Fifteen-year-old Uido is a member of the En-ge, an isolated tribe living on one of the Andaman Islands. She has been selected as the next oko-jumu, or spiritual leader, and is eager to embrace her new responsibilities. But when strangers visit from another island with gifts, Uido's way of life is threatened. Her mentor, Lah-ame, wants to reject all communication with the outside world, while some younger members of the tribe, including her brothers Ashu and Tawai, are fascinated by the new technology and want to leave the island.
Island's End contains examples of:
- 20 Minutes into the Past: Published in 2011, and set in 2004.
- Dedication: "To Rainer, with endless love."
- Due to the Dead:
- After Lah-ame dies, the tribe members decorate his body with stripes of clay, tie him to his sleeping mat with bark ropes, and set him in the middle of the village for everyone to say goodbye to him. His body is left on a platform overnight so his spirit can say goodbye to it, and then buried. Afterwards, the tribe members throw a feast to celebrate his life.
- After the tsunami kills the three visitors, the islanders scrape together as much of the remains as they can and give them a proper burial.
- First Kiss: Uido has hers with her best friend Danna.
- Fish out of Water: When Tawai catches a deadly illness from one of the visitors, Uido travels by canoe with him to one of the other islands so he can be treated in a hospital. When Tawai recovers, he's fascinated by all the "magic" the people use, especially cars and airplanes, but Uido is dismayed by the hunger and income inequality she sees and wants to return to the island as quickly as possible.
- Happily Failed Suicide: Paleva, a man Uido meets on the larger island, was originally from Burma. After the death of his wife, he attempted suicide by setting out in a small boat, lying down, and waiting for it to tip over. Instead, it carried him all the way to the island, where Lah-ame treated his dehydration, and where he learned to enjoy life again. Lah-ame told him to return to civilization and become an advocate for the rights of tribes like the En-ge to remain in voluntary isolation.
- Lost Tribe: The En-ge used to live on a larger island with some other tribes. An offshoot of the tribe that included Uido's grandparents moved to an uninhabited island to escape modern influence and have been living in almost total isolation ever since. Uido eventually learns that the main branch of the En-ge died out, leaving her people the only ones left.
- Rite of Passage: When young men reach adulthood, they undergo a ceremony that involves cutting tattoos into their skin.
- Seeing Through Another's Eyes: Every oko-jumu has a spirit animal. Lah-ame's is a serpent eagle, and Uido's turns out to be a squid. Uido can see through the squid's eyes as it travels underwater. Lah-ame also tells his eagle to let Uido into its mind so she can see what it's like to fly.
- Spirit World: With concentration, Uido can enter the Otherworld, where the gods Biliku-waye and Pulug-ame live and can give her advice.
- Swamps Are Evil: The western side of the island contains a crocodile-infested swamp that everyone avoids. When Uido was ten, her father and three of his hunters went exploring there. Two of the hunters were killed. Uido's final test to become an oko-jumu involves traveling alone into the swamp to find a carnivorous pitcher plant.
