An Expanse of Blue

 

Rating: 5 out of 5 |  for a big "mirror, window and sliding glass door" -- in verse -- for ʻopio kanaka.

My Thoughts:

Finally, a novel in verse, similar to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, and When We Make It by Elisabet Velasquez but for Pacifica, and specifically Hawaiian teens. The characters are in the diaspora (Western Washington), but they are in a Hawaiian community. Aouli lashes out at her father, at her sister, at her mother, at the church. There is so much going on and no one really sees her. . .until Nalu.

• The good: This novel in verse uses poetic elements like white space and concrete poetry strategies to help the reader feel her frustration and the breaking of the pieces of her. This is perfect for reluctant female readers as Nalu is dreamy and Aunty Ehu is someone we all have in our family.

• The tolerable, but unfortunate: While the story is contemporary, the cover art feels disconnected; the character appears older than Aouli and Kaia, and the styling, from the earrings to the perfectly neat tita bun--doesn't quite capture the raw, youthful energy of the vere.

• The relatable: I think the characters and situations will be very relatable to local teens. It is both global and ʻāina grounded. That is the highest praise I can give.

From the Publisher:

Aouli Elizabeth Smith is adrift: unheard at home and an unbeliever at church, fighting her sister and losing her best friend. Overflowing with feeling, she pours her secrets and herself into her song journal when the world threatens to sweep her away. The one place she feels tied down to earth is at her Aunty Ehu’s house. Those joyous Saturdays with her extended Native Hawaiian community living in Western Washington are precious to her. Under the maple trees, the fragments of her life fit together, if only for an afternoon.
Then, an unspeakable truth about her father shatters this one perfect corner of her life.
As Aouli’s world constricts around what others wish she could be, language fails her. But when a new boy, Nalu, turns up with eyes that seem to pierce right into her soul, maybe it’s love that can give her the words to set herself free.

Publication Information:

• Author: Kauakanilehua Mahoe Adams
• Publisher: Heartdrum
• Publication date: May 19, 2026
• Print length: 464 pages
• Reading age: 13 years and up

Mahalo to Heartdrum books, NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the digital advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Gihigugma, Ace of Hearts

 

Rating: 3 - meet cute, innocent, Filipinos in diaspora

My Thoughts: 

The publishers call this a Crazy Rich Asians meets Bend it Like Beckham. I don't agree. This is not about the uber rich Asians, and although Jomar is a tennis player in London, this is really about that awkward love. He is a good boy, a little clueless, a little lost. He comes from the Philippines straight to London without even securing a place to stay so always has that small fish in a big pond aspect about him. He is trying to keep his scholarship to go to college and play tennis, but he also seems to be the kind of lost puppy that people want to take under their wing, whether it is his new doubles partner, the James Bond nerd from the airport, or the security guard that coaches him until he gets fired for letting him into the stadium at night to practice. Others naturally gravitate towards him because he wears his heart on his sleeve and his says gushy things like "you are my home." 

Mitch, half-white, half Filipina, is an American who is a little more awkward than she should be considering her father lives in London and her mother in America. She should be more sophisticated as someone who constantly travels between families, but she is not. I could not quite figure her out. When it reveals what she is hiding, it is not enough for her to treat Jomar the way she does. As an American college student in London, I felt like she lost some of her American-ness in the middle of the book. 

Despite the minor issue I had with Mitch, I think this is a cute read. I read it from my phone in one sitting so that is a good sign that this is a read worthy, swoon worthy book for YA. Their relationship is very chaste and innocent, so this is good for younger YA too. The only other issue that I have is the cover. I am not sure why it looks like he is shirtless as this is not that kind of book. I would have had her kissing her hand as that happens  a lot. AND, put a shirt on. 

From the Publisher:

When Jomar's tennis ambitions crash into Mitchelle's wounded heart during one charmingly disastrous karaoke night, they'll discover that the biggest matches aren't played on courts—but in learning to love despite the ghosts of the past.

Jomar Montalbano thinks he's ready for anything. A rising tennis star from the Philippines, he lands in London with one suitcase, one college scholarship, and zero idea how to survive without rice. He's counting on a few wins—but definitely not falling for Mitchelle Tanner.

She's the quiet girl with a vintage camera, a craving for halo-halo, and a smile that hides as much as it shows. Half-American, half-Filipina, and fully impossible to read.

He's used to power and control—but around her, he's completely unstrung.

From vulnerable confessions in a darkroom's glow to rallies that feel like Wimbledon wins, Jomar discovers that love—like tennis—is all about timing, risk, and knowing when to fight for the point.

Set in London's rainy alleys and sunlit parks, woven with island warmth and humor, Gihigugma, Ace of Hearts is an adventure about home, heart, and the courage to choose love against all odds.

Love at eighteen isn't always a mistake. Sometimes, it's a miracle.

Publication Information:

Author: Melanie King-Smith

Publisher: MiLFY Books (September 30, 2025)

Print length: 234 pages

Reading age: 13-18

Twice as Perfect

My Thoughts:

The voice of Adanna, Ada, Sophie is so intriguing. I like when she code switches and although I don't understand everything they say, I am still captured by it. This is a diaspora story about the stifling pressures of being children of immigrants. Even if this family is in Canada, the family dynamic and the large extended family that creates their own community is still familiar to American audiences. There is a pressure to be good over happy. There is a question of whose dreams should matter? 

I did try to listen to the audiobook, but I somehow have a different voice in my head so I am reading this instead. Ada in my head sounds like some of the teens I worked with when I was training teachers in Durban, South Africa. 

This is also a love triangle. Although I cannot reveal who she chooses in the end, suffice it to say, I am more than satisfied. I was cheering!  I started this book before it came out in the summer of 2022, but I just was not in the right space to start it. However, now that I have finished it, it was a great read for teens that need a bit of mystery, family drama, social media realness, friendship drama, and a realistic coming of age dilemma. 

From the Publisher:

She thinks the only things worth doing are those that will lead to success.

For seventeen-year-old Adanna Nkwachi, life is all about duty: to school and the debate team, to her Nigerian parents, and even to her cousin Genny as Adanna helps prepare Genny’s wedding to Afrobeats superstar Skeleboy. Because ever since her older brother, Sam, had a fight with their parents a few years ago and disappeared, somebody had to fill the void he left behind. Adanna may never understand what caused Sam to leave home, but the one thing she knows is that it’s on her to make sure her parents’ sacrifices aren’t in vain.

One day, chance brings the siblings together again and they start working to repair their bond. Although she fears how their parents will react if they find out, Adanna’s determined to get answers about the night Sam left—Sam, who was supposed to be an engineer but is now, what, a poet? The more she learns about Sam’s poetry, the more Adanna begins to wonder if maybe her own happiness is just as important as doing what’s expected of her.

Amid parental pressure, anxiety over the debate competition, a complicated love life, and the Nigerian wedding-to-end-all-weddings, can Adanna learn, just this once, to put herself first?

Publication Information:

Author: Louisa Onomé

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (July 26, 2022)