This was not a favorite read. Our club used the theme to talk about high school memories - we always have a good time regardless of the book!

Think CATCHER IN THE RYE set in the islands. The underdog narrator has about a million challenges in this multicultural school a stone's throw from Waikiki. Great character arc that deals with the complexities of interracial dating, Killahaole day, and prejudices both within and outside this private high school.

The author Kirby Wright gets a 'Thumbs Up' just for capturing the local dialect. I admire this writer because he's able to cover a lot of ground in just over 200 pages—14 years in the life of Jeff Gill, the underdog narrator. I find the writing memoir-like and at other times more like a novel, so I suppose he's between the 2 genres. The voice is poetic at times. You experience the ups and downs of an underdog boy who has sibling rivalry issues with his older brother and a BIG problem with the school bully. The book culminates with a fight on the golf course, witnessed by Arnold Palmer! There's also some interesting stuff about the tricky matter of a white boy trying to date a Korean girl. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see what Hawaii was like during the 1960s and 70s.