A review by sandyd
Island's End by Padma Venkatraman
4.0
This is fascinating YA fiction about a girl coming of age in a tribe of modern-day hunter-gatherers who live on a remote island in the Indian Ocean (the Andaman Islands, way off the coast of India). There is a lot going on in this story: spiritual development, the encroachment of modern cultures, sibling rivalry, and young love and sexual awakening (the latter handled pretty discreetly, so I'd say fine for 12+, or a bit younger if you don't mind your kid reading about teenagers in a relationship deciding to go off into a special place in the forest at night, where "nothing exists but the magic of shared silence and beauty of our togetherness". Uido (the female protagonist) also lets her hands slide down her lover's hips - but that and some gentle kissing are as explicit as it gets.
The conclusion - the 2004 tsunami - is intense and the descriptions of its aftermath are pretty graphic, though. And it's disturbing, because you *know* those descriptions are based on real life. The ending is ultimately uplifting, and it is pretty cool to see a book based on a "primitive" people with non-generic characters and an interesting plot. The island is described quite beautifully, too. And "Island's End" deals with cultural conflict in a respectful and not overly idealistic "Dances with Wolves/Avatar" manner!
The conclusion - the 2004 tsunami - is intense and the descriptions of its aftermath are pretty graphic, though. And it's disturbing, because you *know* those descriptions are based on real life. The ending is ultimately uplifting, and it is pretty cool to see a book based on a "primitive" people with non-generic characters and an interesting plot. The island is described quite beautifully, too. And "Island's End" deals with cultural conflict in a respectful and not overly idealistic "Dances with Wolves/Avatar" manner!