Book Nook Join Book Nook

Island Witch

Amanda Jayatissa

"Every once in a while, a book comes along that drops you into another world and takes you places you never could imagine. This is that book. An astounding accomplishment!" —R. L. Stine, author of Goosebumps

Set in nineteenth-century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, Island Witch follows the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.

Now someone—or something—is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.

As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother’s frantic cries: No one can find out what happened.

GenresLiterature & FictionGenre FictionHorrorMythology & Folk TalesFolkloreMystery, Thriller & Suspense

400 pages

English edition · First published 2025 by Penguin Group · ISBN 9780593549278

1 wants to read it

Readers also shelved

Be the first to rate this book

Tap or drag across the stars

Keep track of what you read

Book Nook is a free reading tracker with a 3D bookshelf, a reading timer, challenges with friends and a Reading Wrapped at the end of the year. Add Island Witch to your shelf in one tap.

Join Book Nook Get the app