Kam Has an Aunt?

Major spoilers ahead! If you have not read Kam Kovah, turn back now.

You have been warned.

That’s out of the way; now let’s dive into heavy speculation and family background surrounding Kam.

It is common knowledge that Kam’s mother is dead. From the start of the book, she is deceased. However, it is revealed later that it was Jaggar that caused her untimely end (you were warned about the spoiler, don’t blame me). On an island the size of Eztenburg, it is honestly amazing that it took Kam fifteen chapters to reveal that.

On Eztenburg, your name is everything. When Kam first says Rowan’s name, he corrects Kam with his family name: Jaggar. Having a powerful name is everything in their society. That is why Rowan’s father’s first name is never revealed. He is not a Jaggar, he is the Jaggar.

This is part of the reason Kam’s name is so important. Not only does he never introduce himself as a Kovah, but he also shortens his father’s name into Kam. He forms his own identity despite having been told his only option is to adopt the personality given to him.

Names are very important, and each name has a meaning and a purpose.

This is especially true for Kam’s mother Linnea Kovah. The first time ‘Linnea’ is mentioned in Kam, it is not a person’s name but a flower. Kam says, “My fall beheaded several of the double-blossomed flowers” (Kam, p. 99). Why would Grace be so purposeful about the description of these flowers?

A Linnea is a flower that grows mostly on the shores of Sweden, it is easily recognizable because of its two-flowered stalks. It is nicknamed the ‘twinflower’. The twinflower. Why would Grace name a character Linnea if not to hint at the fact that she was a twin herself?

Where is this hidden sister? She certainly couldn’t be on the island, or Kam would have known about her. Is she dead? Did Jaggar get to her? And possibly the biggest question of all: will she reveal herself later in the series?