the unusual young woman Evanjalin are destined to lead their people how and rescue the inhabitants of Lumiere.

This is a very character driven fantasy, with the majority of the focus on the friendships and relationships between characters and their own personal journey, rather than on wizards, spells, elves, prophecies etc. A very enjoyable story and very quick to read, fans of Marchetta's earlier books should still enjoy this despite the change of style.