Description
Ten-year-old Olinde Ukuthiywa has always felt like she doesn’t quite belong. Her name means “one waiting to be named,” and while other children’s names carry stories and meaning, hers only reminds her that her story hasn’t begun yet. She dreams of having real friends and a name she can truly call her own.
But everything changes the night a mysterious clay pot shatters in her home, unleashing a powerful vulture who carries her away to the Island of Intsomi-a place of breathtaking beauty, ancient magic, and dangerous secrets.
On the island, children are well-fed, well-behaved… and slowly forgetting who they are. Under the rule of the ruthless King Prospero, stories are twisted into lies, and memories fade. With the help of her sharp-tongued companion Ntengu and a hidden community of animals, Oli discovers that she may be the last Storykeeper-part of a long line charged with protecting the power of iintsomi, the traditional stories that once connected worlds.
Armed with a mysterious ancestral necklace and the courage she didn’t know she had, Oli must learn to find her voice, claim her identity, and tell a story powerful enough to break the king’s hold. Because if she fails, the island-and every child on it-will be lost forever.
And this time, her story won’t just be told… it will be written by her.
What sets this book apart?
A magical middle-grade adventure rooted in Xhosa storytelling traditions.
Strong female lead.
Warm humour, emotional family stakes, animal trickster energy, and a clear book club/classroom hook around stories, names, language, and heritage
Educational/classroom hooks
Storytelling traditions; Xhosa words and songs; names and meanings; oral history; environmental imagery; courage and consent; critical thinking about whose stories are told and controlled.
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