THE ISLAND AT THE END OF EVERYTHING BY KIRAN MILLWOOD
HARGRAVE
2017 • Chicken House • 288 pages
Set in the Philippines at the beginning of the last century, Ami lives with her mother on Culion Island. It’s a beautiful place covered in lush forests and surrounded by a blue sea that matches the sky. It’s Ami’s home and the only place she has ever known. But Culion is an island for people with leprosy who are sent there to live on the edge of the world away from civilisation. Ami’s mother is among the infected but Ami herself remains untouched, so when government official Mr Zamora arrives to transport the islanders who are free from the sickness to another island, Ami’s world is torn apart. Banished across the sea to an orphanage, Ami is determined to get back home and crosses great lengths to return to her sick mother once more, on the island at the end of everything.
This
story was simply stunning. I don’t know how I can describe it in many more
words. I was swept up in Ami’s narrative from the first page and I stayed
engrossed until the very last page. Having read Millwood Hargrave’s debut novel The Girl of Ink and Stars last year, I already knew I was going to enjoy
her newest release if it possessed half as much magic as its predecessor. So
beautiful was the story I read it in near enough one sitting.
This is
easily one of the most impressive children’s books I’ve read for a long time. I
believe that if adult readers can find joy in a world marketed for young
booklovers, then the author has succeeded in writing a book that stands out
from the rest. I enjoyed the characters in this story immensely and the
relationship between Ami and her mother was so raw and touching it was pulling
on my heartstrings by the end. Yet what I loved most about the story above all
else was the themes that flowed throughout. Children’s fiction doesn’t have to
be simple and one-dimensional, and the author proves this by exploring how
damaging prejudice can be and how wrong it is to judge others by their
appearance. Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s writing creates a world that is so
real yet so gloriously magical you can’t help feeling anything but raw emotion
for her characters.
The use
of Filipino words and phrases throughout was something I was especially glad
the author decided to include. It gave the story a sense of truth and helped me
transport to the setting of the novel. Culion Island is indeed a real place and
it was turned in to a leprosarium in 1906, becoming known as “the island of no
return”. I previously knew nothing about the history of the Philippines and
after I finished this book I did a little searching on the web to find out
more. Millwood Hargrave has managed to create a beautiful story from a sad
history which I think will be loved by readers of all ages.
Overall
rating: 4.5 stars
My copy of The Island at the End
of Everything was sent to me by The Bookbag and
my review originally appeared on their website.
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