Red Sky Over Hawaii

Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman  352 pages

I have read a great many of the plethora of World War II novels that have been the centerpiece of historical fiction in the last few years. However, this is the first one that I have encountered that took place in Hawaii.

Lana Hitchcock has recently separated from her husband. She feel adrift that everything feel apart so quickly. She has a feeling that something bad was going to happen that’s even worse. A phone call from her estranged father, Jack, asking her to come to the Big Island to see him. She has had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. However, she doesn’t arrive in time, and she must figure out what he wanted.

After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Lana is stuck in Hilo, the town where Jack resided. She befriends the German family next door.  The parents, Ingrid and Fred Wagner, are arrested and taken away. Hawaii is still in total chaos after the bombing, and no one seems to know what will the Wagners, or when. Germans aren’t the only ones being rounded up; Japanese are also high on the list, which causes Lana concern about her father’s best friend, Moshi.

The Wagners have two adopted daughters, Marie and Coco, who are left behind. The man Fred  put in charge of the girls seems shady to Lana, and she feels they are in danger if left with him.  Lana takes charge of the girls and their pets: two geese, that once belonged to Jack, and a dog.

Desperate to leave Hilo in the uncertainty if a Japanese invasion is imminent, Lana pays a visit to the father’s close friend, Moshi. She is making plans to go to Jack’s cabin, hidden in the national park, near the Volcano.

Along with Lana are all the characters mentioned above plus  Moshi’s foster son, Benji. When they arrive at the cabin, Lana is distraught that it is only partially completed---in fact, one whole wall is missing. They do their best to make it a home, as they have no idea how long they will be there.

The book’s theme is making a family with the people you are with. It’s a story of survival.

While I wish author Ackerman had supplied a glossary of the flora that she describes, I still felt that I could see the island’s beauty.  The ending was blah, but I still enjoyed reading about this time in Hawaii’s history.  “Red Sky Over Hawaii”  receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.