Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This weekโs topic is: Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country (submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction)
Books Featuring My State – Hawaii
The Tattoo by. Chris McKinney
โA book about โthe sins of the fathers.โ . . . A gritty, troubling book.โโ The Honolulu Advertiser
โThe other Hawaiโi, the one tourists never get to see.โโIan MacMillan
Ken Hideyoshi is the new guy in Halawa Correctional Institute. Heโs tough looking, a hard case, observes his cellmate Calโthe mute tattoo artist of the prison, a wife murderer. SYN, a gang symbol, is tattooed on his hand, and he has a Japanese emblem inscribed on his left shoulder. He asks Cal for a tattoo on his back, in kanji script, of Musashiโs Book of the Void.
While he is being worked on, he tells Cal his life story, a tale of hardship and abuse. Motherless, he was raised by a distant father, a Vietnam War veteran, in the impoverished hinterlands. In his teen years he hung out with the native Hawaiian gangs and was drawn into the Hawaiian-Korean underworld of strip bars and massage parlors. His ambition and proud samurai spirit seem, inevitably, to lead to his downfall.
Chris McKinney is of Korean, Japanese, and Scottish descent. He was born in Honolulu and grew up in Kahaluu. He portrays the native Hawaiian experience from the inside, where children of mixed ethnicity grow up far from the clear water and pristine beaches of the rich visitorsโ resorts.
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The Design of Us by. Sajni Patel
One impulsive lie leads to a weeklong adventure of fake dating for two bickering coworkers in this swoony destination wedding rom-com.
Sunshine incarnate Bhanu brings big UX energy to whatever she does, including going for the promotion where her only serious competition is her work nemesis, AKA Sunny, the grump with the Denzel voice. She expected to get a reprieve from him while visiting her family in Hawaiโi, but the universe has other plans. When Bhanu runs into Sunny at the hotel and witnesses his ex criticizing him about being single, Bhanu does the first thing that comes to she impetuously claims to be Sunnyโs girlfriend just to get some peace and quiet. Except Sunny is on island for a friendโs wedding and his ex has already texted the entire wedding party about this mysterious girlfriend.
Bhanu truly is the bane of Sunnyโs existence. But the last thing he wants to do is cause tension during his friendโs wedding festivities, much less be the object of their pity. He has no choice except to play along, if only he and Bhanu can put aside their quarreling and act like a real couple.
Between Bhanuโs hilariously meddling family and Sunnyโs ecstatic friends, the two are pushed closer together, even as stress mounts over the impending promotion.
They say what happens on island, stays on island. But as Sunny and Bhanu let their guards down, will either of them be able to resist this romantic getaway without crossing the line?
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The Unhoneymooners by. Christina Lauren
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, inโฆwell, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancรฉ is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and sheโs managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, sheโs forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who arenโt affected are Olive and Ethan. And now thereโs an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesnโt mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.
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Simmer Down by. Sarah Smith
In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.
Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldnโt be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didnโt expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eatenโor the competition to be so smoking hot.
But Tivaโs Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesnโt care how delectable the British food truck owner isโhe rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. Heโs stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks.
The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callumโฆa sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?
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Radar Girls by. Sara Ackerman
An extraordinary story inspired by the real Womenโs Air Raid Defense, where an unlikely recruit and her sisters-in-arms forge their place in WWII history.
Daisy Wilder prefers the company of horses to people, bare feet and salt water to high heels and society parties. Then, in the dizzying aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Daisy enlists in a top secret program, replacing male soldiers in a war zone for the first time. Under fear of imminent invasion, the WARDs guide pilots into blacked-out airstrips and track unidentified planes across Pacific skies.
But not everyone thinks the women are up to the job, and the new recruits must rise above their differences and work side by side despite the resistance and heartache they meet along the way. With Americaโs future on the line, Daisy is determined to prove herself worthy. And with the man sheโs falling for out on the front lines, she cannot fail. From radar towers on remote mountaintops to flooded bomb shelters, sheโll need her new team when the stakes are highest. Because the most important battles are foughtโand wonโtogether.
