Title: Finny
Author: Justin Kramon
Pages: 366
Originally Published: 2010
Format I Read: Paperback
Publisher: Random House
Rating: 
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Welcome to today’s stop on Justin Kramon’s TLC blog tour for his debut novel, Finny.
We first meet Finny as a pert 14-year-old who feels misunderstood by her peacemaker mother, pompous father, and people-pleaser brother, Sylvan. Running away from home one day, Finny meets Earl, whose easygoing personality and unconventional household speak to Finny. When her parents find out about her relationship with Earl, they pack her off to boarding school. We follow along as Finny grows into adulthood, as she tries to find herself, and as she interacts with Earl.
I have to be frank here and say that Finny ended up not being the right book fit for me. But it has a lot going for it. It’s a little quirky. Finny is a pretty interesting heroine. Boarding school is always a nice setting for a coming of age story. The minor characters are well-drawn and add to the story. And I really liked the sibling relationship between Finny and Sylvan.
But there’s a bit of a “but” here. I always felt removed from Finny. I don’t know if it’s the third person narration that put a space between us or what. But I never could quite feel like I understood her. Also, because this is a saga that spans twenty years, every portion of the story felt rushed to me. This is especially true of the beginning. I didn’t feel like I got to know 14-year-old Finny well enough to understand how lost (or not lost) she became in her late teens and early twenties. And I was just beginning to be interested in the boarding school portion of things when it ended. I felt similar distance from Earl. We never get to know him, except as Finny sees him, and I still can’t decide whether she was reliable in her descriptions of him. Finally, there is some random bawdiness here that seemed to detract from the story instead of add to it. And it is this bawdiness in particular that would make me reluctant to recommend this as a book club selection.
Still, I think Justin Kramon is a good writer. There is a lot of whimsy here balanced with realistic life situations. I was compelled enough by the story that I finished Finny in just a couple of days – a real feat for me these days. And the minor characters kind of stole the show in many scenes. I’ll definitely be watching for more work from Kramon.
Check out Justin Kramon’s website and the rest of the TLC tour stops for Finny.
Finny, by Justin Kramon
Other Reviews:
5MinutesforBooks.com
Bermudaonion’s Weblog
Book Addiction
The Book Lady’s Blog
Booking Mama
GalleyCat
My Books. My Life.
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{ 13 comments }
Oh! I’m reading this RIGHT NOW so I’m skipping but will be back pronto when I finish the book. :)
I enjoyed this one more than you did. I just thought Finny was a fabulous character and I could really relate to her. Sorry you didn’t feel the connection.
Interesting.
Bluestocking´s last post ..Bluestocking’s library tour
Thanks so much, Jessica, for your review, and for taking the time with my book. I really appreciate the attention you gave it.
Care, look forward to hearing what you think of the novel.
Kathy, thanks again for your kind words about the book. Great to see you again.
I’m really interested in this book but maybe I should lower my expectations before reading.. thanks.
claire´s last post ..Inferno
Here’s a comment I never thought I’d hear myself make: I haven’t read this book, but I’ve read interviews with Justin Kramon, and he has so much humility and charm that I just feel sure there’s gold in this book!
My book club is reading this for our next meeting and Justin will be joining us – it will definitely be interesting if we decide to talk about those bawdy parts you mention. :)
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
Care – I hope you enjoyed it. I’ll watch for your review.
Kathy – I’m glad you enjoyed it more than I did. I definitely understand why people would like it; it just didn’t quite work for me.
Bluestocking – Indeed.
Mr. Kramon – Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words. I mean it when I say that I’ll be watching for your future works.
Claire – I hope you will. I really believe that my high expectations did me in.
Shelley – I, myself, have been very impressed with Mr. Kramon. I do hope you’ll give this book a read.
Heather – I’ll be interested to hear how your book club reacts. I’m not sure how my current book club would react, but my previous book club would have been appalled. :)
You picked a good word and I would agree with ‘bawdy’. I enjoyed this review. I have been there with books that you still liked but just can’t gush over, right?
Care – I’m glad you enjoyed this more than I did. And I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought it was bawdy. It was a good one, just not for me. :)
I super loved this book! But I can understand how someone could feel removed from Finny. The narration is different, but I felt pretty close to her, or understood her, through her actions and how she dealt with the crazy situations she found herself in.
Definitely bawdy. I love that stuff, though.
I’m just starting this one and have enjoyed it so far but I’m also enjoying skimming over the reviews (I don’t want to spoil the book!) and seeing the various opinions.
Lisa´s last post ..All Things In Common
Topher – It’s great to hear that you loved this book. I just couldn’t connect with Finny, but I wanted to!
Lisa – I hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by.
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