I just flew in from the Internet and boy, are my arms tired!
Howdy! I'm on a month-long "virtual book tour" to promote the recent launch of the audiobook I narrated, my late mother's terrific historical novel for young adults,
Unlike pre-Covid book tours to different cities with readings, live appearances and book signings, this one is totally online. But surprisingly fun, nevertheless.
And the audiobook has been getting very nice reviews (yay!), which is gratifying. For example: “Black Rocks and Rainbows is a must-listen audiobook.” (Pacific Book Review) and “A rollicking listening experience that keeps us wanting more.”(The Magic Pen)
Got a kid, or a young friend between 6 and 16? They're sure to enjoy this great true adventure. You can get it everywhere audiobooks are sold, including Amazon, Audible, Downpour, and a ton of other outlets.
Here's the nutshell:
High on a cliff in 1807 Hawaii, an irrepressibly curious native boy dives into the sea and swims to an American merchant ship anchored offshore, embarking on an extraordinary adventure that will change history.
And a brief plot summary:
Young Opukahaia (Oh-poo-kai-ee-ya) and his family are happily thriving when a bitter war between two rival chiefs tears them apart. The enemy chief adopts the orphaned boy and forces him to learn the ways of a warrior. Opukahaia manages to triumph through unexpected friendships, until a shocking accident changes his life once again.
Saved by an uncle who is a “kahuna nui,” or high priest, Opukahaia becomes his apprentice. One day he sees a miraculous sight below him in the bay – “an enormous canoe with great white wings like a magnificent bird.” It is the merchant schooner Triumph out of New England, and it is irresistible.
Opukahaia signs on as cabin boy. After a year of wild adventures—storms, pirates, daunting adversity, deep bonds with comrades and, most significant, the chance for him to master English—the ship arrives in America. Opukahaia realizes he desperately wants to keep learning but has no idea how.
He is found weeping on the steps of Yale College by a kind student who leads him to the school’s President. Taken under his wing, Opukahaia becomes a scholar, and eventually creates the written Hawaiian language that is still in use today.
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