On the surface, Finnikin of the Rock can be, and by many will be, devoured for the powerful story of loss, the fight to survive and the intense, mature (as a contrast to the intense, immature romance of the Twilight Saga ) love story that develops over the course of the tale. But, having these themes intensely packed into 399 beautifully written pages and having these them played out and resolved by two characters as compelling as Finnikin and Evanjalin (not to mention Froi, Trevanion, Lady Beatriss and Tesadora, toname a few) made them impossible to turn away from. There is no possible way I could have the courage to read the real stories of genocide, forced migration, hatred, prejudice, cruelty, dehumanization and the struggle to love and be loved, despite the fact that they abound in film, in print and in real life. Perhaps it is for this reason that I was so strongly moved by the characters and places created by Melina Marchetta in Finnikin of the Rock. If it's fantasy and one more step removed from the real world, then all the better. And, from the pages of a work of fiction rather than non-fiction. I would rather experience the world, the often painful, difficult to navigate, emotional world, at a distance from the pages of a book rather than in person. I think I am a book lover because, in many ways, I am a coward. There are not enough words, time or space for me to tell you how deeply Finnikin of the Rock, the fourth novel from award winning Australian Melina Marchetta, affected me.