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vedpears's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Excellent book - helps to have audiobook playing while reading the Hawaiian, if unfamiliar with the language. There were parts that characters spoke in Hawaiian, and the author did a great job to let unfamiliar readers get the gist of the meaning without writing out a direct translation, allowing for the novel to continue with ease.
The depicted relationships and family dynamics are realistic and dive deep without bogging the reader down. The very real occupation of Hawaii is both a backdrop and a nemesis in this book and I appreciate Hakes' willingness to lay out all the pain that comes with that here, without softening the language to make the invaders uncomfortable. I think Hakes does a fine job balancing fact and fiction to ensure the readers walk away being able to trust this view through a literary window of the ongoing theft of Hawaii from her people.
The only thing that keeps this from being a 5-star is that I felt the first third of the book didn't fit as well or flow as nicely as the rest of the novel. The beginning didn't have the same raw emotion/depth that the remainder of the story did, and I initially found it very difficult to push on - glad I did, but that took effort to push through.
Content warning: maternal estrangement, miscarriage, colonizers, bullying, cancer, car accident, death.
The depicted relationships and family dynamics are realistic and dive deep without bogging the reader down. The very real occupation of Hawaii is both a backdrop and a nemesis in this book and I appreciate Hakes' willingness to lay out all the pain that comes with that here, without softening the language to make the invaders uncomfortable. I think Hakes does a fine job balancing fact and fiction to ensure the readers walk away being able to trust this view through a literary window of the ongoing theft of Hawaii from her people.
The only thing that keeps this from being a 5-star is that I felt the first third of the book didn't fit as well or flow as nicely as the rest of the novel. The beginning didn't have the same raw emotion/depth that the remainder of the story did, and I initially found it very difficult to push on - glad I did, but that took effort to push through.
Content warning: maternal estrangement, miscarriage, colonizers, bullying, cancer, car accident, death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Death, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Car accident, Colonisation, Cancer, Bullying, and Body shaming
booksemmahasread's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, and Cancer
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