Froi of the Exiles

As seen on The ReadventurerYou know what is sad? That Froi of the Exiles is #76 on the list of most popular books released this October, while Silence is #1. Will Melina Marchetta ever get the acknowledgement she deserves? Will her publishers ever promote her books the way they deserve to be promoted? I mean, so much effort and money is put into hyping garbage, why not put it towards something worthy? Very few people I'd recommended this author's novels disliked them, so would it be really that [...]

Sometimes I feel like Marchetta books should come with a public health warning."Marchetta Fever," it would say. "Symptoms include: pain, aching or burning in the chest region indicating a broken heart.Uncontrollable weeping, both happy and sad, may occur frequently. More serious cases run the risk of having their mind blown.This condition has no known cure."That's me. That's me with every single one of these books. I went into my local bookstore to order me some Marchetta this year. Let me expla [...]

Once upon a timeI never would have thought a book could have me sobbing my heart out at four in the morning.And then Melina Marchetta wrote On the Jellicoe Road.I never would have thought I'd like traditional fantasy novels.And then Melina Marchetta wrote Finnikin of the Rock.I never would have thought characters could get any better than Finnikin and Isaboe.And then Melina Marchetta wrote Froi of the Exiles.I think that if Ms Marchetta were to ever write a bad novel, the earth would simply slip [...]

I’ve been a fan of every other Melina Marchetta book I’ve read, which is all of them, so it sort of pains me to say that Froi of the Exiles was frustrating and unsatisfying for me. I’m still going to give it three stars because even when Marchetta is (subjectively to me) not on her game, she still has a way with words that blows nearly every other YA author out of the water. Originally, I tried to keep my review entirely spoiler-free but it just wasn’t happening. There will be a few spoi [...]

My thoughts after reread : If there's something this reread taught me, it's that I can't think of a better author than Melina Marchetta to deal with a character as Froi with such honesty, depth, and respect. I won't shy away from the truth : Froi, as a 14 years-old rootless and lawless slave, attempted to rape the MC in Finnikin of the Rock, and I will never, ever, condone such awful and criminal behavior. Yet there's where Melina Marchetta's brilliance shows itself : giving Froi this book, she [...]

You know how authors say that once in a story the two main characters get together there is no point in continuing because nobody is interested in reading about them getting married, having babies and discussing about who takes the kids to school? Well, with Marchetta it doesn't work that way. Because, in fact, in this book she does tell us about the Happily Ever After. She also switches the focus of attention to some OTHER interesting characters and that's where it gets tricky, for the new char [...]

Does this book really need another glowing review? A book with 225 reviews on GoodReads alone and 4.62 average rating? What can it possibly change? Maybe not much, but yes, I believe that it does. Melina Marchetta is extraordinary. Duh. I won’t sing her praise in this review. Almost everyone who ever gave one of her books a chance knows how brilliant she is. Writing about it here seems unnecessary and a little bit silly since it’s the one thing we all agree on, regardless of our favorite amo [...]

DNF @pg 165Alright, hear me out. I liked the first book but it put me in a slump and I liked this book too, but I've been reading this for like over a week now and I really don't feel it. It isn't the books fault. It's actually a really good book and I really would love to continue reading it, but whenever I pick it up I put it back down. I simple don't want to force myself to read this because that never ends well. I don't want to have a bad and boring time reading this.I'm leaving my rating bl [...]

Authors like Melina Marchetta leave me in an uncomfortable position. As a reader, I'm overjoyed to read books such as hers since they challenge my mind, make me smile and gape alike, and steal away pieces of my heart. As a writer, however, Marchetta's books.idate me. Never before have I read work from an author that just keeps getting better and better with each successive novel (and those who have read Marchetta's debut novel, Looking for Alibrandi, know that she has never been even a mediocre [...]

Melina Marchetta was gifted with the ability to ruin my life and make me regret everything. I really appreciate it, Ms Marchetta, thank you for that, please never stop.If we forget who we lost,’ Lady Abian would tell Froi and her children, ‘then we forget who we once were, and if we forget who we once were, we lose sight of who we are now.’ Why this Book Slays Every Other Book in the World- froi gets 90% page time- a princess who is neither beautiful nor sane yet she is still wonderfully f [...]