This inspiring and uplifting tale of pioneering, unsung heroines vividly transports the reader to wartime Hawaii, where one womanโs call to duty leads her to find courage, strength and sisterhood.ย
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Hawaii by. James A. Michener
Pulitzer Prizeโwinning author James A. Michener brings Hawaiiโs epic history vividly to life in a classic saga that has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1959. As the volcanic Hawaiian Islands sprout from the ocean floor, the land remains untouched for centuriesโuntil, little more than a thousand years ago, Polynesian seafarers make the perilous journey across the Pacific, flourishing in this tropical paradise according to their ancient traditions. Then, in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries arrive, bringing with them a new creed and a new way of life. Based on exhaustive research and told in Michenerโs immersive prose, Hawaii is the story of disparate peoples struggling to keep their identity, live in harmony, and, ultimately, join together.
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The Descendants by. Kaui Hart Hemmings
Fortunes have changed for the King family, descendants of Hawaiian royalty and one of the stateโs largest landowners. Matthew Kingโs daughtersโScottie, a feisty ten-year-old, and Alex, a seventeen-year-old recovering drug addictโare out of control, and their charismatic, thrill-seeking mother, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident. She will soon be taken off life support. As Matt gathers his wifeโs friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation is made worse by the sudden discovery that thereโs one person who hasnโt been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair. Forced to examine what they owe not only to the living but to the dead, Matt, Scottie, and Alex take to the road to find Joanieโs lover, on a memorable journey that leads to unforeseen humor, growth, and profound revelations.
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Summer Bird Blue by. Akemi Dawn Bowman
Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesnโt have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure ofโshe wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.
Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the โboys next doorโโa teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesnโt take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years agoโRumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.
Aching, powerful, and unflinchingly honest,ย Summer Bird Blueย explores big truths about insurmountable grief, unconditional love, and how to forgive even when it feels impossible.
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Moloka’i by. Alan Brennert
This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai’i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place—and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i. Here her life is supposed to end—but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.
With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka’i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death. Such is the warmth, humor, and compassion of this novel that “few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel’s story.”
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The Maui Effect by. Sara Ackerman
‘Iwa Youngโs life is high in the Maui rainforest. As a field biologist, sheโs happiest in company with trees and birds and waterfalls. When a developer arrives with plans for a so-called “eco resort” in the middle of a forest full of endangered species, ‘Iwa puts all her energy into the fight to protect it. But a chance encounter threatens to distract her. His name is Dane Parsons, and heโs a big-wave surfer from California. ‘Iwa has a few unbreakable rules, and at the top of her list: never date a surfer.
Dane Parsons is part of an underground group of big-wave riders, and his connection to the ocean runs deep. When he meets ‘Iwa, he canโt get her out of his mind. But ‘Iwa wants nothing to do with Dane until he offers to help protect her beloved forest and waterfall. Always on the hunt for the ultimate ride, Dane suddenly glimpses something even greater, but just out of reach.
In this thunderous love story, we travel deep into the Maui rainforest and hop across the globe from Hawai’i to California to Portugal, chasing waves the size of nine-story buildingsโwhere the unthinkable is always just one breath away.
What’s on your TTT?
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Top Ten Tuesday Topics:
May 6:ย Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country (submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction)
May 13:ย Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time (submitted by Susan @ย Blogginโ โbout Books)
May 20:ย Books that Feature Travel
May 27:ย Animal Companions (These animals can be real or fantasy!) (submitted by P.S. I Love Books)
June 3:ย Summer Freebie (Pick any topic you can think of that fits into the category of โsummerโ. If itโs winter where you are, switch it up!)
June 10: Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books youโd love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if youโd like. Please donโt feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)
June 17:ย Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List
June 24:ย Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025
