Healing Water Joyce Moyer Hostetter Hansen’s disease/ historical/ relationships
Calkins Creek, 217 pp., 2008 ISBN 978-1-59078-514-0
Impeccably researched, this heartrending tale is one of a young boy named Pia who is exiled to the Island of Moloka’i when it is discovered that he has Hansen’s disease.
He hopes for rescue by his mentor and older friend Kamaka who he loves with a fierce and determined passion. As time passes his anger and disappointment grow until they overwhelm him, and he becomes a thief and bitter person whom he barely recognize as himself. Life and death in this colony of “unwanted” is brutal, and yet, there are small acts of kindness that shine as a welcome healing light. When Kamaka and his wife arrive on the island, Pia must come to terms with his inner demons or be destroyed by them. Filled with memorable characters both good and evil, this story chronicles the history of this famous colony. Realistically written, this book is an excellent one both for its accuracy, and its graphic portrayal of complicated and complex relationships.
