cover image School for Hawaiian Girls

School for Hawaiian Girls

Georgia Ka'apuni McMillen, . . Permanent, $26 (200pp) ISBN 978-1-57962-121-6

The 1922 murder of a beloved sister anchors this absorbing debut set vividly in Hawaii. The novel alternates between the era of 16-year-old Lydie Kaluhi's death and 1985, when her great-niece Moani searches for her long-lost relatives, Lydie's illegitimate daughter Angelina and grandson Charles. Narrated by Lydie's brother Sam, her sister Bernie, and Moani, the story tracks the Kaluhi clan from their impoverished struggles in the 1920s to 60 years later, when as a wealthy hotel owner, Sam has bankrolled Moani's off-island education and her thriving kayaking business. Lydie was raped and murdered when she ran away to reclaim the daughter she was forced to give up, and Sam channels his grief into revenge and a lifetime of tireless work. McMillen brings her characters to life with compelling immediacy: 37-year-old Moani has a solitary existence, save her business and the care of her mentally handicapped sister, Pu. Uncle Sam, once a wild boy, has become a controlling, aggressive man on his sixth wife. When Moani begins to unearth family secrets as she seeks out Angelina and Charles, she encounters the adamant objections of her uncle, who hides a dark history of his own in this dramatic, sharply drawn glimpse of a troubled Hawaiian family. (Sept.)