Kumakana : A Gronups Tale by Kevin Price

At thirteen, Lavender Jensen is headstrong and determined, bored and reckless, until one day she crosses the line…

In the arcane Kumakana forest, where one wrong move means certain death, Lavender Jensen’s sudden appearance sparks tensions between two clans of cunning, voracious predators, and the enigmatic guardians of the Natural Order—the Gronups.

She meets Jerramunga, a buoyant, laconic, Aboriginal youth, a complete stranger, whose actions draw her into a series of encounters that test her beliefs and bring the powers of her imagination to the fore. As a life and death struggle unfolds, the pair discover ancient lore, inner strengths and hidden talents and their involvement becomes the key to the future of the mysterious world within the forest.

And, perhaps, the world outside.

Look Inside

Lavender Jensen's imagination has a habit of being troublesome. Her mother has diagnosed it as a disease with more killing power than avian flu. Her father calls it imaginitis. Not contagious, although curable. Apparently.

Author

Reviews

"Lavender Jensen, a determined thirteen-year-old with a vivid imagination, has been told so many times by her father that the ancient forest Kumakana 'is full of unexplored areas and very dangerous'. But Lavender is fascinated; she is convinced that, from the margins of the forest, magpies study her. She thinks they are conjuring spells." Queensland Reviewers Collective.

"Kumakana resonates strongly with a sense of place, yet is not limited by location." The West Australian

Detail

• BISAC: FIC010000-FICTION / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology,FIC061000-FICTION / Magical Realism 
• BIC: FQ-Myth & legend told as fiction
• Thema: FN-Traditional stories, myths and fairy tales,FMM-Magical realism