Running from Moloka`i
(By Jill P. Anderson)
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| Author | Jill P. Anderson |
Quietly, spoken only in whispers, something else, too, is happening on all the islands. Most with the disease are sent away — but not all. Almost no reference of it will be made in history books or in stacks of historical archives: on all the islands, wrapped in a protective silence, some of those with the disease are being hidden. Some in caves and cane fields, others in lava tunnels. Some in backyard sheds. It’s a quiet underground…of sorts. This loving veil of silence was the only protection from the health authorities and the sheriff. A ruthless bounty hunter was paid ten dollars per leper…enough to buy a good pair of boots.
In this painful and sadly true historical setting comes the tender fictional story of fifteen-year-old Mele Bennett, whose family must face their own heated conflict over this issue. Mele’s Hawaiian mother stands tall on the side of Hawaiians. “Without family,” she says,” we have nothing!” Mele’s white father is a physician who is adamant that “every last leper!” must be separated and sent to Moloka’i for the safety of the remaining Hawaiians: “If we don’t control this disease,” he says, “there won’t BE any families!”
Mele longs for a moment that will define her. She wants a shiny moment, like when the firebrand is tossed over the cliff and lights up the night sky! But her moment is not shiny. She could not have foreseen the power of greed or the tenacity of hatred; the anguished secret of Keahi, the island boy she has loved since childhood — one tiny patch of discolored skin on a shoulder, and your life is pau, finished.
The story of Mele and Keahi has as many facets as a gem, as many chambers as a heart. It is the story of young love, of a fragmented family finding itself anew even as betrayal nicks at its soul. Mele Bennett is the strong female character to step forward in such times. Her story reveals the best and the worst of humanity: our capacity for compassion and our penchant for cruelty.
“Unless your heart is made of ice,” writes a reviewer, “you will likely enjoy this story.” Step into the unfolding of her world as only Mele can tell it: rich and painful and life-giving in this extraordinary period in Hawaiian history. "Running from Moloka’i" tells the untold story. Suitable for YA or adults.”
