FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK (Melina Marchetta)

Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years.  Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse.  But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.
Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir.  As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance . . . and her hope.  He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again.  And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside.  He even believes he will find his imprisoned father.
But Evanjalin is not what she seems.  And the truth will test not only Finnikin's faith in her . . . but in himself.

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.

Now on the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, who was a child when the royal family of Lumatere was brutally murdered and replaced by an imposter, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere.