In 1935, after 10 years in Chicago starting his medical career, Daniel Abe is returning home to Hilo Town, on Hawaii's big island. The town is largely made up of Japanese immigrants who were conned into working on a sugar plantation and their descendants. Daniel is the one kid who left...and then came back. However, just as he arrives, Mauna Loa begins erupting, and the close-knit community must decide whether to stay or go, while Daniel and his close family friend Koji sort through their respective pasts.
As a historical fiction, this book definitely succeeds in taking the reader back in time and to a specific place--I could almost taste the mangoes as I read this book. And it's an intriguing story that needs to be told. That said, so many characters are created in this book that some of their stories are condensed much more than they should've been (I'd argue that two characters in particular deserve their own novels) and it can sometimes be difficult to tell what's going on when. But if you want to take a quick, authentic mental trip to Hawaii's past, this is the book for you.
*This book will be published on July 7, 2020.
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