Aunty Lehua’s Book has Docked in Hawaii

Pretty excited for my friend Lehua Parker. Her book One Boy No Water launches today, and right now, as my fingers tap these keys, she’s off signing books at the Barnes and Noble in Layton, Utah. It’s probably really pretty and autumnal there, with colorful leaves, and people are probably wearing sweaters and cool boots as they stroll through the book-lined shelves sipping toasty warm drinks from the B&N cafe. Sigh. I love fall. I wish I could have fall. We don’t have fall.

Still, even those fallish luckies are now picking up their copies of Ms. Parker’s book and flipping through the pages and instead of being so thrilled about the prospect of sweaters and boots, they’re being transported off to Hawaii through her prose and the really sweet illustrations by Corey Egbert. That’s right. One Boy No Water is illustrated. How fun is that?

In case you haven’t come across it yet, it’s a middle grade novel about a boy growing up in Hawaii, a foundling, and he’s got a strange reaction to water–his skin can’t handle it. Imagine being in Hawaii and not being able to enjoy the waves and the surf. Super duper bummer.

Well, anyway, I’m not going to give my full review today. I’ve read it and it’s great. There are sharks and kung fu and legends and lots of stuff. But I’ll post the review another day. And I’ve got a very interesting interview with Lehua waiting in the wings as well. She’s quite the storyteller! Instead, today I’m kinda just wishing I were either somewhere autumnal with my navy blue sweater and my boots or else somewhere Hawaiian with the sugar sand beneath my feet and a frosty drink cooling in my hand.

Instead, I’m here in hot Arizona eating delicious salsa and lazing about reading a novel.

Okay, well, I guess life’s still pretty good.