Having loved his "Moloka'i, I had to read this sequel, Daughter of Moloka'i. Having waited many years for Alan Brennert to revisit these characters was absolutely worth the wait.
Daughter of Moloka'i is the story of Rachel's daughter. As a baby she was removed from the island and Rachel to have a "better life". We follow her through her life from baby to being a mother herself. It was very interesting to learn about the political climate of the times.
I loved this as much as I did Moloka'i. I would suggest reading both books and in order.

Thanks to netgalley for an ARC of this book!

I first read Moloka’i in 2010, for a library book discussion group, and I was blown away. Who ever thought that a book about a leper colony would be so compelling? I then read Brennert’s subsequent books, and enjoyed each of them thoroughly.

Needless to say, when I saw that this book was now available through netgalley, I immediately snatched it up. I did decide to re-read Moloka’i, partly because I wanted to refresh my memory of the book, and partly because I enjoyed it so much the first time. And it was just as good the second time around!

Daughter of Moloka’i did not let me down. Once again, Brennert gives us well developed characters, and I found that I really cared what happened to them. They’re very human, not perfect, but the main characters are good people. Since this book involves the treatment of people of Japanese descent during World War II, there are certainly people who are not so good, and events that made me cringe – but there is definitely an overall triumph of decency. I like that.

The story line is compelling – I had trouble putting this book down.

It’s not really necessary to read Moloka’i to understand and enjoy this, but I think that it gives a bit more context – and why deprive yourself of the pleasure?

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced e-copy of this book. I really enjoyed Moloka’i and do want to say this book can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading Moloka’i first and then reading this book. I was worried because I’d read the first book several years ago, but some of my memories came back, and the author did a great job of giving background of what had happened in the earlier book. It’s not a long book but so much is covered in a long timeline, including many people, relationships, and also the animals play an important role too. This was a wonderful story and I really enjoyed the next steps in Rachel and Ruth's life.

Usually, I'm not a fan of sequels because they're so often disappointments compared to the first book. That being said, I can happily say that this is one of the very few sequels I find to be just as good as the original. The same things I loved about Moloka'i are present in Daughter of Moloka'i: the characters and their growth, the development of relationships (the relationship between Ruth, Etsuko, and Rachel is probably my favorite one in the entire book), the detailed research that went into making the history of this historical fiction come to life...all of it. Reading this novel was like coming home after having been away for a while. There are some changes that have happened in your absence, but they're natural changes that only add to that feeling of home.

Before I wrap up this review, I'm not too proud to admit that I wept throughout the last 10% of the book. It takes a lot to make me cry over a book, but I lost it. Such a beautiful novel inside and out, and I so hope that it gets all the love and praise it deserves.

Daughter of Moloka’i is a lovely written novel by Alan Brennert and is the companion book to Moloka’i. Although I did not read the first book, I was able to jump right into this book. I do plan to go back and read the first book.
This book is a sweeping historical fiction that follows the life of Ruth Utagawa. She was born in 1917 on the leper colony, Kalaupapa, on the island of Moloka’i and is taken from her parents and brought to Kapi’olani orphanage on Honolulu, where she lives until a Japanese couple adopts her. The family then moves to California and life becomes difficult for Ruth’s family. I enjoyed the twists and turned that Ruth’s life takes and how the author interweaves history throughout the book. Mr. Brennert does an outstanding job with character development. I especially loved the relationship that develops between Ruth and her adoptive parents, Etsuko, Taizo and their three sons, and later in the book the relationship she develops with her birth mother. 
 This book was very well researched. I enjoyed the in-depth description of Hawaiian and Japanese culture. Mr. Brennert majestically captures the raw beauty of Hawaii in his storytelling, to where I could feel the warm trade winds like I was in Hawaii. Also, he almost entirely, in my opinion, delves into a dark period of American history where Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps during WWII. There was one small problem that I had, and that was the comparison between what Japanese Americans experienced and what the Jews experienced at the hands of the Nazis.
Overall this was an exceptional book, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to read it. I would recommend this book if you enjoy reading about one women’s struggles and the joy she discovers in spite of them — happy Reading.
***I kindly received an ARC of this book by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review my honest opinion .***

Hawaii, California, adoption, Japanese immigrant culture, World War II, Japanese interment, wow! This sweeping novel manages to cover all of those themes.

