R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on 7/19/2011 + 1452 more book reviews

How does one write about a book that so imprints the heart and mind? There is love, ignorance and cruel treatment of the less fortunate. Rachel is a six-year-old who has been diagnosed with leprosy. She doesn't understand what is happening - only that her uncle has leprosy, too, and that her parents can no longer be with her. As she is taken away for treatment, she cries and screams for her loving family. Treatment is unsuccessful and she is moved to a leprosy treatment community to isolate her from the healthy. In Kalaupapa, the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, she finds love from her Uncle Pono and his lover, other children with leprosy, and Sister Catherine (Ruth). She grows up in Kalaupapa, falls in love and marries a kind young man. They have a daughter which they name Ruth after Sister Catherine. As lepers they must give up their healthy daughter for adoption if they can find no family member to adopt her for their own. The story weaves throughout Rachel's life and she witnesses the changes, both political and modernization, that come to Hawaii as well as Kalaupapa. Many of the characters are based on real personalities but that of Rachel is a combination of several. I rarely shed tears reading a book, but I foun them flowing freely as I read this story. I can make no higher recommendation than this - DON'T MISS THIS STORY.

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