50 in 2012: Book Eight

Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been thinking of how to compose a synopsis for this novel that would do it fair justice all day.

Ultimately, it is the tale of one of the strongest, most courageous female protagonists I have read about in a long time. In spite of losing everything, multiple times, Rachel Kalama consistently rises above.

Sent to the island of Molokai, a quarantined leprosy settlement, just seven years old, completely separated from the only home and family she has ever known, she is forced to figure out the world before her entirely on her own. This book is full of sadness, death, and tragedy, yet, in spite of it all, there exists a thread of courage, happiness, and true understanding of what it means to live.

Leprosy robs Rachel of her most prized possessions more times than most experience in a lifetime by the time she is in her mid-twenties, her strength and courage surpasses the limits thought possible for one human being. A truly inspiring, poignant, memorable fictional read based on actual historical events. Wow.