The Shark Prince

Maunakea (Lei and the Invisible Island) combines an adolescent coming-of-age narrative with rip-roaring adventure steeped in Hawaiian folklore. As a descendant of the Hawaiian shark king Kāmohoali‘i, 13-year-old Nohea Alapa‘i lives in fear of his family’s curse, which transforms male progeny into sharks. After his father, as a shark, “give[s] into temptation,” kills a surfer, and disappears, Nohea’s mother isolates the youth from their small Oahu village. As his mother prepares to sell their home and move to Las Vegas, Nohea resolves to win an upcoming surfing competition: if he can prove to his mother that he isn’t a danger to those around him, he can persuade her to stay in Hawaii. The prize money will also allow her to support herself if Nohea shifts and disappears. Joining a local surfing team is the first step in Nohea’s plan, but his efforts at socializing are hampered by his increasingly mercurial emotions, occasional blackouts, and the emergence of shark teeth and gills. And when his teammates start vanishing, Nohea must confront his worst fears. Adept portrayals of carefree summertime atmosphere and surfing culture feature alongside Nohea’s inner turmoil, relayed in his stubborn and pragmatic first-person POV. Community-focused messaging injects an undercurrent of optimism into an edge-of-the-seat mystery. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend and Sarah Gerton, New Leaf Literary. (May)