5.19.2014

Moloka'i ~ Alan Brennert

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Year: 2004
Pages: 384
Rating: «««««

Book Blurb:
This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place - and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is suppose to end - but instead she discovers that it is only just beginning.

My thoughts:
Absolutely AMAZING! This book will pull on your heartstrings from beginning to end. It is heartbreaking, heartwarming - an emotional roller coaster. It is an absolutely beautifully written story. All of the characters are beautifully and carefully crafted - each with their own distinct personalities and their own own set of challenges yet they are all facing the same problem: leprosy. Either they are infected with the disease or they are working to help the patients.