Cloudia W. Charters

What a little gem this is. I came to this book knowing nearly nothing about Hawaii, which is how "June", the spirited narrator of this story, pretty much seems to be when she and her significant other abandon Philadelphia for an open-windowed shack on a hillside in Kona.

Neither of them can stand it in the middle of Tropical Noplace, and the boyfriend heads home, while June heads for Honolulu where girlfriends get her a job at Club Calendar Girl, dancing. She has money in her hand, and a place to be, but after a while it begins to pale, and, having noticed the taxi drivers coming in for their fares, June decides to try for a job doing that.

She is an oddity, a haole wahine (foreign woman) driving a cab in a city that, while it is certainly American, is also strongly Japanese, Chinese, native Hawaiian and a whole zesty mix of cultures, food and outlooks, which we see through June's eyes.

It is obvious that the author loves her adopted home, and she wraps her story in a marvelous description of the history and ways of Hawaii. Nonetheless, this book describes a very personal journey, one that takes a circuitous path that could never have been predicted at the start. An unwelcome change in her taxi driving routine makes June feel that the Universe may be against her, but in fact, this very change brings someone into her life who will give her a gift that is as unexpected as it is precious.

You'll love June and you'll step into (several!) worlds which you probably would not otherwise glimpse. I promise, you'll be glad you did.

Aloha!… (altro)