by Lehua Parker | Aug 30, 2016 | MG/YA Fiction, Pacific Literature, The Niuhi Shark Saga
Author J.F.R. Titchenell, Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of), asked what scares me. Here’s my response.
Picking up The Niuhi Shark Saga, you’d think I was afraid of sharks. It’s right there in the title of the series. In the books people get stalked by sharks, bit by sharks, and die because of sharks. As an island kid growing up in the ocean during the 1970s—the premier Jaws era—it would make a lot of sense.
But sharks don’t scare me.
Being alone and misunderstood does.
You don’t have to be Sigmund Freud to figure out the sub-text of The Niuhi Shark Saga. I grew up a part-Hawaiian, but perpetually sunburned haole-looking girl in Kahului, Maui. From kindergarten through fourth grade, I was the only person with blond hair and blue-eyes in the entire school district, including the staff.
This didn’t change until my family moved to Kalama Valley on Oahu, where in 5th grade at Kamiloiki Elementary there were more kids who looked like me. But nobody spoke Pidgin, which I thought was the language of school. You can imagine my surprise when my teacher, nose in the air, told my mother I needed remedial English lessons and she was recommending me for Resource, which was code for special ed and not in her classroom. I didn’t need English lessons. I just needed to speak as I spoke at home at school.
The shock on Mrs. Goo’s face when I switched mid-sentence from Pidgin to perfect English was almost worth the hell of being in her class.
Almost. I won’t say more, except that when you’re a kid, being good at sports is crucial to overcoming prejudice. That, and a great right hook.
Consequently, a lot of my fiction involves a character that is isolated from others, usually for a reason he or she has no control over. In The Niuhi Shark Saga, Zader is isolated because he’s allergic to water. He’s the weird kid that others put up with because of his popular surfing star brother, Jay.
In One Boy, No Water, Zader fears being left behind if Jay and Char Siu get accepted into Ridgemont Academy for ninth grade. Without Jay around, there’s the real possibility that Zader will be the Blalah’s perpetual punching bag. But as the story progresses, Zader discovers that Jay needs him too, and that being different can be a source of strength.
In One Shark, No Swim and One Truth, No Lie, Zader and Jay learn that anything they love can be taken away. Because of love, Zader sacrifices himself and travels the world alone, wary that he will turn into the monster everyone thinks he is. Jay becomes consumed with revenge, loses his golden boy status, and has to humble himself and learn from others before he can find peace in the ocean again. Both Zader and Jay reject what others think are their destinies, and prove that family are people you choose and not necessarily related by blood.
The Niuhi Shark Saga takes place in modern Hawaii where all the Hawaiian myths, legends, and gods are real, but under the radar of most humans. It’s my hope that readers come away with a deeper understanding of island life than what’s reflected in Hollywood movies and shows like Hawaii 5-0.
And there are sharks. Did I mention the sharks? Monster-sized Niuhi sharks, with mouthfuls of teeth, all-consuming hunger, and extra-sensory perception. They are apex predators without a lick of human remorse or conscience.
Oh, and Niuhi sharks? They can appear in human form. Unlike Jaws, if a Niuhi shark is interested in you, even on land, you’re not safe. There is no bigger boat.
Sleep tight.
by Lehua Parker | Aug 5, 2013 | Adult Fiction, Book Reviews & Announcements, Pacific Literature
Rounding out my Samoan fiction summer reads is The Bone Bearer by Lani Wendt Young, book three in her Telesa series. With book 2, When Water Burns ending with a literal bang of epic proportions, the story landscape was wide open for book 3 and Lani didn’t disappoint.
In the hospital Leia doesn’t remember much of anything after the time she first arrived in Samoa. Daniel, Simone, and Keahi are strangers to her and you can imagine all the tip-toeing around her fire gifts. Meanwhile Telesa from all over the Pacific gather in Samoa to discuss an ancient doomsday prophecy about to be fulfilled, the return of Pele the terrible herself. Besides the looming threat that all male Telesa should be killed as soon as their gifts are discovered, there’s an ancient bone broken into three pieces and hidden that has to be recovered and united by our gang before Pele gets control and absorbs all the Telesa power forever.
