Helen Oyakawa

Not Paradise But Close Enough Helen Oyakawa

Sixth-grader Esther Waki wishes her parents would tell her they're proud of her. Just once. But it's 1938 in the rural Hawaiian coffee-farming community of Kona, and Japanese parents have high expectations of their kids.

Esther makes high marks and works hard, but her sassy attitude sometimes gets her in hot water. She vows this year will be different, and she has a plan: My Reform School Plan. If she's perfectly behaved, her parents just might buy her a piano she's always wanted.

Nothing much interesting happens in Kona, so when new people start showing up, heads turn and tongues wag throughout the community. Esther adores her new teacher and classmates from Pennsylvania, but she's afraid they'll rebuff her. Her new classmate, Shirley wants Esther as her best friend.

When both Miss Owen and Shirley leave Kona quickly, the little town once again seems small and boring-until Esther gets into serious trouble, and her father blames five Filipino coffee pickers-the other newcomers. As rumors fly in the diverse community, Esther is forced to stand up to her father. She must convince him of the truth, before old prejudices cause big problems.