Hilo native Jasmin 'Iolani Hakes spins a multigenerational story of a Hawaiian family fighting to keep their traditions alive through the discipline and sacrifice of hula dancing. When family secrets are exposed, everything the Naupaka family has built is in danger of being swept away by the rising tide of colonialism. A beautifully written book that explores the connections between culture, hula, family, land, and what it means to be truly Hawaiian.
Publisher's description:
Hi'i is proud to be a Naupaka, a family renowned for its contributions to hula and her hometown of Hilo, Hawaii, but there's a lot she doesn't understand. She's 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.