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Book Summary and Reviews of Island's End by Padma Venkatraman

Island's End by Padma Venkatraman

Island's End

A Novel

by Padma Venkatraman

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  • Published:
  • Aug 2011, 240 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the acclaimed author of Climbing the Stairs comes a fascinating story set on a remote island untouched by time.

Uido is ecstatic about becoming her tribe's spiritual leader, but her new position brings her older brother's jealousy and her best friend's mistrust. And looming above these troubles are the recent visits of strangers from the mainland who have little regard for nature or the spirits, and tempt the tribe members with gifts, making them curious about modern life.

When Uido's little brother falls deathly ill, she must cross the ocean and seek their help. Having now seen so many new things, will Uido have the strength to believe in herself and the old ways? And will her people trust her to lead them to safety when a catastrophic tsunami threatens? Uido must overcome everyone's doubts, including her own, if she is to keep her people safe and preserve the spirituality that has defined them.

Drawing on firsthand experience from her travels to the Andaman Islands, Padma Venkatraman was inspired to write this story after meeting natives who survived the 2004 tsunami and have been able to preserve their unique way of life. Uido's transformation from a young girl to tribal leader will touch both your heart and mind.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Refreshingly hopeful and beautifully written." - Kirkus Reviews

"Starred Review. Offering an enticing blend of mystic traditions and imaginative speculation, Venkatraman (Climbing the Stairs) beautifully expresses a primitive tribe's connection to nature and their struggle to find safety in the 21st century." - Publishers Weekly

This information about Island's End was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatraman was born in Chennai, India, but became an American citizen after attaining a Ph.D. in oceanography from The College of William and Mary. Padma's oceanographic research led her to the Andaman Islands, where she lived for a year, in close proximity to tribespeople similar to those in Island's End. Her first young adult novel, Climbing the Stairs, won the Julia Ward Howe Award and was a Book Sense Notable, Booklist Best Book of the Year, Bank Street College of Education Best Book, New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, YALSA BBYA selection, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, and CCBC Choice. She lives with her family in Rhode Island. You can visit her online at https://padmavenkatraman.com/.

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