And I found He Mele A Hilo on the list. I am really happy to be on this list, with some amazing authors. Thank you to Trish and to Vela!
Ryka
1. Ryka Aoki, He Mele A Hilo: A Hilo Song
Ryka Aoki’s He Mele A Hilo: A Hilo Song is a gorgeously rambling ensemble tale of postcolonial living in Hawaii, which is by turns meditative and sorrowful— but mostly comic, verging on hilarious. In fact, Aoki had me laughing before I’d even begun to read the story proper, with the Mahalo! that welcomes the reader, not without irony: “Use the Glossary at the back of the book and soon you’ll feel like a local!”