Kealaula

by Kim Cope Tait

When Kealaula and her little sister Virgilia are sent to Hawaiʻi Island to learn the secret strand of their mother's story, and by extension their own, she learns much more than the origin of her own name. "Part bear and part trout," as her father calls her, Vermont-born Kealaula forms indestructible bonds with her cousin Nalu and Melody and George Nunes, whose friendship teaches her how a person can be two things at once without being less of either. She has always known that Ke Ala Ula was "the red way," or the path that the sun blazes on the ocean when it sets, but in Waimea she learns that it denotes that same blazing pathway...when the sun is rising over the water. Full of endings and beginnings, Kealaula is a coming-of-age story about growing up, opening up, and letting go.

Paperback

Published March 21, 2019

About the author

Kim Cope Tait earned her MFA in Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2000. Her work has appeared in literary journals and magazines in the U.S. and abroad. She has two previous novels, Inertia and Bend the Blue Sky, as well as a chapbook of poems entitled Element. Kim also wrote and recorded Lotus Wheel: Guided Meditations for Relaxation and Healing in 2013. Most recently, her full-length collection of poems, Shadow Tongue, was published with Finishing Line Press. Having lived in California, Hawaii, Switzerland, Vermont, and Colorado, Kim now writes and lives with her partner in New Zealand.

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kealaula, the protagonist of the novel named after her, is a teenage girl who is half-Hawaiian, but has lived her entire life in Vermont. Her mother has for some reason kept her from going to the land of her ancestors for all this time, and the mystery of why is one of the questions driving this book. "Kealaula" is also the Hawaiian word for the red path made by the rising or setting sun on the ocean, and this too is part of the mystery that the title character has to solve: Why was she given this name, and what does it mean to her?

I loved and was amazed at how effortlessly the author captured the Hawaian culture, their love for the land and the reverence for their ancestors. Although I have been studying hula for 15 years, and have visited Hawaii several times, she has understood far more than I ever have, and I’m grateful for her wisdom. She even showed some things that aren’t so good — like the way that people in Hawaii are sometimes judged by their appearance. Kealaula, who looks Hawaiian, is accepted right away, while a friend of hers who looks white still feels like an outsider, even though her family has been in Hawaii for six generations. I guess I suspected something like that might be true, but I didn’t know.

Nevertheless, this is overall a very gentle book. It will be immensely satisfying for anyone who loves Hawaii. The descriptions will make you feel as if you're there. It should also resonate with anyone who feels torn between two identities or two cultures, and who feels as if they don't quite belong anywhere. You don't have to choose. You can be both things, and be proud of them both.

[Jade Rous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story about growing up and exploring one’s roots. Includes lots about Hawaiian culture and history.