In a starred review, Kirkus raves, “A magnificent blend of Ugandan folklore and more modern notions of feminism.This book is a jewel.” And Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, writes, “aptivating, wise, humorous and tender….ost of all, this is a book about the stories that define us, and those we tell to redefine ourselves. As Kirabo grows older, her relationships with her family, friends, and herself deepen, alter, and grow, and her understanding - and the reader’s - of the world around her, and the past and the stories from which she comes, is vastly enriched.

She also wants to get rid of her emerging secret self, which is causing her to fly. Kirabo doesn’t know who or where her mother is, and enlists Nsuuta, a witch who is entangled with Kirabo’s family, to try and find answers. It is also a thoughtful exploration of girlhood, womanhood, and feminism, featuring a cast of strong and vivid aunts, grandmothers, and friends. Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is the author of Kintu, which The New York Times Book Review calls “magisterial” and The Guardian describes as “a novel that is inventive in scope, masterful in execution….she does for Ugandan literature what Chinua Achebe did for Nigerian writing,” and Let’s Tell This Story Properly, a collection of short fiction which Publishers Weekly calls “thoughtful, eloquent.” Her newest novel, A Girl Is a Body of Water, is a fascinating, sweeping, and compelling family portrait, centering on Kirabo, a young girl growing up in the ’70s and ’80s in Uganda.

Kintu jennifer makumbi