Tag: Melina Marchetta

Froi of the Exiles

Froi of the Exiles

by Melina Marchetta (Viking, 2011)

audiobook read by Grant Cartwright (ABC Audio, 2012)

Book cover: “Froi of the Exiles” by Melina Marchetta (Viking, 2011); audiobook read by Grant Cartwright (ABC Audio, 2012)

Marchetta’s trilogy goes from strength to strength. The shift of protagonists allows for reinvention within the fantasy framework, but the biggest contribution to genre remains the subversive female perspective stitched between threads. A long novel but one that demands to be read.

Finnikin of the Rock

Finnikin of the Rock

by Melina Marchetta (Viking, 2008); audiobook read by Tom Wren (Bolinda, 2010)

Book cover: “Finnikin of the Rock” by Melina Marchetta

YA fantasy that builds into its characterisation and gradually shifts focus, subverting expectations of its titular protagonist. Marchetta knows how to build a story, and weaves a much-needed female perspective through the plot, pointing the way forward for both genre and world.

On the Jellicoe Road

On the Jellicoe Road

by Melina Marchetta (Penguin, 2006); audiobook read by Rebecca Macauley (Bolinda, 2010)

Marchetta_Jellicoe Road

Looking for Alaska meets Picnic at Hanging Rock. An Australian school story that builds slowly and earns its character development, trusting the reader to get by without exposition. Australian accent warning on the audiobook (for those not cultured enough to appreciate it!).