I confess that, as I opened this book, I was fearful of what I might find. The author is a very close friend and I wanted to like her book. However, I knew it was about the leper colony in Hawaii and I was afraid that Joyce was trying to write about a subject that neither she nor her readers had any experience with.
Wow! How wrong can you be! I was immediately drawn in to the story of Pia, a young boy who saw his life uprooted when he developed leprosy. I guess I had forgotten that you don't have to know about leprosy and Hawaii to know and empathize with the shattered dreams of a little boy. Then God sent him Father Damien. Pia's adjustments to his new life are both heart breaking and heart warming. Aloha and God were with him always.
This book is recommended for good readers from the fourth grade up. It should be in every library where young people are encouraged to believe in the power of Aloha. Reviewed by Shirley Cunningham
Wow! How wrong can you be! I was immediately drawn in to the story of Pia, a young boy who saw his life uprooted when he developed leprosy. I guess I had forgotten that you don't have to know about leprosy and Hawaii to know and empathize with the shattered dreams of a little boy. Then God sent him Father Damien. Pia's adjustments to his new life are both heart breaking and heart warming. Aloha and God were with him always.
This book is recommended for good readers from the fourth grade up. It should be in every library where young people are encouraged to believe in the power of Aloha. Reviewed by Shirley Cunningham
I have heard a great deal about this book. Is it available in the church library?
ReplyDeleteIt is in the HTLC library and I would be happy to furnish a signed copy for Christ Lutheran
ReplyDeletecunningbd: We go to Hawaii every summer and are now excited about visiting the leper colony. We loved the way the author used so many Hawaiian words like "aloha" for love.
ReplyDelete