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By the time Mai Nakahara’s family leaves Tokyo to help run her aunt and uncle’s restaurant in Hawaii, she’s pretty much gotten used to living without the arm she lost to cancer. But life in Honolulu presents its own challenges: a giant ocean she’s too afraid to swim in, mean girls to ignore, and horrible sports to play in gym class. Fortunately, there are also some good things about her new home, and with the help of her cousin, her new friends, and a famous one-armed surfer named Chloe Hayes, Mai discovers that the only real obstacle to her own happiness is believing in herself.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2016
4 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Taylor
43 books117 followersStephanie Taylor writes a romantic comedy series about a fictional island called "Christmas Key," as well as several other standalone romance, YA, and middle grade titles.
You can check out her website at: www.redbirdsandrabbits.com
You can check out her website at: www.redbirdsandrabbits.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 26, 2023
Wow! I loved this book!
A very inspirational story about learning to live life the way it is, not the way you wish it could be. Mai has to learn this when she’s hit with huge changes in a short time; losing an arm to bone cancer, moving to Hawaii from her home in Tokyo, and helping her parents begin a new business. With the help of family, and new friends, Mai learns that all changes don’t have to turn badly…
I would recommend this one for every middle-grade aged girl, everywhere.
A very inspirational story about learning to live life the way it is, not the way you wish it could be. Mai has to learn this when she’s hit with huge changes in a short time; losing an arm to bone cancer, moving to Hawaii from her home in Tokyo, and helping her parents begin a new business. With the help of family, and new friends, Mai learns that all changes don’t have to turn badly…
I would recommend this one for every middle-grade aged girl, everywhere.
October 13, 2017
I received a free giveaway for an honest review.
The book starts in Tokyo, Japan with Mai and her family who live happily until she gets diagnosed bone cancer that they had to amputate her arm and then her dad is having problems in the restaurant. They move to Hawaii and go help with their relatives restaurant. For Mai is going to be a cultural shock moving to America a new land she doesn't know and this new family she is going to see. When she lands in Hawaii she meets her new family and her cousin Kalena, who is in love with nail polish and The Beatles but she isn't bad at all. Mai enter in Middle School is when her problems start to arise during P.E. class with the two mean girls who always make fun of her due to her one arm because she can't do nothing. Until she meets Ikeka and Jay and would help her to surf when they talked about chloe Hayes a pro one armed surfer. Makes her spirits get high but then she meets Myrtle and stand up for her and I love the part they became best friends but what I love about the scene is that she finally stood up for herself of the two girls who always teased her. I love that in the ending she stopped having anger in her life because she found out that she was not the only one missing something out in life even her friends were.
The book starts in Tokyo, Japan with Mai and her family who live happily until she gets diagnosed bone cancer that they had to amputate her arm and then her dad is having problems in the restaurant. They move to Hawaii and go help with their relatives restaurant. For Mai is going to be a cultural shock moving to America a new land she doesn't know and this new family she is going to see. When she lands in Hawaii she meets her new family and her cousin Kalena, who is in love with nail polish and The Beatles but she isn't bad at all. Mai enter in Middle School is when her problems start to arise during P.E. class with the two mean girls who always make fun of her due to her one arm because she can't do nothing. Until she meets Ikeka and Jay and would help her to surf when they talked about chloe Hayes a pro one armed surfer. Makes her spirits get high but then she meets Myrtle and stand up for her and I love the part they became best friends but what I love about the scene is that she finally stood up for herself of the two girls who always teased her. I love that in the ending she stopped having anger in her life because she found out that she was not the only one missing something out in life even her friends were.
June 19, 2018
What an amazing set of authors!
September 11, 2016
I loved this book! I could not put it down. Meet Mai --a young Japanese girl who is learning to live life with only one arm and whose family is forced to make a major move from Japan to Oahu.
As any of my friends and family can tell you I am a Hawaii addict! These authors did their research on the particulars about Hawaii and surfing, making it real and visual. I could FEEL it. And how could I not like a story with my Hawaiian name as one of the characters (Kalena).
But over and above that...a delightful story about learning to make the best of what you are given and having the strength and fortitude to show the world that a disability does not have to define who you are. It is hard enough being in middle school without having to fight bullies AND a disability.
This is the 2nd book by this mother-daughter team, and the best one yet! Well worth the read!!
Good job Stephanie Taylor and Holland Burris!
As any of my friends and family can tell you I am a Hawaii addict! These authors did their research on the particulars about Hawaii and surfing, making it real and visual. I could FEEL it. And how could I not like a story with my Hawaiian name as one of the characters (Kalena).
But over and above that...a delightful story about learning to make the best of what you are given and having the strength and fortitude to show the world that a disability does not have to define who you are. It is hard enough being in middle school without having to fight bullies AND a disability.
This is the 2nd book by this mother-daughter team, and the best one yet! Well worth the read!!
Good job Stephanie Taylor and Holland Burris!
September 8, 2016
This is the 2nd book in a series by the mother-daughter team of Stephanie Taylor and Holland Burris, and it keeps on the theme of tween-teen girls dealing with adversity in their lives. Mai leaves her home in Japan to start a new life with extended family in Hawaii, overcoming her fears along the way. The characters in this book are very much two dimensional, and I could really picture Mai and her friends in the way the dialogue was written (I'm sure having an actual middle schooler helps in that regard) as they navigate school and family. Hawaii seemed richly alive, with lots of vivid imagery and plenty of Hawaiian words and phrases. You'll cheer along as Mai confronts her fears and laugh as she deals with middle school bullies. I would highly recommend this book!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews