"Moloka’i, the fifth largest island in the state of Hawaii, doesn’t attract many visitors because it hasn’t the tourist infrastructure that most people expect. If you do venture there, as I have, twice, you’ll find an island populated mainly by native Hawaiians, a laid back, sleepy main town and not a single traffic light - this is a far cry from Honolulu! But little Moloka’i is home to the world’s tallest cliffs (or so they say!) with a fascinating and tragic piece of history below them. From 1866 to 1969 Hawaiians with Hansen’s disease were forcibly removed from their families and taken there to live out their lives. The peninsula called Kalaupapa was a leper colony. There was no escape; there are towering cliffs on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

Alan Brennert’s historical novel follows the life of Rachel, dropped on the beach at age 7 having been diagnosed with the dreaded disease. Despite, or perhaps because of its remote and harsh environment, the community of Kalaupapa formed a tight-knit family of exiles and Rachel makes friends and has many of the usual adventures children have as she grows into adulthood. Those interested in Hawaiian history, or those who have read Victoria Hislop’s The Island (reviewed here under Greece) will surely enjoy this book.

Epilogue: between 1866 and the present day more than 8000 people died at Kalaupapa, which is now a National Historical Park. There are 29 switchbacks on the trail down the cliffs to the settlement (and the same number on the way back up!) and a handful of patients (no longer contagious) lives there still. The permit system for visitors changes from year to year. If permits are available when you go to Moloka’i I highly recommend a visit."