Hawaii Books: The Best Books Set in the Aloha State

Book Summary

Quinn has a good life and a clear vision of her future with her financé until her mother makes a deathbed confession. The absentee father Quinn spent thirty years resenting is not her real father. The whisper leads Quinn to Maui, her mother’s childhood home, where she hopes to find the truth.

As she searches for buried secrets from her mother’s past, her financé back home continues questioning everything she does. Can the beauty of Maui help Quinn uncover not only her father, but herself?

Book Summary

In 1935, Dr. Daniel Abe returns home to Hawaii from Chicago to visit his Uncle Koji, who has always thought of Daniel as a son. However, during the visit, Koji plans to tell Daniel the truth about his mother and father. However, as Daniel returns, the Mauna Loa volcano also comes back to life and is on a dangerous path toward their village.

If you love descriptive historical fiction, this dual-timeline novel about a Japanese-American family would be an excellent choice. The novel is set against the backdrop of the real 1935 Mauna Loa volcano eruption but also shares the history of Hawaii’s sugar plantations and the Japanese immigrant workers who cut the cane.

Book Summary

FBI agents Bella and Ava are assigned the case when a missing 17-year-old girl from Florida is found in a Jurassic World-like landscape. Kelly has been physically battered, but doesn’t give up, and was able to escape her captors.

When Ava hears her story, she promises to help unravel the case until every victim is found. Together, Ava and Bella uncover a huge trafficking network that reaches further than they anticipated. In fact, solving the case could put the agent’s careers, and even their lives, at stake.

Book Summary

Our protagonist, Olivia “Livy” West, was inspired by the true stories of women like Harriet Quimby, Beryl Markham, and Bessie Coleman, who competed in air races in the 1920s. In 1927, Livy learned about the Dole Air Race. She signed up right away for the risky 2400-mile race across the Pacific to Hawai’i. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that only male pilots are being selected. In desperation to be a part of the race, she secures a spot as a navigator.

Sixty years later, in 1987, Wren is struggling financially when she learns that she has just inherited a remote piece of land on the Big Island. Before selling the land, she discovers mysterious objects kept in the barn by her late great-aunt. They are clues to a tragic piece of aviation history that has been lost to time. Wren turns to the local retirement home residents for help in reconstructing Olivia’s story.

Book Summary

Roy Fernsby, a London coffee shop owner with a turbulent past, receives unexpected news: he’s inherited a beach house in Hawaii from grandparents he never knew existed. Skeptical yet intrigued, Roy travels to the island of Nalu, intending to sell the property quickly. However, the island’s allure and the mysteries surrounding his newfound family draw him in.

As Roy delves into his family’s history, he confronts long-buried emotions and questions why he was left in the dark about his heritage. His journey becomes even more complicated when he meets Amy, a single mother and snorkeling guide with secrets of her own. Their growing connection challenges Roy’s guarded heart and forces him to reconsider his understanding of family and belonging.

Book Summary

Inspired by the real Women’s Air Raid Defense (WARD), this historical fiction takes us to the aftermath of Pearl Harbor when women replaced male soldiers in a war zone for the first time. Daisy enlists in the top-secret program and must guide pilots into blacked-out airstrips and track unidentified planes across Pacific skies.

However, the women face extra scrutiny and resistance because many of the male soldiers don’t believe they’re up for the job. But, with America’s future at stake and someone she loves on the front lines, she knows she cannot fail. This inspiring story will transport you to wartime Hawaii and teach you about some of the unsung heroines of the war.

Book Summary

Regret was one of many Korean daughters whose names symbolized their father’s disappointment that they were not sons. In 1914, she learns of the opportunity to become a “picture bride” and marry a husband in Hawaii. Regret believes it’s the perfect way to escape her life of feeling unwanted and start fresh in a new land.

However, despite being promised a young, affluent husband and an opportunity for education, she finds herself married to a bitter and poor laborer. She tries to make the best of the situation, renaming herself Jin and working with three other picture brides to prosper in their new home. As Honolulu grows from a small capital into a multicultural city, the four women face disappointment and sacrifice, but also form lasting friendships.

Book Summary

Juilliard-trained Nani Johnson moves from Kansas to a resort town in Kauai, determined to become a ukulele virtuoso. She discovers that the local music scene is already dominated by three musicians who don’t want anyone moving in on their territory. Nani calls them The Terrible Trio.

When one of the trio drops dead right after a public feud with Nani, she is the obvious prime suspect. It appears that she’s being framed, and thanks to the missing murder weapon and mysterious threats, it looks like she might be unable to prove her innocence.

