Hula: A Novel

(Hardback)

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A full-throated chant for Hawai'i. Part coming-of-age story, part historical family epic, all love. . . . Its impossible to come away unchanged. KAWAI STRONG WASHBURN, author of the PEN/Hemingway award-winning Sharks in the Times of Saviors

Set in Hilo, Hawaii, a sweeping saga of tradition, culture, family, history, and connection that unfolds through the lives of three generations of womena brilliant blend of There, There and Sharks in the Time of Saviors that is a tale of mothers and daughters, dance and destiny.

Theres no running away on an island. Soon enough, you end up where you started.

Hi'i is proud to be a Naupaka, a family renowned for its contributions to hula and her hometown of Hilo, Hawaii, but theres a lot she doesnt understand. Shes never met her legendary grandmother and her mother has never revealed the identity of her father. Worse, unspoken divides within her tight-knit community have started to grow, creating fractures whose origins are somehow entangled with her own family history.

In hula, Hi'i sees a chance to live up to her name and solidify her place within her family legacy. But in order to win the next Miss Aloha Hula competition, she will have to turn her back on everything she had ever been taught, and maybe even lose the very thing she was fighting for.

Told in part in the collective voice of a community fighting for its survival Hula is a spellbinding debut that offers a rare glimpse into a forgotten kingdom that still exists in the heart of its people.

Reviews

"[An] ambitious and poignant debutHakes illuminates on every page. Publishers Weekly (starred review) A full-throated chant for Hawai'i. Part coming-of-age story, part historical family epic, all love. The pages fly by amidst fluid, furious language and captivating drama. This book breathes new life into island narratives...it's impossible to come away unchanged. Kawai Strong Washburn, author of the PEN/Hemingway award-winning Sharks in the Times of Saviors. Hula is an unforgettable ode to Hawaii, its people, and the power and pain of its history. Through one family and its fearless women, Jasmin Iolani Hakes offers a profound examination of what it means to defy and to belong. Qian Julie Wang, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Country Majestic, powerful, mysterious, and captivating as Hawaiian mountains, Hula is a magnificent achievement, a courageous act of resistance against colonization, an epic love song for native Hawaiian people. I cannot wait for readers everywhere to celebrate Jasmin Iolani Hakes talent. Nguyn Phan Qu Mai, internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child Raw, real and richly layered, Hula is a love letter to Hawaii, most especially Keaukaha. The words in this novel hit like a hurricanepowerful and intense and imbued with every nuance of island life, from hanabata days to the final paddle out. Brilliantly written and expertly structured, the story of the Naupaka women, and the bitter struggles of the native Hawaiian people, will stay with you long after youve turned the last page. Jasmin Iolani Hakes has penned a new classic in Hawaiian literature. I could not put this book down. Maikai Sara Ackerman, bestselling author ofRadar Girls and Red Sky Over Hawaii. Hula immerses readers in a place they wont find on any map sold to tourists, Hawaii for Hawaiians. Ferociously beautiful and beautifully ferocious, Hula is a novel soaked in the spirit of Haunani-Kay Trask. Myriam Gurba, award-wining author of Mean and Dahlia Season

Author Bio

Jasmin Iolani Hakes was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee. She is the recipient of the Best Fiction award from the Southern California Writers Conference, a Squaw Valley LoJo Foundation Scholarship, a Writing by Writers Emerging Voices fellowship, and a Hedgebrook residency. Dance has always been central to Jasmin's life and creativity. She took her first hula class when she was four years old and danced for the esteemed Halau o Kekuhi and the Tahitian troupe Hei Tiare. She worked throughout college as a professional luau dancer. She lives in California.