Did I mention Leia’s acting weird?
We meet some new characters, see alliances formed and double-crossed, delve deeper into Pacific mythology flavored with Lani’s unique spin, see cultural biases in conflict as male Telesas are revealed, and finally learn who is Leia’s true soul mate.
It’s an entertaining and satisfying read full of smoky, smoldering heat, adventure, and shhhnap! comic relief from my favorite fa’afafine in literature, Simone. (I swear I went to school with the real Simone, but I digress.) Readers of the first books in the series will not be disappointed. The epilogue even jumps 10 years into the future to show us a sneak peek of how it all turns out. While this book was supposed to end the series, rumor has it that Lani isn’t quite finished with at least some of the characters. Can’t wait.
The Bone Bearer by Lani Wendt Young is self-published and available from Amazon as an eBook and trade paperback. Don’t miss the other works in the series: Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, I am Daniel Tahi (companion novella), and When Water Burns.
Connect with Lani Wendt Young
Bookstore/Blog: http://laniwendtyoung.me/
Telesa Series Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Telesa-Trilogy/146318935466086?fref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/laniwendtyoung
Click to read my review of Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, I am Daniel Tahi, When Water Burns, and The Bone Bearer.
by Lehua Parker | Jul 29, 2013 | Adult Fiction, Book Reviews & Announcements, Pacific Literature
When Water Burns is the second book in the Telesa series by Lani Wendt Young. Loosely based on Polynesian legends, the series is about Leila and Daniel’s discovery of their telesa powers and the complicated alliances and challenges that come from having gifts of fire and water.
One of the great storylines in this book is the will they/won’t they molten fire dance of desire between Leila and Daniel. It’s a great example of a mature and realistic approach to acknowledging and dealing with those overwhelming feelings of new love. Too often fiction assumes that teens have no control or boundaries when it comes to intimacy. It’s also refreshing that it’s Daniel who has the strong moral code based on his grandparents’ traditional Samoan family values.
But When Water Burns is much more than a my-true-love’s-a-fire-goddess-which-threatens-my-own-masculinity tale. The Big Bads in book 1 haven’t been entirely defeated and a few new ones are introduced. Themes about the need to care for the earth and nature being out of balanced are further explored in a race to recover a lost nuclear device, and while readers hope that Leila and Daniel are destined to be together forever, it’s not smooth sailing. As much as she loves Daniel, Leila’s gifts might have something else in mind when Keahi paddles his canoe along Samoa’s shores, voyaging far from his Hawaiian home.
Lani takes us swimming in the deep end with her explorations of belonging, violence against women, gender inequality, and taking charge of one’s own life, but it’s all handled with a deftly light touch that doesn’t feel forced or preachy. Simone’s back and fiercer than ever with a wit and wisdom that keeps the story humming.
Although it’s a complete story, readers are going to want to read Telesa: The Covenant Keeper and I am Daniel Tahi, a companion novella before When Water Burns. Good thing the third book, The Bone Bearer is now available. You won’t believe what happens next!
When Water Burns by Lani Wendt Young is self-published and available from Amazon as an eBook and trade paperback. Don’t miss the other works in the series:Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, I am Daniel Tahi, and The Bone Bearer.
Connect with Lani Wendt Young
Bookstore/Blog: http://laniwendtyoung.me/
Telesa Series Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Telesa-Trilogy/146318935466086?fref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/laniwendtyoung
Click to read my review of Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, I am Daniel Tahi, When Water Burns, and The Bone Bearer.
by Lehua Parker | Jul 24, 2013 | Jolly Fish Press Titles & Authors, MG/YA Fiction, Pacific Literature, The Niuhi Shark Saga
Book 2 is heading to the copy editor where all the commas get put into the right places!
Until then, here’s a little taste of One Shark, No Swim.
I climbed on the toilet tank and stuck my head out the window. The drop was near the front door to Hari’s store. A little below me and to the left was the hand railing for the upstairs lānai that ran along Uncle Kahana’s living room. I was pretty sure I could make it.
