This book started it all. My love for the sea and fascination with SCUBA started while reading this book. I was engrossed in the story, and its relate-able characters, while on a three-day road trip with the family. Everyone else looked out the window at the drab landscape but my imagination carried me far away beneath the warm azure waves of Hawai'i.
The story centers around Kip Morgan, who aspires to be an engineer. He's a long way from home in Hawai'i, working at an oceanography institute. There is a large group of other kids around him, working in various capacities for the same facility so there are plenty of opportunities for character development and multiple story arcs as the kids work to solve the real-world problems their adult mentors lay before them.
The compassion, teamwork and ingenuity demonstrated by the core group as they band together to solve a centuries-old Hawai'ian mystery (hey -- it's YA fiction so there has to be mystery to solve!) are inspiring. Add to that the accurate representations of underwater archeology, marine biology and engineering and you have a compelling story.
Would read again.
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Reviews with images
A good story that really raises Kane
This isn't the oldest book I own by a long stretch, but it may be the one I've owned the longest. It was one of my favorite young-adult stories growing up, and rereading it not that long ago shows that it still holds up pretty well today. It seems like a pretty obscure book, judging by how long it took a listing for it to show up on Amazon.com. But young readers fortunate enough to track one down someplace -- especially ones with an interest in archaeology, diving, and/or Hawai`i -- should find it worth a little effort.John "Kip" Morgan, a high school student from Connecticut with an interest in undersea engineering, comes to Hawai`i to take part in the Makapuu Oceanic Center's summer program. There he meets a number of other young scientists, including several from Hawai`i, and gets involved in one of the Center's important projects, raising the "Ilikai," a large canoe that sank in the 1860s while carrying a huge stone idol, a representation of the Hawaiian god Kane. Along the way, Kip's friendship with historian Julie turns romantic, he develops a testosterone-fueled rivalry with the arrogant Willis, and he has a lot of "adventure under Hawaiian seas."He also learns a great deal about Hawaiian language and culture. I thought this part of the story was handled especially well, and is one of the thing that still makes this book worth reading. The portrayal of native Hawaiians is by and large respectful, and tries to honor *kanaka maoli* traditions and sensitivities without falling into "noble savage" caricature. The pidgin inflections of Hawai`i residents like Sato Punaloa struck me as authentic (having lived in Hawai`i from time to time myself), but again without caricature. There's even a short section at the end called "It's Fun to Speak Hawaiian" that explains how to pronounce many of the names and places mentioned in the text.I haven't held on to a lot of the books from my childhood, but I apparently made a point of keeping this one. I'm glad now I did, because it's still a fun book to return to from time to time for a good story with an interesting setting.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2015
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2010
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2006
John "Kip" Morgan, a high school student from Connecticut with an interest in undersea engineering, comes to Hawai`i to take part in the Makapuu Oceanic Center's summer program. There he meets a number of other young scientists, including several from Hawai`i, and gets involved in one of the Center's important projects, raising the "Ilikai," a large canoe that sank in the 1860s while carrying a huge stone idol, a representation of the Hawaiian god Kane. Along the way, Kip's friendship with historian Julie turns romantic, he develops a testosterone-fueled rivalry with the arrogant Willis, and he has a lot of "adventure under Hawaiian seas."
He also learns a great deal about Hawaiian language and culture. I thought this part of the story was handled especially well, and is one of the thing that still makes this book worth reading. The portrayal of native Hawaiians is by and large respectful, and tries to honor *kanaka maoli* traditions and sensitivities without falling into "noble savage" caricature. The pidgin inflections of Hawai`i residents like Sato Punaloa struck me as authentic (having lived in Hawai`i from time to time myself), but again without caricature. There's even a short section at the end called "It's Fun to Speak Hawaiian" that explains how to pronounce many of the names and places mentioned in the text.
I haven't held on to a lot of the books from my childhood, but I apparently made a point of keeping this one. I'm glad now I did, because it's still a fun book to return to from time to time for a good story with an interesting setting.
A good story that really raises Kane
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2006
This isn't the oldest book I own by a long stretch, but it may be the one I've owned the longest. It was one of my favorite young-adult stories growing up, and rereading it not that long ago shows that it still holds up pretty well today. It seems like a pretty obscure book, judging by how long it took a listing for it to show up on Amazon.com. But young readers fortunate enough to track one down someplace -- especially ones with an interest in archaeology, diving, and/or Hawai`i -- should find it worth a little effort.Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2006
John "Kip" Morgan, a high school student from Connecticut with an interest in undersea engineering, comes to Hawai`i to take part in the Makapuu Oceanic Center's summer program. There he meets a number of other young scientists, including several from Hawai`i, and gets involved in one of the Center's important projects, raising the "Ilikai," a large canoe that sank in the 1860s while carrying a huge stone idol, a representation of the Hawaiian god Kane. Along the way, Kip's friendship with historian Julie turns romantic, he develops a testosterone-fueled rivalry with the arrogant Willis, and he has a lot of "adventure under Hawaiian seas."
He also learns a great deal about Hawaiian language and culture. I thought this part of the story was handled especially well, and is one of the thing that still makes this book worth reading. The portrayal of native Hawaiians is by and large respectful, and tries to honor *kanaka maoli* traditions and sensitivities without falling into "noble savage" caricature. The pidgin inflections of Hawai`i residents like Sato Punaloa struck me as authentic (having lived in Hawai`i from time to time myself), but again without caricature. There's even a short section at the end called "It's Fun to Speak Hawaiian" that explains how to pronounce many of the names and places mentioned in the text.
I haven't held on to a lot of the books from my childhood, but I apparently made a point of keeping this one. I'm glad now I did, because it's still a fun book to return to from time to time for a good story with an interesting setting.
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