Hula A novel

Hakes' immersive and astute debut novel centers on girls coming-of-age in Hawaii and is peppered with Hawaiian folktales and history. After running away from home, Laka returns to Hilo with a baby that looks haole (white) and no explanation. The former Miss Aloha Hula, Laka was a shining star in her native Hawaiian Naupaka family. Now, Laka's refusal to share Hi'i's birth certificate proving her heritage thoroughly displeases her mother, Hulali, who is heavily involved in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. As Hi'i grows up, she thinks that learning traditional hula could heal the rifts in her family. But nothing goes to plan, and Hi'i even believes she brings a curse to her family. Hakes jumps around in time, to Laka's childhood and to Hi'i's adulthood, to reveal family secrets and illustrate the U.S. government's historical failure to honor promises made to the Hawaiian people. It is a strong testament to her writing that the threads of the story are clear, the characters fleshed out, and the history seamlessly tied into what is otherwise a deeply affecting story of mothers and daughters and what makes a family. This should have wide appeal to readers of character-driven stories, family dramas, and historical fiction.

Hakes's ambitious and poignant debut centers on a Hawaiian girl's coming-of-age in Hilo. Laka Naupaka returns to Keaukaha in 1968 with her newborn baby daughter, Hi'i, after a brief stint working at a Maui resort. Her family, though, keep themselves at a distance and denounce Hi'i, who looks white, as a "haole." As Hi'i grows up, she develops a thick skin to shield herself from the constant rumors that she was found behind a dumpster. Soon enough, Hi'i begs her mom to enroll her in a hula school. Laka, a former Miss Aloha Hula, reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile Laka's mother, Hulali, a pillar of the burgeoning native Hawaiian movement, is deeply invested in promoting Hawaiian culture, language, and history, and relentlessly exhorts Laka to turn over Hi'i's birth certificate so that she can be recognized as Hawaiian like the rest of the Naupaka family. When Hi'i's lineage is eventually revealed, matters are further complicated for the family as well as for Hi'i's dreams of hula. Hakes studs the story with marvelous details of Hawaiian cosmology and historical developments such as the formation of the Hawaiian kingdom and the purpose of hula ("It was our generational memory, our celestial genealogy. Hula told the story of who we were"). Hakes illuminates on every page. Agent: Sarah Bowlin, Aevitas Creative Management. (May)

The tragic history of Hawai'i is told through the lives of several generations of women in a Native family. When Laka Naupaka is named Miss Aloha Hula in the 1960s, she is continuing a proud family tradition. The Naupakas have lived in Hilo, on the Big Island, for many generations, and Laka's foremothers have danced and taught the hula--not the denatured version performed in tourist traps but the intricate, difficult dance that embodies history, religion, and tradition for the islands' Native people. Part of the history told in those dances is the forcible annexation of Hawai'i by the United States. In 1887, the so-called Bayonet Constitution, written by a White businessman, stripped control of the islands from King Kalākaua and gave power and land--1.8 million acres of it--to White U.S. outsiders, evicting countless Native families. Laka's grandmother Ulu was witness to that history, and her anger has been passed down. Her daughter, Hulali, and Hulali's daughter, Laka, are fierce defenders of Hawaiian culture. But their fierceness can also make them unforgiving with one another. When, after being named Miss Aloha Hula, Laka leaves Hilo for a job on another island, her family is shocked. When she returns with a young daughter, Hi'i, who has pale skin, red hair, and green eyes, Hulali cuts Laka off completely, refusing even to recognize Hi'i as her grandchild. Hulali will become more involved in politics in the 1970s and '80s, moving away from her family to Honolulu. As Hi'i grows up, she tries to fit into the Naupaka family, undertaking rigorous training to learn hula, but her efforts often go awry. The novel moves back and forth in time to tell the stories of its characters and their home, most often focusing on Hi'i as the main character. Although its pace can sometimes slow, lush descriptions of the natural environment and warm depictions of family events enrich the novel. A grandmother, mother, and daughter are shaped by the continuing trauma of Hawaiian history. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.