Pages As Planes: The Islands
It’s the first Pages As Planes of 2021 and we’re flying off somewhere warm! I love the winter, I love being cozy, but sometimes you just need a little sunshine on a cloudy day. If you’re looking to travel somewhere warm, these books will take you there since we can’t travel safely right now! There is lots of variety from YA to beach reads to thrillers and historical fiction. I hope one of these choices helps ease the post-holiday blues and takes you somewhere warm as we enter this next phase of fighting Covid-19.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo—One of my favorite books of 2020! This book is split between NYC and the Dominican Republic with two sisters who didn’t know the other existed. It’s told in verse and is truly beautiful. TW/CW: infidelity, loss of a parent, 9/11
The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore—A fun summery book with a little mystery and a storm! It will make you crave whoopie pies.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart—A suspenseful novel of a high profile family on a private island full of mystery, lies, and accidents.
Diamond Head by Cecily Wong—A wealthy shipping industrialist moves his family from China to Oahu, but ends up murdered and the family fortune is at stake. Told through the eyes of his secret-keeping daughters, a story of a breathtakingly powerful tale of tragic love, shocking lies, poignant compromise, aching loss, heroic acts of sacrifice and, miraculous hope unfolds.
This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila—A series of short stories that explores Hawaii that reminds of the incredible desire to make roots and find our home.
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite—”Alaine Beauparlant has heard about Haiti all her life…But the stories were always passed down from her dad―and her mom, when she wasn’t too busy with her high-profile newscaster gig. But when Alaine’s life goes a bit sideways, it’s time to finally visit Haiti herself. What she learns about Haiti’s proud history as the world’s first black republic (with its even prouder people) is one thing, but what she learns about her own family is another. Suddenly, the secrets Alaine’s mom has been keeping, including a family curse that has spanned generations, can no longer be avoided. It’s a lot to handle, without even mentioning that Alaine is also working for her aunt’s nonprofit, which sends underprivileged kids to school and boasts one annoyingly charming intern.”
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves—An English teacher and her student end up stranded on an island where they are faced with survival, storms, and the threat of a returning disease. TW/CW: plane crash, death, cancer
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren—A popular enemies to lovers romcom set in Hawaii that will have you laughing out loud and feeling like you’re enjoying paradise along with the characters.
The Last Resort by Melissa Stapley—A celebrity power couple’s marriage counseling resort in the Mayan Riviera is threatened by a storm that has it’s guests faced with secrets and loyalties challenged.
The Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras—”Sought-after social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery from an eating disorder, is coming into her own, with a potential career expansion on the horizon. Despite the good news, her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like the odd one out. So, when her unreliable boyfriend is a no-show for a Florida family vacation, Sara recruits Luis Navarro—a firefighter paramedic and dive captain willing to play the part of her smitten fiancé . . .Luis’s big Cuban familia has been in Key West for generations, and his quiet strength feeds off the island’s laidback style. Though guarded after a deep betrayal, he’ll always help someone in need—especially a spunky beauty with a surprising knowledge of Spanish curse words. Soon, he and Sara have memorized their “how we met” story and are immersed in family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses. But when it’s time for Sara to return home, will their fake relationship fade like the stunning sunset . . . or blossom into something beautiful?” —From the publisher
The Siren by Keira Cass—A YA Fantasy retelling akin to the Little Mermaid about a Siren, bound to the serve the Ocean and lure humans to a watery grave falls in love with a young man, putting both their lives in danger.
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han—A sweet series that explores growing up, family traditions, and self identity as we grow into ourselves from the author of To All The Boys I Loved Before!
Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington—In fairness, this takes place at a lake, but it is a delight! An enemies to lovers new adult romance about two long time friends who have fought their feelings too long. It’s funny, sweet, and a little steamy!
The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda—Set in Littleport, Maine, this suspenseful novel examines the competitive relationship between a year round resident and a summer resident. A smart and twisty read!
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See—”Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger.
Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook find it impossible to ignore their differences. The Island of Sea Women takes place over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.” —From the Publisher
The Dragonfly Sea by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor—”On the island of Pate, off the coast of Kenya, lives solitary, stubborn Ayaana and her mother, Munira. When a sailor named Muhidin, also an outsider, enters their lives, Ayaana finds something she has never had before: a father. But as Ayaana grows into adulthood, forces of nature and history begin to reshape her life and the island itself--from a taciturn visitor with a murky past to a sanctuary-seeking religious extremist, from dragonflies to a tsunami, from black-clad kidnappers to cultural emissaries from China. Ayaana ends up embarking on a dramatic ship's journey to the Far East, where she will discover friends and enemies; be seduced by the charming but unreliable scion of a powerful Turkish business family; reclaim her devotion to the sea; and come to find her own tenuous place amid a landscape of beauty and violence and surprising joy. Told with a glorious lyricism and an unerring sense of compassion, The Dragonfly Sea is a transcendent story of adventure, fraught choices, and of the inexorable need for shelter in a dangerous world.” —From the publisher
When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton—”The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez—her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro's inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost.
As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future—but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything—not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart...” —From the publisher
Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno—”Rosa Santos is cursed by the sea-at least, that's what they say. Dating her is bad news, especially if you're a boy with a boat.
But Rosa feels more caught than cursed. Caught between cultures and choices. Between her abuela, a beloved healer and pillar of their community, and her mother, an artist who crashes in and out of her life like a hurricane. Between Port Coral, the quirky South Florida town they call home, and Cuba, the island her abuela refuses to talk about.
As her college decision looms, Rosa collides-literally-with Alex Aquino, the mysterious boy with tattoos of the ocean whose family owns the marina. With her heart, her family, and her future on the line, can Rosa break a curse and find her place beyond the horizon?” —From the publisher
The world has been particularly hard in the last 10 months. It’s okay to need an escape and if books provide that for you, I hope some of these choices bring a smile to your face. Let that escape recharge you so that you can get to work.
Where should we head next?