But then a hunky local botanist comes along who might be able to help clear Nani’s name, but he seems to have secreats of his own.

Book Summary

Gigi’s sister has planned a destination wedding in Hawaii. She’s happy to be a bridesmaid, but it would be far better if her ex weren’t the best man!

As the wedding approaches, the countdown is on for Gigi to find a date for the wedding. Her ex is bringing his hot new reality star girlfriend, so she needs someone by her side. He doesn’t have to be “the one,” she just needs a date to show her family and friends that she’s ok and doesn’t need their pity.

When Gigi arrives at the hotel in Hawaii, she’s told there was a mix-up with her room, so they are upgrading her to a suite. Not only is the suite bigger than her entire apartment back home, the staff are waiting on her hand and foot.

She senses that something isn’t right about this arrangement, but decides to pamper herself while she tries to mend her broken heart and find a date for the wedding.

Book Summary

Spanning three generations in Hilo, Hawaii, this expressive literary work explores the tradition, culture, family, and history of Native Hawaiians. Hi’i is the youngest daughter of the Naupka dynasty, her grandmother, Halali, is the Hulu matriarch on the Big Island. Hi’i mother, Laka, disappeared when Hi’i was a child.

As the youngest member of the family, Hi’i struggles with her identity and connection to the past, but hopes to heal the rifts within her family by becoming the next Miss Aloha Hula, just like her mother was. Hula is the perfect way for her to demonstrate that she still has a devotion to her culture. But people still want to know why Laka disappeared. Then, a revelation about Hi’i comes out and leaves the community with a huge decision that will impact the course of Hi’i’s future.

Book Summary

What should a bride and groom do if they get food poisoning and are too sick to go on their non-refundable honeymoon to Hawaii?

Give it to the Best Man and Maid-of-Honor, of course.

That would have been perfect if the duo didn’t hate each other. Follow along as they try to avoid each other while still taking advantage of all the pre-paid activities on a Hawaiian vacation intended for a newlywed couple. 

Book Summary

If you’re a fan of poetry, consider this collection by Lois Lowry, popular author of The Giver and Number the Stars. In this collection, she explores the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Inspiration was drawn from her memories as a child in Hawaii and Japan. Be sure to pick up a print copy of this one because it is also beautifully illustrated!

Book Summary

If you enjoy traditional folklore and magical realism, pick up this YA novel steeped in Hawaiian lore. According to legend, the Menehune are the original inhabitants of Hawaii. They were two to three feet tall, squat and strong, good and kind, and lived on the island before the indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, the kanaka maoli, arrived in the third century. By the early 1800s, Kauai chief Kaumaualiʻi took a census of his people—and 65 of his 2,000 subjects were all that remained of the original people of Hawai’i. 

In the present day, Emma (16) comes across a boy living in the woods. She soon realizes this boy has accessed the place she lost, as well as the people, the Menehune. She helps him hide until they figure out what the Menehune want before it’s too late to save the only home any of them have known.  

Book Summary

In 1898, starving Puerto Ricans called los hambrientos roamed their island looking for food. The island was ruled by the Spanish at the time, and was preparing for war with the US. As the Spanish-American War loomed, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez struggled to keep their small farm in the coffee region safe from creditors. 

When the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 created mass devastation on top of the already fragile economy, the couple followed the lead of thousands of other Puerto Ricans who were lured to the sugar plantations of Hawaii in search of a better life. However, America’s promises of prosperity were hollow.

Book Summary

In this non-fiction work, the author delves into the world of massive ocean waves, a phenomenon once dismissed as maritime folklore but now recognized as a formidable natural force.

The narrative begins with a harrowing 2000 incident involving the British research vessel RRS Discovery, which encountered towering waves in the North Sea, challenging previous scientific assumptions about wave limits.

Casey then follows big-wave surfers, notably Laird Hamilton, as they chase colossal swells across the globe, from Hawaii to South Africa, pushing the boundaries of human endurance and skill. Interwoven are accounts of devastating tsunamis and the increasing frequency of extreme waves, highlighting the intersection of natural phenomena and human ambition.

Book Summary

If you’re a fan of memoirs based on unconventional childhoods, such as The Glass Castle or Educated, Freckled is a similar tale set in Hawaii. Author T.W. Neal (Toby) typically pens mysteries, but in 2018, she shared her own personal story about growing up in Kauai in the 1970s. 

Her parents were addicts and hippies, creating an unstable environment. Nights were spent in tents and vans instead of in a stable home. Yet, with resilience and intelligence, she managed to balance caring for her parents, siblings, and herself. 

Because the family moved around, this memoir will give you insight into the island’s different regions.