In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family
vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship
into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water,
everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to
his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of
legends.
Nainoa's family, struggling amidst the collapse of the
sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient
Hawaiian gods - a belief that appears validated after he exhibits
puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor
begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on
the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his
expanding abilities; further north in Washington, his older brother Dean
hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth
and fame; while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui
navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her
independence from the family's legacy.
When supernatural events
revisit the Flores family in Hawaii - with tragic consequences - they
are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of
heritage, and the cost of survival.
One of Barack Obama's
Favorite Books of 2020. Named one of the Best Books of 2020 by the New
York Times (#30), the Guardian, the Boston Globe, Oprah Magazine, Kirkus
Reviews, BBC Culture, Good Housekeeping, LitHub, Spectrum Culture,
Third Place Books, and Powell's Books.