This is a sequel to Moloka’i, but stands alone very well.

Brennert does a great job with his characters as well as a fast moving plot. I grew so fond of Ruth and her family members and feel a bit sad to have finished this immersive novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an ARC.

What a beautiful book! Complex, strong female characters and a heart-wrenching story, paired with lush landscape descriptions so vivid I felt transported.

"DAUGHTER OF MOLOKA′I tells the story of Ruth, the daughter that Rachel Kalama—quarantined for most of her life at the isolated leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa—was forced to give up at birth.

The book follows young Ruth from her arrival at the Kapi'olani Home for Girls in Honolulu, to her adoption by a Japanese couple who raise her on a farm in California, her marriage and unjust internment at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II—and then, after the war, to the life-altering day when she receives a letter from a woman who says she is Ruth’s birth mother, Rachel."

This book, although it is written in a majestic way, with a beautiful prose, full of details, was not what I expected. It is not a bad reading at all, but in several parts of the book, I felt that emotion was lacking.
 
But what kept me stuck to the book? Well, it's a story of an adopted girl (Ruth) by a Japanese family in Hawaii during the second war, who then relocated to California near the attack on Pearl Harbor. This first part of the book is very explicit and interesting, but I think that the author could take more advantage of the historical events of the time to create a story with more emotion.

A book about the family, where we see Ruth grow up and become a mom and a wife, where we get to know a little about the history of internment camps that existed in the US during the war. I think the main message that the author teaches us is perseverance and the importance of keeping the family together in difficult times, teaches us about deep love, about forgiveness and above all about the honor of it.

Thank you to St. Martin Press and NetGalley who provided me with an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. #DaughterofMolokai #NetGalley

Fourteen years ago, we were introduced to Rachel Kalama in the book, Moloka’i. Rachel, diagnosed with leprosy was quarantined on Moloka’I island in Hawaii, where she birthed a beautiful baby girl, Ruth. Daughter of Moloka’I is Ruth’s story. This second book in the series, released over a decade later, is the life that Ruth leads after leaving Moloka’I, free of leprosy. This read is a sad reminder of the United States’ past, from Japanese internment camps during WWII to the harsh treatment of those that don’t “look like us.”

Moloka’I will always remain a favorite of mine, but this was a worthy follow up, even ending gracefully as the story is finally complete. While this read provides enough background to read as a standalone, I highly recommend picking up book one prior to reading this.

*A review copy of this book was provided by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed Moloka’i, needless to say I was more than curious and excited to read Daughter of Moloka’i. Catching up with Ruth was similar to reconnecting with an old friend. Alan Brennert paints a descriptive picture of internment camps and Hansen’s disease. Detailed glimpse into Japanese and Hawaiian culture. Ruth is a strong woman with a sympathetic past. Her character is admirable, you develop a greater fondness for her as the story progresses. An amazing life crafted by Brennert. Anxiously awaiting his next installment in this very enjoyable series.

Alan Brennert is a true storyteller in every sense of the word. Both times I have read his novels, I get the sense that I am sitting down with an old friend in his living room as he tells the story of someone he knows. It is because of this gift that he fills the reader's mind with imagery and situations unparalleled. This is also why, after many years having passed since I read his novel Moloka'i, I can still recall the story of Rachel and her journey through life with leprosy. His novels are richly imagined, and broadly written. The only caveat I will mention is that with such a rich imagination, unnecessary details are often included. Sometimes I read whole sections thinking they could have been left out; the novel would have benefited from a bit more streamlining.

