Girl of the Year Rutendo 'I'M LIVING THE FANTASY!'

The Tokoroa teen can't believe she's made it on Time magazine's cover

- 

When 17-yearold author Rutendo Shadaya learned she had made Time magazine's first-ever Girls of the Year list, she was in total disbelief - and her parents worried it was a scam.

Shares the Tokoroa teen, "To this day, we have no idea how they found me.

I was surprised because it's Time magazine." Rutendo, the only Kiwi to make the list, has written and self-published three fantasy novels, the first of which she started writing at just nine years old.

She is being recognised as "part of a generation that's reshaping what leadership looks like today".

And while Rutendo admits to feeling an element of imposter syndrome, she's also confidently reminding herself, "I have done a lot, I do deserve it and I'm so proud that it inspires young girls who look like me or are from New Zealand."

To celebrate the inaugural list, which was a collaboration between the magazine and Lego,

Rutendo and the other nominees each had a digital Lego minifigure created in their likeness, which features in a special animated magazine cover.

It's another surreal moment for Rutendo.