"d he wanted to creep inside her head and join the madness."So I guess I’m kinda a fantasy fan. (But still very much a learner)Because there have now been two series I can’t get enough ofAnd it’s all to do with Double M and Ms Whalen Turner. It’s taken me a while to process this book(Once I got over the jittery caffeine shakes and stiffness of the joints)Because when I skimmed through my notes I found with dismayMy pages full of only sad faces and exclamation points. I picked it up with [...]

Buddy Read/Re-read with a great group of people at Lumatere Chronicles Group ReadSecond Read Review Dec 23 2014This Book…This Book. It has all of the emotions in it. I went from toAND OMG QUINTANA“Because I remembered your words,” she said quietly. “I remembered that you liked me least. You said it in my palace chamber. ‘Have one of the others wake me, for I like you least.’” She turned to face him and brushed tears fiercely from her face. “Sometimes when I see what’s left of Q [...]

I always have a hard time reviewing these books: the ones that aren’t read so much as frantically consumed in a whirlwind of gluttonous book hedonism. Afterward I feel like, “What just happened to me? Yesterday is such a blur…a happy, sad, angry, intense blur.” So, I’ll just apologize now, because this review probably won’t be very coherent.This book begins like a lot of Melina Marchetta books. (In fact, I might say that all of her best books begin this way.) There’s a mad jumble o [...]

Once again I find myself at a loss for words and I do believe I'm suffering from Marchetta Fever. If you've read any book by her, you may know the symptoms yourself: First it's the euphoria that sets in right after you complete the book. Then, you find yourself thinking about the book long after you finish. You have the inability to form a single, coherent thought to review the book. And in the final stages, your palms go sweaty with the need for the next book. There is a reason why Marchetta i [...]

One day, I want to do something as well as Melina Marchetta writes. I want to be able to build something even half as emotionally charming as this book. Books like these make me want to put my hardest into everything I do, because these characters and their stories touched me like nothing else has done in a long time.This. This is the real deal. This is literature. This is the kind of book that you will stay up past midnight for and not regret it. This is the kind of book that will make you thin [...]

Gaaaaaaaaasaah!! RTC.

When I though it was not even possible for this trilogy to get better Melina Marchetta pens this sequel masterfully raw and flawless. She expertly marries the existing world from Finnikin of the Rock to the mysteries that surrounds Froi's ( my favorite character ) origins and the people that he gets intertwined with.The introduction of the new characters were more than well spaced and place. Thier integrated with the existing crew was believable and (I shit you guys not) when I say that the twis [...]

Reviewing a Melina Marchetta book always takes me longer than reading one, even a 600-page whopper like Froi of the Exiles. It's like this: If someone were to point to this penand ask, "What color is this?", the answer is easy.Blue.But if the person pointed to a rainbow and asked, "What color is this?", the answer is no longer simple because a rainbow is every color. Likewise, a Marchetta book can't be narrowed down to one thing or one emotion. It's every emotion.In Froi of the Exiles, as in Fin [...]

(Scroll down if you'd prefer the tl;dr version)If Finnikin of the Rock was a story about a divided and displaced nation’s journey towards healing their collective psyche, Froi of the Exiles is about a people broken apart by hatred, the wound in their history left to fester, and seep suspicion and fear into the cracks between them. A faceless, malevolent presence in Finnikin of the Rock, this is Charyn’s unveiling as more than simply “the enemy” of Lumatere. It’s an insight into a land [...]

Beyond Amazing!The one who reigns must die,At the hands of she born last,And the last will make the first,When the bastard twins are one,And blessed be the newborn King,For Charyn will be barren no mored with that curse sets the stage for Melina Marchetta’s newest masterpiece Froi of Exiles. To call this a fantastical journey would be an understatement of the year. This story is about the test of one’s strength and determination to fight beyond the beliefs of man and past the barriers of bet [...]