However, I'm willing to deal with the verbosity because of the rich history I learn about in each of his novels. Brennert's stories are well-researched and always intriguing. The detail with which he described the Japanese Internment Camps really had me in the middle of these characters' heartbreaking journey. I appreciated learning more about the terrible choice made by our government at the time.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for gifting me with this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Beautiful and breathtaking! Heartwarming and emotional! This was a fantastic sequel to Moloka'i and I was delighted to return to the story of Rachel and Ruth. This was wonderfully written. Returning to Rachel's story felt like reconnecting with a cherished friend. The author's beautiful writing tugged at my heart and left me crying on many occasions.

Thank you, Alan Brennert, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC!

I consider Moloka’i to be one of my favorite books of all time, so I was cautiously optimistic about Daughter of Moloka’i. It did not disappoint. Ruth’s life is followed, from the orphanage in Hawaii, to the Central Valley of California, to the Japanese internment camp of Manzanar and onto San Jose. This is another wonderfully written life story by Alan Brennert. I throroughly enjoyed and recommend it.

This is a wonderful story told as a memoir of a young orphan in Hawaii who was “hapa,” half Hawaiian and half Japanese in the 1930s. This story takes you through racial prejudices that increased after the attack of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of WWII. It tells her story from adoption by Japanese parents through Japanese internment at Manzanar and her meeting her birth mother. This novel allows you to experience every emotion from the heights of humor to the depths of human depravity and cruelty. A must read!

Exciting and heartwarming!

Daughter of Molaka'i centers around Ruth, an orphan of a couple quarantined with leprosy on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i. It follows Ruth's life through the orphanage, adoption to a Japanese family, internment in US camps for the Japanese during WWII, and being reunited with her Hawaiian mother. The characters are richly developed and the story is very engrossing. You are drawn in quickly and it’s hard to put the book down. The real draw for me was the close family relationships and the cultures of both the Japanese and the Hawaiians.

Not having read Moloka'i, I wondered if I had missed too much background to enjoy this book. I should not have worried. This book is great and works easily as a standalone story! I highly recommend Daughter of Molaka'i!

In full disclosure, I was given an advance copy of the book for review. That in no way influenced my review.

An absolutely fantastic book! I grew up on Oahu and this book was like a tiny piece of my childhood home. I enjoyed learning more about the culture I was blessed to live among.

Will be updating this post with link to fulsome review in days coming.

A young Hawaiian girl is adopted by a Japanese couple and then grows up in California. Life is very different for the immigrant family than what they knew in Hawaii and they work hard to overcome obstacles until Pearl Harbor changes their lives forever. They lose everything and are forced to live at the internment camps. It is only years later that Ruth learns of her birth mother and why she and her husband were forced to give her up. This is historical fiction at its best. Alan Brennert is a master at giving us the lush beauty of Hawaii and the forced internment of the lepers contrasted to the harsh climate of the Japanese-American internment camps and the racism and fear in both. A true story of immigration and the difficulties they faced - the quest for a better life for yourself and your family where hard work and allegiance to your new country was met with fear and ignorance. It is also the story of the love of two mothers and the courage of one hapa woman to understand and embrace her dual heritage. This is book two in the series but can easily be read as a standalone. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I loved this book.I found it even better than the first it has great character development really hoping for a third book in the series

If you loved Molokai you will not be disappointed. Once again the author provides an insightful telling of a life, following Ruth,s path. The story takes us from her childhood in the orphanage to adoption by a Japanese american family. The events of World War II have an obvious impact on her and her loved ones but she preservers. She is indeed the “Daughter of Molokai”, indomitable and tough like the mother with whom she eventually is reunited. This will be a great book for book groups and for people looking for a story that is more uplifting than thrilling.

This is a beautifully written book. I absolutely wish I would have been told about the first book so I could have read that one first. It would have helped me understand this one better. I did go back and read Molokai and then this one made so much more sense. So I recommend reading that one first. This book however is a story of woman who is faced with being taken from her her first love, her mother. Then put through so much as a child to an adult that she really can’t believe in love or humanity. It’s really quite the story of what our country did to people. So very touching and makes you think about so much. Yet Ruth comes to learn how love her mother and forgive others. It’s truly a great story. But please read the first or you will struggle with this one.