Hello everyone! I can’t believe we are to the last Book Group get together for the year already, where did the time go? I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed “Aloha Kanani”!
I can say that so far, this is probably my favorite of all of the Girl Of The Year Books we’ve talked about. I thought that it was a very well written book without some of the issues that bothered me with some of the previous ones we’ve discussed.
The set up for the story is very well done, and you can get a real feel for Kanani’s surroundings. From the description of her room to the Akina’s store, I found it very easy to visualize in my mind. The additional characters really rounded out the story, I especially enjoyed her aunties who came to the store with their daily goodies for Kanani to try! As someone who grew up with a number of older relatives and family friends constantly around, I thought it was terrific that these characters were included and how they were presented. The combination of the generations along with the tidbits of Hawaiian tradition were so well done and I found myself smiling the whole time I was reading the book.
There is a bit of conflict, but it’s more a case of misunderstanding instead of outright meanness. There isn’t a villain or nasty person in this book, just two girls who come from completely different worlds not quite seeing things from the same way. I also loved the part about the baby seal, it not only added a lot to the story, but also was a great lesson in how we shouldn’t interfere with wild animals if we don’t know what we are doing. Especially timely given some stories that have recently hit the news with people thinking they are helping wildlife but in fact are doing more damage than good.
I’m not going to say much more because I don’t want to give too much away. Just that I liked this book way more than I expected to and I’m going to look for the second one now! That said, another thing I liked about it is the book is quite capable of standing alone without leaving the reader wondering what happens in the future books. It’s a good story that does a very good job of telling the story with all of the necessary elements and having a true resolution at the end.
Did you like it?
Book group will resume in January once the holidays are over with. January book will be “Meet Cecile” and February will be “Grace”. The entire series of Grace Thomas books are still available on American Girl, so you have plenty of time to pick it up and read it between now and then!
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