Re-read December 2014 with theLumatere Chronicles Group Read(:Everything I remembered and more.____________________________First read Dec 2013Reading a Marchetta:* Find your favorite place to read* Get comfortable.* Bring some coffee/alcohol/coffee+alcohol with you* Don't forget some kleenex (you never know)* Say goodbye to the world* Embrace yourself for a hell of an emotional roller coaster.* Add coffee to the alcoholWell, tell me something new. And if you're looking for the responsible here, [...]

Dear Melina, Keep breaking my heart, because you definitely know the best way to do it.Pre-reading thoughts: "If I won't die of happiness, when I'll read this I'll be the happiest person alive :) " Well I am the happiest person alive!MY THOUGHTS:The first story I’ve been told was a fairytale.I don’t remember which one was it, but that shouldn’t be a problem, as they all begin with “once upon a time”, get to the point where the handsome white-horse-riding prince must rescue the princes [...]

I’ve tried writing this review countless times, but it just doesn’t turn out right. Maybe I should just give up? This story has a very peculiar atmosphere. It is actually hard to describe: almost dream-like in some parts, but so very real in others - simply an extraordinary combination. Especially the scenes taking place in and around the Citavita induced the strangest feeling in me. This feeling is almost impossible to grasp, and I’m certainly not able to put in into words – but I loved [...]

My review can also be found on my blog Collections.It's been about two days since I finished this book, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. All I've been doing is skimming through the entire book and rereading my favorite parts and coming up with theories on how Melina Marchetta is going to resolve everything. When I started it, I stayed up really late the first day because I just could not put it down! It's definitely the fastest I've read through a Melina Marchetta novel. I can [...]

Final rating: 6/5 starsI excepted a great book from Melina Marchetta. And she delivered it. This book is a lot more darker than the previous one. Instead of following the story of of two main characters from the previous book, this one follows the life of Froi, three years later after the events in Finnikin of the rock.Not only I enjoyed this book, I also love it way too much. Not only has it been a long read, but it was worthwhile and strong book. The type that gets you crazy and wanting for mo [...]

Oh Sagra! This was so goooood!!!I will never be able to express how much this book touched me. I wanted to write this in bold capital letters with exclamation points scattered throughout the entire review, but instead of abusing those buttons, just note that I write this with a bounce in my heart and an excitement that I wish I could scream from the rooftops:)When I first heard that Melina Marchetta was going to write a companion to the much beloved Finnikin of the Rock I was thrilled! But when [...]

Reread September 2017.Even though I've read it before and knew what would happen I still couldn't tear myself away from this world. I love it and the characters so much.-----------Reread started May 4 2014.Reread finished May 14 2014.Notes on the audiobookNarrated by: Grant CartwrightThe final two books in this series are narrated by a new voice actor from the first one, and although he doesn't have any really standout character voices like Wren did, he is also much better overall. He gets the p [...]

Froi of the Exiles is 593 pages and despite the length, I read it in just a few days. Covert reading at work, at home behind my family's back and late through the night helped me finish this in just a few days. Really, I had no choice, the book consumed me; it compelled me to keep going and keep turning those pages (or clicking "next" on my kindle). My reading experience was akin to hanging off of a cliff and having no idea if rescue was coming or if the ground below me was close.What is it abou [...]

4 STARS”Where do you hail from Lumatere?” he asked suspiciously.“I was found in exile,” Froi said, having no reason to lie to Ariston. “I belong to all of them.”I choose you, pikachu Marchetta!And good lord is she doing a masterful job at killing me, this woman.I don’t want to write anything lengthy or get into my pretentious space (which I indulge in from time to time and for which I apologise profusely) discussing the psychology of war, rape, abandonment, the lesser evil etcetera [...]

I have selected the authors I want to display as my favorite ones with care - writing one of my favorite books does not automatically switch me into fan mode - yet one of my very first thoughts - when thoughts were more or less possible again after ripping myself away from life in Charyn and Lumatere - was: "I need to persuade maintanance to install a huge, visible gap between word magician Marchetta and the rest of the writers I unquestionably adore." Some more coherent brain activity and a fo [...]