School for Hawaiian Girls [Paperback]

Georgia Ka'apuni McMillen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001

In School for Hawaiian Girls, first-time novelist Georgia Ka’apuni McMillen chronicles the inner workings of a native-Hawaiian family overcoming poverty to achieve wealth and independence. This tale of rags-to-riches is uniquely rendered as the author peels back the story of heroism and self-sacrifice. Underneath, she reveals a deep wound that plagues this family as it binds it together in secrecy, the 1922 murder of their 16-year-old sister, Lydia.

While most murder mysteries grapple with whodunit, School for Hawaiian Girls focuses on the surviving siblings’ struggle with the first mystery presented, how to go on living after the murder. With an unflinching eye, the author follows the family’s decision to stop speaking of Lydia and its tragic consequence over the next two generations. This leads to the second mystery, how they might remember Lydia and who they were - and learn to understand who they have become. What is the cost of forgetting? What is the value of remembering? These questions are at the heart of this debut work.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 1922 murder of a beloved sister anchors this absorbing debut set vividly in Hawaii. The novel alternates between the era of 16-year-old Lydie Kaluhi's death and 1985, when her great-niece Moani searches for her long-lost relatives, Lydie's illegitimate daughter Angelina and grandson Charles. Narrated by Lydie's brother Sam, her sister Bernie, and Moani, the story tracks the Kaluhi clan from their impoverished struggles in the 1920s to 60 years later, when as a wealthy hotel owner, Sam has bankrolled Moani's off-island education and her thriving kayaking business. Lydie was raped and murdered when she ran away to reclaim the daughter she was forced to give up, and Sam channels his grief into revenge and a lifetime of tireless work. McMillen brings her characters to life with compelling immediacy: 37-year-old Moani has a solitary existence, save her business and the care of her mentally handicapped sister, Pu. Uncle Sam, once a wild boy, has become a controlling, aggressive man on his sixth wife. When Moani begins to unearth family secrets as she seeks out Angelina and Charles, she encounters the adamant objections of her uncle, who hides a dark history of his own in this dramatic, sharply drawn glimpse of a troubled Hawaiian family. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Tales of trouble in paradise always make for compelling reading, and McMillen's debut novel deservedly takes its place in that league. Segueing between the 1920s and 1980s, the story of one family defined and divided by an unsolved mystery is told from the perspectives of those members both intimately involved with and distantly affected by the tragedy. Sam Kahula's 16-year-old sister, Lydia, is raped and murdered on the grounds of the School for Hawaiian Girls. Some say the headmaster's brother-in-law did it; some say Lydia's lover, the father of her illegitimate child, was to blame. When the crime goes unsolved, Sam vows to avenge Lydia's death by transforming himself into one of the island's most influential businessmen. When Sam's niece, Moani, unwittingly tries to buy the now-abandoned school property as a site for a hotel, Sam stops at nothing to prevent Moani from uncovering the long-buried family secret. A riveting mystery and haunting family saga, seductively redolent with island spice and intrigue. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Authorhouse (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759627339
• ISBN-13: 978-0759627338
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,208,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Concise and Engrossing", April 22, 2002

By 

Karen Shibuya, Inscriptions (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School for Hawaiian Girls (Paperback)

Lydia attends the School for Hawaiian Girls on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1922. When she becomes pregnant, her mother ships her off to Maui, forcing her to give up her illegitimate child. A year later, on her way to find her daughter, Lydia's body is found in the cane field. Raped and her throat slashed, she is soon forgotten by everyone but her family.

Moani owns a kayaking business in Honolulu in 1985. Taking care of her mentally disabled sister, Pua, she dreams of buying the School for Hawaiian Girls and turning it into a hotel. In her attempt to purchase the land, she uncovers information about her family, and Lydia's death, and discovers that the past is never completely buried.

"School for Hawaiian Girls" spans several generations, tying together Lydia's murder with Moani's mundane life. Despite the grisly death, the novel is less a "whodunit" than a tale about the mysteries of family. Several plots are interwoven by the use of various narrators, giving the reader a broader perspective. The different voices can be a bit redundant at times, but the threads of the story twine together well overall.

Georgia Ka'apuni McMillen gives each character/narrator a strong and distinct voice. While not always likable, Sam sheds light on his sister's murder and the factors behind it. Moani, his great-niece, possesses an equally strong presence as she attempts to succeed without her family's dubious assistance.

Supported by a number of secondary characters, several of whom get a chance to tell their story, these protagonists all breathe on the page. The advantage of the multiple points of view is that no one comes across as perfect -- rather, only human. The complexity of the characters keeps you reading even once the murderer is uncovered.

McMillen's writing style is concise and engrossing, steeped in the distinct dialect of the Hawaiian islands. For those not familiar with the Hawaiian pidgin dialect, certain phrases might seem confusing, but it allows for an authenticity of place and person. The ending feels abrupt and leaves several small threads dangling, but compared to the overall story, this flaw is minor.

"School for Hawaiian Girls" is not a murder mystery, but a complex story of generations and the "sins of the fathers" visited on the descendants. It's also a carefully woven tale of the conflict between the missionary influence and the native Hawaiian culture, and the resulting problems and prejudices that arose between the two. Most of all, however, it's a story of the interconnectedness of the islands and its families. If you think that Hawaii is simply palm trees and paradise, you'll learn a valuable lesson from "School for Hawaiian Girls."

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hell comes to Paradise, March 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: School for Hawaiian Girls (Paperback)

The 1920s rape & murder of a student at the Christian run School for Hawaiian Girls, was never solved. No one was ever convicted & no white man's justice ever meted out.

Lydia had been a beautiful girl on the edge of womanhood. Loved by two powerful boys, she already had a secret. She was also the target of the headmistress' upbraiding for falling short of her potential.

Told in a fierce chorus of voices, SCHOOL FOR HAWAIIAN GIRLS speaks of memories of a dreadful past & prayers for a hopeful future. There are two terribly warped boys, one the son of the preacher man & the other, caught between the death of his parents' culture & a future in the white man's world; a grandniece of the slain Lydia, a woman now in her thirties with a thriving tourist canoe business & a curiosity to purchase the abandoned school house & make a hotel out of it; & the acid memories & jaundiced nostalgia of the preacher's other child, his daughter, who was once the respected headmistress of the long defunct school.

Everyone has secrets they'd rather not have exposed & everyone feels impelled to do something about keeping those secrets silent.

SCHOOL FOR HAWAIIAN GIRLS is a haunting, fierce & vivid parable about what happens when one culture conquers another & by fair means & foul, sets about humiliating & eradicating their way of life. When Westerners came into Paradise carting their self-righteous mores & their own personal demons, they expected the native population to be grateful for its re-education. What they got was a living hell of suspicions, superstitions & soul-destroying tragedy.

A stunning, satisfying mystery, well written & finely tuned with a glimpse of the lush paradise islands & the dark impulses that drive us humans into our misery!

A taut thriller with liberal doses of redemption - a super read!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You must read School for Hawaiian Girls, March 19, 2002

By 

Larry (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School for Hawaiian Girls (Paperback)

I found this book impossible to put down once I started reading. I do not read a lot but thought this subject looked interesting to me. The book gives us a glimpse into the culture and lives of the Hawaiian people. Coming from the midwest I found this story very interesting. This is NOT your usual read. M's McMillen did a thorough job of catching my interest throughout the entire book. I hope there is a second book in the coming.

After reading this book I found a renewed interest in searching out new authors to read.

I highly recommend this book.