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Talking to the Dead by Sylvia Watanabe
A first collection of lyrical short stories, set in the Hawaiian Islands, about such diverse characters as a female Chinese Fred Astaire, a grandmother who makes quilts of stolen pieces of laundry, and...
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Cultural Revolution by Raymond Wong
A collection of interrelated short stories that begins in 1953 Macao, where a sickly Wei lives with his overprotective grandmother and ineffective father. Wei eventually emigrates to Honolulu, gets...
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Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
A deft coming-of-age first novel about young Lovey Nariyoshi of Hilo, Hawai’i, trying to forge her identity amidst the mish-mash of Japanese American roots, coveted Barbie dolls, and pop music,...
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Bananaheart and Other Stories by Marie Hara
Short stories that cover a century of life in Hawai’i, including tales about a newly arrived picture bride, a young native woman working in a large foreign house, a young hapa girl searching for her...
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Pass On, No Pass Back! by Darrell H.Y. Lum, illustrated by Art Kodani
A humorous collection of short stories about young boys growing up in Hawai’i, written in pidgin English, the native everyday language of the Islands. Each of the stories is prefaced by a cartoon,...
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All I Asking for Is My Body by Milton Murayama
An often comic, yet poignant work about the coming-of-age of young Kiyoshi, living in the Japanese plantation camps of Hawai’i during the 1930s and ’40s. While he is expected to be a filial son and...
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Plantation Child and Other Stories by Eve Begley Kiehm
A group of lyrical, interrelated shorts stories about multi-generations of the Kim family, who begin their American lives in the Korean camp section of a Hawaiian sugarcane plantation in the early...
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Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan, illustrated by Lillian Hsu-Flanders
Every year, the extended Yang family gathers from all over the Hawaiian island of Oahu at Grandma’s house to celebrate New Year’s Eve. This year, young Marisa will help make the dumplings for Grandma’s...
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Da Word by Lee A. Tonouchi + Author Interview
Da Pidgin Guy: Lee Tonouchi reclaims his native language They call him “Da Pidgin Guerrilla.” Bekuz o’ da way he talk. And da fak dat he determined to keep duh langwage of da Locals alive. He no giv...
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Children of a Fireland: A Novel by Gary Pak
In the small, conservative town of Kanewai, on Oahu, Hawaii, mischievous messages start mysteriously appearing on the walls of the old town movie theater slotted for demolition. Tensions rise as the...
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Behold the Many: A Novel by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
How Yamanaka can tell some of the most harrowing stories with such lyrically beautiful language is astonishing. In her latest novel, Hawaii’s best-known writer captures the story of three lost,...
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The Queen of Tears by Chris McKinney
Once Korea’s greatest movie star – dubbed ‘the Queen of Tears’ for her ability to cry convincingly on film – Soong Nan Lee arrives in Hawai‘i to face her three adult children. Her two eldest by her...
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Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku by Ellie Crowe,...
An inspiring, poignant biography – just perfect for kids! – of the legendary surfer Duke Kahanamoku, who was also the fastest swimmer in the world for 16 years! In spite of his championships,...
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I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 by Lauren Tashis, illustrated by...
Today – December 7, 2012 – is the 71st anniversary of the “date which will live in infamy,” as named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in describing the assault on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and...
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The Spy Lover by Kiana Davenport
The Spy Lover lingered on the top of my must-read pile for months, mainly because I just needed a break from the death and destruction of war (seems to be my reading theme for too much of this year!)....
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