The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

"I know that being Touched comes from tiny specks that travel in your body. That is why Nanay and I must be careful not to drink from the same water or eat from the same spoon, 

in case these tiny specks go from her to me. "

Publisher blurb: Amihan lives on Culion Island, where some of the inhabitants – including her mother – have leprosy. Ami loves her home – with its blue seas and lush forests, Culion is all she has ever known. But the arrival of malicious government official Mr Zamora changes her world forever: islanders untouched by sickness are forced to leave. Banished across the sea, she's desperate to return, and finds a strange and fragile hope in a colony of butterflies. Can they lead her home before it's too late?

Opening sentence: "Even if I told you that we have oceans clear and blue as summer skies, filled with sea turtles and dolphins, or forest-covered hills lush with birds that call through air thick with warmth. Even if you knew how beautiful and quiet it is here, clean and fresh as a glass bell ringing. But nobody comes here because they want to."

"Nanay says that in the places outside, they have many names for our home. The Island of the living dead, The Island of no return, The Island at the end of Everything."

Ami is born on this island - it is the place where the lepers have been sent. Ami does not have leprosy but her precious mother is very badly affected.  One day a government official arrives with the news that the untouched children will be taken away to another island to live in an orphanage. 

If you need to share a written portrait of a truly evil person you could explore this man - Mr Zamora.

"His gaze is fixed on the dying butterfly, and all my fear of him returns. He is enjoying watching it die."

Over the next few days all of the children are checked then they are loaded into a boat and taken to a nearby island. Mr Zamora collects and kills butterflies which is a perfect metaphor for the way he treats the precious children from Culion. Ami will be gone for six years but she and her mother promise to write to each other every day. I imagine you have guessed Mr Zamora forbids this but somehow Ami does discover her mother is seriously ill and so with her new friend Mari and a small silent boy from home the three children set off in a leaky boat to make the very dangerous journey home.

Read an extract here. 

I have COVID - I am going to say this is perhaps not an appropriate book to read when you feel ill but on the other hand it was such an engrossing story that I was able to read the whole book in one day. Here is some background reading (for adults) about the history of Culion Island, 

A heartbreaking and heartwarming must-read about love, loss, friendship, and determination in times of desperation. Kirkus Star review

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. ... 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. The Book Bag

Poetic, bittersweet and full of heart, this has the feel and quality of an instant classic. BookTrust

You could follow The Island at the end of everything with this book and also Maria's Island:

Beyond the Bright Sea

I added The Island at the end of Everything to my Kindle because I previously loved The Girl of Ink and Stars.