Aloha Summer [School & Library Binding]

Bill Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Fourteen-year-old John Priddle didn't want to leave his friends in Oklahoma. But Daddy, a would-be inventor, was offered a job on Mr. Doles pineapple plantation in the Hawaii Territory in 1925. Hawaii was beautiful, but to John it was anything but paradise. He had never felt more alone in his life. Nobody wanted to be his friend. The Hawaiian kids called him haole -- "white guy" -- and wouldn't play with him. Then John met Kalola Pukui -- a girl in his class who was not like anyone he had met before. She knew he was uneasy around girls, so she promised not to be a girl around him -- and proved she could run, fish, and ride better than any boy around. Then she challenged him to take a chance on friendship -- a friendship that would change his life....

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10. Wallace has created a fish-out-of-water story by moving a boy and his family from Oklahoma to the Dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii in the 1920s. John Priddle and his parents find life in this tropical paradise strange, albeit beautiful, and discover themselves face to face with racism?of other white Americans against the native Hawaiians and the Asian immigrants working on the plantation. While the challenges of a young teen learning to deal with such hatred, as well as his new feelings toward a pretty Hawaiian girl named Carol (Kalola in Hawaiian), could be a powerful story, this one is average and unexciting. John's voice changes throughout the book?sometimes he uses a slang that is supposed to make him sound midwestern (one guesses). At other times, however, that slang disappears, and when it comes back, it is distracting. The novel begins very slowly, and reluctant readers won't get past the first few pages. James Dole makes a few cameos, but the remaining characters are fictitious. Some teens will enjoy the familiar emotions that John and Carol feel toward one another, and some may be interested in the Hawaiian culture and history. But sadly, there is not much here to hold the interest of most readers.?Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Topeka Bindery (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613730690
• ISBN-13: 978-0613730693
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,326,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aloha Summer, December 9, 1999

By 

Don Moore (Hollywood CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aloha Summer (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my daughter before we went on a trip to Hawaii and afterwords she couldn't wait to arrive. She is already a HUGE Bill Wallace fan. If you read all of his other reviews you'll soon see why he is so loved by kids. Anyway, I thought the story my daughter told me was very interesting and so when we returned from Hawaii I myself read the book. The book was amazing. It depicted Hawaii as we saw it and related how it had been before all the developement. The characters were very real to life and I could see how my daughter could relate to the story. Hawaii is a magical place and so is this book. I read the Horn review and found it to be completely wrong so I just had to write one from a REAL reader and parent of a beloved fan. Not to mention a new fan-- ME!

5.0 out of 5 stars Aloha Summer!, May 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Aloha Summer (Hardcover)

Aloha Summer is very good. Actually, I think Bill Wallace is good. In fourth grade, I met Bill Wallace at the Belle Isle Public Library. I think Bill Wallace is very funny. He had some funny stories to tell. Bill Wallace is also a very nice man. I also got to see Bill Wallace's wife, Carol Wallace. I understand that Bill Wllace lives in Chickasha, Oklahoma. I also live in Oklahoma. I think Aloha Summer is the best book Bill Wallace has written.