A Book Review | Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Rating: 4/5
Pages: 384

Moloka'i is centered around a Hawaiian seven year old girl called Rachel who lives in Honolulu. However whilst living there she contracts leprosy ( also known as Hansen's disease). Rachel is forced to be sent to the island Molokai within Hawaii to a leprosy settlement camp in Kalaupapa. There the only person she knows is her Uncle who was sent there before her also diagnosed with leprosy. This book is fiction however it is based off of true events. Between 1866 and 1969 Kalaupapa did have a settlement camp and people still live there today but there are no active cases of the disease. 

Throughout this book we see Rachel grow up on Molokai from the age of 7 all the way up to old age. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book as you really connected and grew up with the character. This book follows Rachel as she comes to terms with her condition, how she deals with it and even how she tries to cure it. 

When Rachel first moves to Molokai' she is forced to stay in a convent with other underage girls rather than with her uncle. This infuriates Rachel as he is the only familiar person to her on the island and she even risks her life one night to go and visit him. 

One main theme for me in this book is death as it heavily features throughout. Her uncle is just one of many people she has to say goodbye to throughout her life. The other theme that stuck out for me was family, not only does Rachel leave all her family behind but she learns to create friendships with people on Molokai that then become family to her despite not being blood relatives. 

One relationship that grew throughout the book and became more valued was that of Rachel and Sister Catherine who she first met aged seven at the convent. They started out not on the best of terms but as Rachel grows older they start to become friends and Rachel even saves her from committing suicide.

Due to the long time span of this book we see the introduction of a lot of technology, for example: planes, moving pictures and electricity in homes. We also get an inside view of what it was like for Hawaiians during the Pearl Harbour attack.

At times I did find it a little hard to take in all the native Hawaiian words and I think it would of been really helpful for there to of been a dictionary at the back for if you forget what a word means. 

If you haven't read the book or are intending to then DON'T read on as the rest of the post contains spoilers.

Rachel meets a man called Kenji and they end up getting married and having a baby girl called Ruth. However to prevent their baby from contacting leprosy they have to give her up for adoption within hours of being birthed. 

Rachel had to be tested 6 negative times for leprosy in order to be able to leave the island. When this eventually did happen late in life Rachel went in search for her family. She first found one of her aunts who basically shuts the door in her face and doesn't want to know her or to be reminded of what happened to their family.

She then found her sister Sarah who was more than happy to see her. Sadly one of her brothers also contracted leprosy at a young age and died quickly, therefore they thought Rachel would of also shared the same fate.

However what Rachel wants most is to find her daughter who she finds living in California. Her daughter Ruth was shocked when she heard her birth mother had Leprosy but was also pleased to learn her mother really had no other option but to give her up as the government forced Rachel and Kenji to.

The book ends with Ruth and her daughter attending her mother's funeral in Honolulu. It was nice that Ruth was able to see where her Mother grew up and too see how different it is to the United States. 

Overall I was really pleased with this book and I feel a lot more educated on what went on at that time in Hawaii and how people had to deal with leprosy and all the prejudice families faced when a member of their family contracted it. I found it really refreshing to read as it's like nothing I've ever read before.

Below is the review I filmed over on my Youtube page:

I hope you enjoyed this recap and review of the book.

So until next time, Sophie x

Christmas Book Haul.

Last year I asked for a shed load of books for Christmas and this year was no exception. 

I received 11 books in total and read 3 before the week was over. I rated these three over on my Goodreads page which you can see here.

1. Annexed by Sharon Dogar: This is the most recent book that I've finished and I loved it! Dogar took Anne Frank's story and wrote the events from the perspective of Peter Van Pels( who lived with his family also in the Annexe). I found it fascinating to have another point of view of their time and what it could of been like for Peter. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads and would recommend it to anyone that likes non/fiction books on the Holocaust. 

2. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen: This is another book that I've already read and again it was a good, quick read. It is about a Jewish girl called Hannah who is fed up with Passover and bored by hearing her Grandpa go on about the Holocaust. However when Hannah opens the door as a Passover ritual she is transported to the 1940's and faces the Nazi's for herself. It really reminded me why we should never forget the atrocities that happened. 

3. City Of Women by David Gillham: So i'm not quite sure what this is about except that the protagonist is a german soldiers wife who still has feelings for her former lover who is a Jew. This sounds like a really interesting plot line and I hope to read this book next. 

4. Alicia by Alicia Appleman-Jurman: This Memoir is about a 13 year old girl who lost all of her family to the Nazi's but then goes on to save the lives of thousands of Jews. It's gotten really good reviews on Goodreads so I expect I will enjoy it. 

5. Heads In Beds by Jacob Tomsky: This book is about Tomsky's journey through the hotel system from being a car valet to managing a department. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads as I wanted to hear more juicier stories of what goes on behind the scenes. 

6. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert: Somehow I managed to stumble across this book and really don't know much about it but I was really interested to read about Hawaii. It is about a young girl who is taken away from her family and sent to a isolated leprosy settlement.

7. The World According To Gogglebox by Jazon Hazeley: This was the first book I read and finished it on Christmas night! If you live in the UK you will know of the show Gogglebox where we go into families homes and watch them react to the weeks t.v programmes. In the States and Canada there's a version of it called "The people's couch". The book contains interviews with the family from how they met to what's their favourite shows to watch. There are some great cartoons included as well! Its a great coffee table book and I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

8. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg: Its no surprise that this was probably on most teenage girls Christmas lists this year. To be honest I have not much of an idea of whats its about except for the protagonist is a girl with a blog who has a love interest. I have no expectations going into this book so I hope to be pleasantly surprised. 

9. Just Between Us by Mario Lopez: I have been a massive fan of Mario Lopez since he played AC Slater on "Saved By The Bell", therefore I was really excited to see he had written a book. I actually tween Mario a picture of my book saying I can't wait to read it and he actually tweeted me back! I was astounded that he did so.

10. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan: I'm a big fan of Cassandra Clare's work but I have to admit that i've never heard of the other two authors. I love the shadow hunter world and can't wait to be submerged into it again.  

11. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby: As soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew I had to read it! It contained the words "Lucille Ball" and "I Love Lucy", I was sold. Its about a woman in the 1960's Britain who really admires Lucille for paving the way for female comedians and she wants to follow in her footsteps. 

So theres the 11 books I received for Christmas so look out for some book reviews coming soon!

Sophie.