Pretty sure.
I was holding onto the window frame hugging the outside wall with the ball of my right foot resting on the railing when I heard a plop. I looked down. A young haole girl with a sunburned nose was looking up at me. A large yellow and orange shave ice was melting at her feet.
“Mom!” she yelled. “There’s a naked boy covered in lipstick climbing out a window!”
I froze. I couldn’t go back and I couldn’t go forward.
“Jeanie!” a woman’s voice scolded from the store.
“Mom! He’s got weeds wrapped around his ankle and wrist!”
Please, let me die and end this, I prayed. But whatever happens, please don’t let anyone show up with a smart phone or camera. If this gets out I’ll never live it down.
“Go away!” I mouthed at her.
“He wants me to go away!”
“What did I say about telling stories?” the woman said.
“But Mom, this time it’s true!”
I sensed more commotion under me, shadows and light flickering like schools of fish on the reef. I peered down.
“Jeanie! Look what you did! Your snow cone’s all over—” the voice trailed off.
Bleach blond hair and mega-sized sunglasses stared up at me. I closed my eyes.
Next to me the sliding door swept open and a strong brown arm wrapped around my body, lifting me over the railing and onto the lānai. Uncle Kahana leaned down.
“Aloha! So sorry about the shave ice! Tell the girl at the counter Kahana said to give you a new one! On the house, of course! Have a nice day!”
As he pushed me through the open door and into living room I heard the woman say, “Hush, Jeanie, hush! I told you it’s another culture! The whole island is like going to Chinatown in San Francisco. Now do you want a free snow cone or not?”
All excerpts and short stories copyright © 2012 by Lehua Parker. Excerpts from the Niuhi Shark Saga by permission of Jolly Fish Press, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of these excerpts may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. No part of these short stories may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author.
by Lehua Parker | Jul 22, 2013 | Adult Fiction, Book Reviews & Announcements, Pacific Literature
As a writer and reader, I find it a fascinating experiment to retell a story from another character’s viewpoint in a way that is fresh and exciting. In her companion novella to the Telesa series, I am Daniel Tahi, Lani Wendt Young takes us back through the events in Telesa: The Covenant Keeper through the eyes of Daniel Tahi, the Samoan hunk and moral heart of the Telesa series.
Telesa, book 1, is told from Leila Folger’s outsider point of view. Raised in America by a Caucasian father, Leila doesn’t know her Samoan family or heritage and the reader is introduced to Samoan culture, values, and traditions through Leila’s eyes.
In this novella, a basic understand of Samoan culture is assumed and the viewpoint and voice are convincingly masculine and testosterone driven. I gotta admit it was a lot of fun to revisit scenes already knowing Leila’s motivations and feelings and discovering Daniel’s. There’s also some new material in the novella that fills some narration gaps I felt were in Telesa. While you could skip this side story in the series and continue straight to book 2, When Water Burns, fans will enjoy getting to know Daniel better.
I am Daniel Tahi by Lani Wendt Young is self-published and available from Amazon as an eBook and trade paperback. Don’t miss the other works in the series: Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, When Water Burns, and The Bone Bearer.
Connect with Lani Wendt Young
Bookstore/Blog: http://laniwendtyoung.me/
Telesa Series Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Telesa-Trilogy/146318935466086?fref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/laniwendtyoung
Click to read my review of Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, I am Daniel Tahi, When Water Burns, and The Bone Bearer.
by Lehua Parker | Jul 15, 2013 | Adult Fiction, Book Reviews & Announcements, Pacific Literature
‘Ewa Which Way by Tyler Miranda peels back the bandage of what adults think adolescence is like to expose the raw, oozing strawberry of reality. I loved this book for its ability to show all the complicated rules, expectations, and entanglements of being a 12-year-old boy trying to make sense out of adult behavior. Set in ‘Ewa Beach, Hawaii in 1982, Landon DeSilva and his brother Luke know that lickins can fall from the sky like lightning, that a certain side-eye from a parent means a storm’s coming, and that sometimes no matter how long you hold your breath you can’t escape, but have to endure the wave to the end.
