Healing Water: A Hawaiian Story [Hardcover]

Joyce Moyer Hostetter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Nineteenth-century Hawaii. 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.

Editorial Reviews

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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Review

* This historical novel presents information about Hawaii's leper colony in the late 1800s. The Hawaiian government quarantined all people who were identified with the illness to a private settlement on the Kalaupapa peninsula. This particular tale follows Pia who is shipped away after he starts showing signs of leprosy. Though being separated from his family and forced to survive on his own is difficult enough, his biggest issue is the anger he feels when his best friend, Kamaka, abandons him. A local leper, Bold, has managed to amass more than his fair share of loot, and offers Pia sanctuary if he will be Boki's slave. With no food, clothes, or options, Pia accepts even though it means having to do things that challenge his moral code. After living on the island for years, Pia is reunited with Kamaka. Kamaka's presence plus the addition of a full time priest, Father Damien, help Pia cope with both his disease and his anger issues. This interesting and compelling read on an infrequently written-about topic will find an appropriate audience in a middle or a high school setting. --Library Media Connection, Starred Review

"... This inspirational tale parallels the biblical story of Jesus's healing of the leper, and Father Damien's character is based on a real-life missionary who lived in this leprosy settlement and died of complications related to the disease...it's a memorable story of hope in the most desperate of circumstances. (author's notes, timeline, glossary, resources)" --Kirkus Reviews

"... The portrait of Father Damien, the Belgian priest who dedicates his life to helping the villagers, is rendered so compassionately (and realistically)...he reminds the people of the values they carry inside them already, and draws them away from the despair and grief that have temporarily kept them from helping and caring for each other. An extensive author's note, glossary, and resource list is included; readers will find their compassion stirred and their interest piqued through this truly fine historical novel." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press; 1st Ed. edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590785142
• ISBN-13: 978-1590785140
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joyce Moyer Hostetter grew up in rural North Carolina. After a brief struggle with Dick, Jane, and Sally in first grade she became an avid reader. Reading was a great way to find solitude in the midst of life with seven siblings. She also figured out if she wanted to get a word in edgewise she'd have to write it down!

Her middle grade Language Arts teacher told her she'd be a great writer some day so she began working hard to live up to that goal. However,she spent some years raising her two children, running a preschool, and teaching special education before turning to writing as a career.

She is now the author of four historical novels and has several in-progress. Her book BLUE about a North Carolina polio epidemic won the International Reading Association Children's Book Award in addition to other honors. The sequel, Comfort is now available. Healing Water, her book about Hawaii's leprosy settlement, is not nearly as depressing as it sounds!

Joyce has always loved history and she's crazy about research. She loves scrounging up some powerful hidden bit of history and sharing it with the world through compelling fiction. Although her novels are geared toward middle graders, they are widely enjoyed by adults as well.

Joyce speaks at schools, conferences, and conventions about her books and the history behind them. She also speaks about the writing process.

When she is not writing and speaking she's likely to be pulling weeds or planting flowers with the help of her husband and a grandchild or two. Or three. Or five.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 18, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Water: A Hawaiian Story (Hardcover)

Things will never be the same for thirteen-year-old Pia, now that he has leprosy. He will be sent off to the island of Molokai to die with others who have the same condition, ripped from the arms of his ohana, his family. No more comfort from his mother and sister, nor from the only father figure he's ever known, Kamaka.

Since even Kamaka has shunned him, and because the island of outcasts is a place with no law, Pia quickly learns to harden his heart, and to do what he must to survive for as long as he can.

This is the story of the neglect and abandonment of people, the loss of a beloved culture, and the strength of a young boy facing extreme obstacles. But most of all, this is a story of forgiveness and hope.

Joyce Moyer Hostetter, author of Blue, tells another historical tale of an epidemic that once clutched the very souls of the inflicted and spun their lives out of control. She shows the strength and determination that can rise from those tossed into the worst imaginable conditions and she doesn't hide the ugliness that unfolds with it. It's a balanced story that explores a specific time and place with obvious accuracy and integrity, and it's woven around the personal experiences of one brave but lost boy.

Strong writing and a uniquely captivating story!

Reviewed by: Julie M. Prince

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healing Water, March 29, 2008

By 

steph - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Water: A Hawaiian Story (Hardcover)

I just finished reading Healing Water. This is a wonderful story of a sad time in Hawaii's history. Joyce Hostetter's talent in weaving history into a captivating account of a young man's journey is spellbinding. I could feel Pia's gut wrenching landing on Moloka'i after being separatef forever from his family (please excuse the backward `okina). I could smell the dampness of the fauna and salt air and appreciate the view from Diamond Head after Pia and Kamaka raced to the top.

Joyce's writing provides the reader with a true sense and meaning of aloha and how it can never be truly lost. Just buried for a time - as a means of survival.

Young and old alike will not only enjoy Pia's story but also learn how one man can make a difference in the lives of many.

As a middle school teacher, Healing Water will be on the top of my list for Historical Fiction. Steph

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Story of Molokai, June 2, 2008

By 

Tamela Mccann "taminator40" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healing Water: A Hawaiian Story (Hardcover)

Imagine being fourteen and diagnosed with a deadly disease. Now imagine being torn away from the loving arms of your family and sent alone to an unknown island to live with others who share your disease, where you must learn how to survive by whatever means necessary, knowing there is no hope that you will be able to leave. This is the setting of Healing Water, a novel based on the real leper colony of Molokai in the late 1800s.

Filled with bitter anger over the abandonment by his beloved friend Kamaka, Pia allows himself to turn to the seamier side of the island's inhabitants. How Pia struggles to make peace with himself makes this a truly gripping novel, and one I can highly recommend to readers of all ages. I am now inspired to learn more of this lonely colony and its inhabitants.

Thank you to the Historical Novel Society for an advance review copy of this terrific young adult novel.