Finnyby Justin Kramon
Random House, 2010
384 pages
*I purchased this book.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): We meet Finny Short as an observant, defiant fourteen-year-old who can’t make sense of her family’s unusual habits: Her mother offers guidance appropriate for a forty-year-old socialite; her father quotes Nietzsche over pancakes. Finny figures she’s stuck with this lonely lot until she meets Earl Henckel, a boy who comes from an even stranger place than she does. Unhappy with Finny’s budding romance with Earl, her parents ship her off to Thorndon boarding school. But mischief follows Finny as she befriends New York heiress Judith Turngate, a girl whose charm belies a disquieting reckless streak. Finny’s relationships with Earl and Judith open her up to dizzying possibilities of love and loss and propel her into a remarkable adventure spanning twenty years and two continents. Justin Kramon has given us a wickedly funny odyssey with a moving and original love story at its core. Finny introduces us to an unforgettable heroine, a charmingly intricate world, and an uncommonly entertaining and gifted young novelist.
Review: When the reader first meets Finny, she is a scrappy sarcastic teenager that feels out of place within her own family. Then she meets Earl and the love she feels begins to change her and as the story continues a variety of events change the course of her life. The book is a great character driven novel and a surprisingly lovely love story. Though, at the heart, it is really a story about growing up and the people and places who influence how a person sees the world and themselves. The author has a wonderful writing style that just flows and the reader gets caught up in Finny's world. A really beautiful story that I could envision as a wonderful movie. Really beautiful, entertaining, and a fantastic read. Rating:****1/2 out of 5
