Set in the late 1700s, Wai-nani is the daughter of a great Hawaiian chieftain. However, she finds that she can’t live by his rules and swims away to another island. On her journey, she meets people from other Hawaiian tribes, lives through wind and wave, and eventually meets some of the first Caucasians to visit the islands. Along the way, she is accompanied by her friend the dolphin Eku.

I really wanted to like this book. I set into it wanting to sink in and soak up some Hawaiian history via this historical fiction. However, I often found myself a bit lost. Now part of that is me. I am woefully ignorant about both the history and myths of the Hawaiian peoples and the Hawaiian language. Throughout Wai-nani’s story, there are tales of the ancient Hawaiian gods woven in. Quite frankly, I would sometimes lose track of the characters, the names being so unfamiliar to me, and I would then lose track of whether or not I was was listening to events happening in Wai-nani’s present or a tale of old (of ancient gods or ancient warriors) being told to or by Wai-nani. Secondly, there are several Hawaiian words used throughout the book (and normally I revel in this sort of thing) but the sounds are so unfamiliar to me that I had trouble keeping track of what was meant by which word… and Ooops! sometimes I confused a Hawaiian noun with a person’s name and vice versa. So, certain chunks of the plot were somewhat of a muddle to me.

So I would say that if you are as ignorant of the Hawaiian language and myths as I am, this might not be the book to start your education with. Also, I think it might be best to eyeball read it instead of listening to it as you could make note of the Hawaiian words (or hopefully the author included an small dictionary in the ebook/paper versions) and the grammar alone will clue you into whether it is a person’s name or vocabulary.

I did enjoy that Wai-nani had such an active life! She was very physically active, surfing and swimming and hiking much of the time. She often risked much voicing her opinion to chiefs concerning the traditional taboos against women doing this or that (like eating bananas). I would have enjoyed having other female characters doing the same instead of Wai-nani being the odd woman out most of the time.

Then Captain Cook and his ships come sailing in. This was initially a little confusing to me as well, and it’s because Cpt. Cook has a unique name in Hawaiian that is used primarily. However, I did like that it was more of a side note towards the end of Wai-nani’s life instead of some big climax to her life. The book does do a good job of showing that the Hawaiian peoples had full eventful lives and cultures of their own before Caucasians showed up.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks!

The Narration: Christine Padovan was an adequate narrator. She pronounced the Hawaiian words consistently through the book. I can’t speak to the accuracy of pronunciation because I am unfamiliar with the language. However, she had a somewhat stilted voice. I have listened to one other book narrated by Padovan (a SF story) and I thought she had added the stilt on purpose to reflect the fact that most of the characters learned from a computer, giving them all a kind of geek accent. Yet here I hear her doing the same thing throughout the book and it doesn’t work here. ( )

I have read quite a few historical fiction novels that take place in Hawaii, but none quite like this. It's not about leprosy or American colonization or even sugar cane plantations, but the natives of Hawaii and their lives, customs, superstitions, and rules before the white man's arrival. It follows a young woman, Wai-nani, the daughter and wife of chiefs. She is a woman of the sea and swims with dolphins and even "converses" with them. Let me be clear about that. She doesn't converse with them like a child would her favorite dog, but has the ability to make the dolphin sounds and clicks to convey her point.

Wai-nani leaves home after breaking a tabu. She literally swims into the arms of Makahu, who becomes her husband. She must now be accepted by his people, tolerate another wife, deal with barreness, and watch her husband deal with the inner turmoil and struggles that often afflict a fighting warrior. The arrival of Captain Cook does not improve matters on the island either. All thru these tribulations, Wai-nani has her own inner turmoils being a strong minded woman in a time when women were not even allowed to eat with the men.

Whenever Wai-nani's life story comes to a "lull" or she is is not swimming with her dolphin family to attain her inner peace, the author manages to interweave stories of the Hawaiian gods and godesses into the primary tale. From Lono's missing wife to waterfalls in love, these "myths" add a nice touch. Not to mention the descriptions... I really felt as tho I was in Hawaii and felt the water around me.

In the author's preface, she asks readers to be the judge. Was Ka'ahumanu (Wai-nani) a forerunner to the modern woman and a daring liberator, or was she a traitor to her times? Having completed this, I have come to my own conclusion. You must come to yours. ( )