For Landon, things are bad at home, but not bad enough. Not enough for child protective services to swoop in and spirit Landon and Luke to a new home, not enough for the cops to do more than show up when his parents’ fights wake the neighbors, and not enough for his mother to realize her marriage is over. Throughout the novel Landon tries to figure out what he’s supposed to do when there’s really nothing he can. His parents’ troubles are deep—there’s guilt, prejudices of class and race, loss, alcohol abuse and valium popping coping mechanisms, unfulfilled expectations, and sheer dysfunction. Landon sees it all with the clarity of a twelve-year-old and his reactions and understandings are heartbreaking and true. Adult readers will read not only the story, but all the words and character motivations between the lines. It’s powerful, immediate, and like a bloody scrapped knee, painfully evocative of the transition between childhood and adulthood.
Tyler’s lyrical writing hit so many of the details of growing up in Hawaii pitch perfect—the politics of school bullies and teachers, the endless hours of chores (I so remember scrubbing toilets with Comet and Scott towels and weeding Saturday mornings in heat that felt like standing in a clothes dryer), frustration with siblings who seem to glory in amplifying the problems instead of flying under the radar, conflicting messages between Catholic church teachings and family actions, and the blessed escape an hour in the ocean can be. I particularly enjoyed Tyler’s description of surfing and futzing around in the shore break as a kid. It’s some of the most evocative passages about being in the ocean I’ve ever read.
There’s an argument in literary circles about the difference between books about kids and books for kids, with the educational conceit that kids will read stories about characters their age and a little older, but not younger. While Landon begins the novel as a sixth grader, (well, technically looking back to sixth grade), this book is not for the fourth–seventh grade crowd. My recommendation is for readers grade eight to adult for several reasons.
‘Ewa Which Way is finely crafted as literary fiction and by that I mean it’s rich in symbolism, allegory, metaphor, and has well-developed themes. As entertaining as it is, it’s also perfect for deconstruction in a literature class for kids old enough to appreciate the nuances in the writing. There is much for readers to explore in this novel that goes beyond a simple analysis of plot, character development, and setting. Like To Kill a Mocking Bird, Huck Finn, and The Chosen, ‘Ewa Which Way is a peek into a world few readers know and understand with a storyline that feels universal. (And yes, I do consider ‘Ewa Which Way a Pacific Lit equivalent to Huck Finn. Thanks for asking.)
Another challenge is the language—there’s a lot of Pidgin English construction in the dialogue, mainly dis, dat, an’ da oddah ting kind of phrasing. This version of Pidgin is common on ‘Oahu public school playgrounds, and I think ultimately easier for the non-Pidgin speaker to understand than a more a hard-core version of Pidgin liberally sprinkled with words like hammajang, lolo, and pau. In telling his story Tyler used an authentic interpretation of Hawaiian Pidgin English’s sounds and rhythms that native Pidgin speakers will have no trouble reading, but it requires a little more decoding for English-only speakers. I think this extra work puts it out of the range of most mainland elementary and intermediate readers.
A final red flag that it’s for older kids is the occasional swearing, which might make parents and teachers of younger readers uncomfortable. Don’t worry, the language isn’t a gratuitous Sopranos-bar-of-soap-on-the-tongue fest and it’s used to good effect. Yes, I understand kids know, hear, and use these words, but parents and teachers are the ones who buy the books, and in their eyes, there’s a big difference between what’s appropriate for sixth and eighth grade. It’s the only reason I mentioned it.
I loved this book and can’t recommend it too highly. It’s the kind of novel that makes you think about all the Landons in the world and the DeSilvas next door. Readers looking to remember growing up in Hawaii or wanting to experience life as an island kid are in for a real treat.
‘Ewa Which Way by Tyler Miranda is published by Bamboo Ridge Press and is available in trade paperback at most Hawaii bookstores and Costco or online at Bamboo Ridge Press, SPD, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.
