Healing Water - Hardcover

Hostetter, Joyce Moyer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590785142 ISBN 13: 9781590785140

Publisher: Calkins Creek, 2008

Synopsis

Nineteenth-century Hawai'i. Thirteen-year-old Pia's life is forever changed by leprosy. Pia has never known his real father. But Kamaka, a family friend, has taught him how to work, explore, and take on physical challenges. Pia believes Kamaka is fearless. He never suspects that a time will come when Kamaka could actually be afraid of him. Neither does he expect his own body to betray him, or his government to tear him from his family and send him into exile. When Pia finds himself abandoned on Moloka‘i, in Hawai‘i's leprosy settlement, he turns to the skills he learned from Kamaka to help him survive. But the conditions are harsh. Pia discovers that he must choose between lawlessness and aloha, revenge and forgiveness, his own willfulness and the example of someone worthy of being like a father. This fictional account was inspired by the experiences of the many Hawaiians who were sent to Moloka‘i's isolated Kalaupapa peninsula starting in 1866 and by the life of Father Damien deVeuster, who chose to live and work there in the late 1800s. The author conducted extensive research, working with experts and visiting the leprosy settlement.

   Suddenly I felt my power. Kamaka wanted my friendship. But I did not want his.
   I looked at him and smiled a slow, taunting smile. Then I poured the water down the side of the mountain and watched it turn into a cool stream. It rippled over the rocks like an old song. But it was not a happy sound.
   "Swim by yourself, Kamaka," I said. "I will never swim with you again."
   The volcano erupted then and shook me awake. —FROM THE BOOK

About this title

About the Author:

Joyce Moyer Hostetter received a BA in early childhood education at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina. She continued her studies on the graduate level in special education at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and in art at James Madison University in Virginia. She lives in Newton, North Carolina.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5 Up—Pia, 13, lives on the islands of Hawaii in the 1860s. He has a loving family and a lifelong older friend whom he sees as fearless, giving him guidance and direction as he grows. When Pia is discovered to have leprosy, he is shipped to Molokai, a settlement set up by the government to isolate those with the disease. He is angry about losing his family and feels betrayed by Kamaka, who abandons him when he gets sick. Once at Molokai, Pia must learn to survive at a place where people are ostracized like criminals and treated harshly. Readers follow him as he chooses between anger and love, revenge and forgiveness. The richly drawn characters and descriptions of living conditions give insight into the despair of the people and the hope that comes when a priest volunteers to live and work in the colony and bring order to its residents. This book is based on accounts of Hawaiians sent to Molokai and the work of Father Damien. However, the struggle to forgive, and the hope that love brings are timeless themes that are presented in a powerful way.—Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
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About this edition

• Publisher: Calkins Creek
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1590785142
• ISBN 13: 9781590785140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208