The Finisher by David Baldacci (review)

Life is pretty crummy in Wormwood for the Wugs, and the Quag, essentially the end of the world right outside the village, doesn’t offer anything better. Vega Jane is barely scraping out an existence, torn between watching her parents slowly waste away, trying to care for her precocious little brother, and doing a demanding job that pays her very little. It’s not surprising that when an opportunity arises to find something brand new, even if it seems exceedingly dangerous, Vega Jane would decide to pursue it, but her curiosity and bravado are exactly the traits to get her into trouble in this dystopic world where the consequences for bucking the status quo are dire. Vega Jane is an angry teen, and the reader may be able to spot that she is an occasionally unreliable narrator, commenting from her assumptions rather than her observations. This insider perspective heightens sympathy for the beleaguered protagonist while also offering further glimpses into what drives characters in the carefully built world Baldacci has created. The book’s choice to overrely on “wug” as a wordstem is distracting, but this is a minor issue in what is otherwise a clever, intriguing, and refreshingly different world populated with flawed characters who respond to their environment with a unique set of moral guidelines, just as they should given their sheltered, intensely controlled lives. The conclusion is clearly a set up for a sequel, and readers will likely eagerly anticipate the next installment of Vega Jane’s life.