Island Witch

By: Amanda Jayatissa

Narrated by: Isuri Wijesundara

"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.

©2024 Amanda Jayatissa (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"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 and Fear Street

“The twists and turns to this fantastical mystery, as well as the author’s commentary on colorism, colonialism, and feminine outrage, shine through.”—Kirkus

“Tense and twisty, Island Witch is a fierce exploration of a young woman’s rage and two kinds of demons: the ones that thrive in the darkness of the jungle, yes, but also those that lurk under the skin of people you thought you could trust. This is razor-sharp anticolonial historical horror with the heart of a thriller, and it kept me feverishly turning the pages long into the night.”—Isabel Cañas, USA Today bestselling author of Vampires of El Norte