Hi`i Naupaka

Hi`i is the daughter of Laka Naupaka, the former Miss Aloha Hula winner, and she struggles throughout the novel to carve out a place within the community of Hilo. As a child, Hi`i is eager and impressionable, constantly attempting to prove her place within the broader landscape, but is routinely rejected by her peers and the remainder of her community for her appearance; she is much whiter than the other members of the community. Although Hi`i attempts to learn hula in order to prove her belonging in Hawaiian culture, these efforts fall short because of a series of blunders that alienate her from her peers.

After experiencing these repeated rejections, Hi`i abandons hula. She begins to speculate that the rumors about her heritage are true; her grandmother, Hulali, routinely ignores her at family functions, and the birth of her sister, Malia, makes...