Aloha Summer

by Bill Wallace

It's the 1920s and pineapple mogul James Dole hires 14-year-old John Priddle's father to leave Oklahoma and move to Hawaii to work for him. The island of Lanai looks more like Oklahoma than an exotic paradise—but other things are much stranger than John expected. The "white" people on the island treat the Hawaiians miserably—and the only native in school who will speak to him is Carol, a pretty dark-eyed Hawaiian girl who becomes, to his shock, his best friend. But as Carol shows him the wonders of the island, an insidious enemy is secretly trying to harm Carol's beloved grandfather Makalii and steal his land. It will take all of the strength John and Carol can muster to save Makalii and return him to his beloved land.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult

Library Binding

First published April 1, 1997

About the author

Bill Wallace was an American teacher and later an author of children's books. He started writing to quiet down his fourth grade students, who loved his stories and encouraged him to make “real” books.

Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun.

Bill Wallace has won numerous children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.

Bill Wallace died from Lung cancer on January 30, 2012.

Former elementary school teacher; West Elementary School, Chickasha, OK, principal, since 1977, and physical education teacher. Speaker at schools and universities in various states, including State University of New York and University of South Florida.

AWARDS:

Bluebonnet Award from Texas Association of School Librarians and Children's Round Table and Sequoyah Children's Book Award from Oklahoma State Department of Education, both 1983, Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Nebraska Golden Sowers Award from Nebraska Library Association, 1985, all for A Dog Called Kitty; Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Pine Tree Book Award, 1985, both for Trapped in Death Cave.

Reviews

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is avery good young adult novel that shows a glimpse of what life was like in Hawaii in the early 20th century. It has a simple plot but that plot is enough to show the prejudices that existed then as well as the wisdom that people needed to overcome them. This is a good read for teens.

[lizzie rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice quick read, although the ending kind of happened really fast and all of a sudden.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

gr 6-10 167pgs


1925, Dole Pineapple Plantation, Hawaii. When his father takes a job in Hawaii, 14 year old John has a hard time adjusting. When he admires his neighbor Carol's horse, he is shocked when she gives it to him as a present. Knowing that she must walk to school, John is talked into giving her a ride. At first, John wants nothing to do with a girl, but finds that they have a lot in common including an interest in fishing. As he and his parents learn more about life on the island, they discover that life is not as perfect as it seems and wonder if they can do something to change it.