Evocative, vivid, beautifully written story. ( )

In 1994, Padma Venkatraman spent time on the Andaman Islands off the coast of India, where native tribes live as they have for thousands of years, refusing contact with modern civilization. She lived among the peoples of the Onge tribe. The Onge, like other tribes on the islands are very small in number, and it is believed that one of the tribes is now extinct. In 2004, when the tsunami caused so much damage in that part of the world, many of these tribes used their ancient knowledge and ability to observe nature to keep their peoples safe.

This book is a tale – it tells the story of Uido and her peoples. Uido is both thrilled and fearful as she has been chosen to become her tribe’s spiritual leader. She goes through rigorous training with Lah-ame, and soon after she returns is tested as a leader when her brother, exposed to people who come from the modern world, falls ill and cannot be healed by tribal medicine. Some in her village challenge her, especially since she used the modern people to help her. She knows the wave is coming – can she save her people?

This novel is beautifully written, with a strong female protagonist and respect for people who live a life so different from our own. This is on my “World Literature” reading list and is a good choice for students who don’t want some of the really intense selections that list includes. ( )

Uido has a vision of the strangers before they appear: magic men with boats that fly and strange sticks that cause fire. But Uido knows that these magic men could destroy the life she holds dear, the ways of the En-ge, people who have inhabited these islands for thousands of years. As an apprentice to the oko-jumu, spiritual leader of her tribe, she will have to figure out a way to protect her people, even as their magic entices more and more.

There's a good deal of adventure and I enjoyed learning about the ways of these island people (the En-ge are based on actual indigenous people who have lived on remote islands, shunning modern ways). Descriptions of island life are lush, including smells, sounds, and tastes. But I never felt truly connected with the main character. There's some distance there, even though the book's written in first person present.

I'd hand it to kids who enjoyed Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (for a strong female native islander protagonist) or Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver (for the mix of action and spiritual/mystical components) or maybe even Nation by Terry Pratcher (for the island setting, although Nation is aimed at a slightly older audience). ( )

While I was in the process of reading Island's End, I wasn't really that thrilled by it. The plot moved so fast, I wished the author had added more details about the events that occur to help further flesh out both the characters and the overall feel of the culture. I didn't find the story particularly exciting, though it was interesting enough to keep from being boring. Some of the messages Venkatraman tries to get across, while good, came across as very blatant at times when more subtlety would have been nice.

But if you're like me, looking at reading Island's End for its anthropological information instead of thrilling action or magnificent writing, forget all of the above criticisms. After all, how often do you find YA novels that are about actual ancient cultures that have survived into the present day? While the novel's main anthropological details are on Uido's tribe's shamanic practices, other aspects of their culture are described as well, as is the clash of old and modern lifeways. What also struck me as unique and awesome is that the author treats Uido's shamanic training and visions not as part of the fantasy genre but as a part of her everyday life. Uido occupies a special place in her culture for what she sees and can do, but this well-respected place has always been occupied by someone with similar abilities. In this way, Venkatraman accents the differences between cultures in the treatment of what we Western culture people consider the supernatural. She helps readers become more respectful of others' lifeways by showing them a new perspective on such a subject.

The cultural detail in Island's End is enough to outweigh any other criticisms of the novel. Honestly, if you ask me in a few weeks or months, I probably won't remember most of the things I complained about in the first paragraph of this review. I hope other readers will end up getting as much out of this book as I did. ( )