Healing Water by Joyce Moyer Hostetter

Healing Water by Joyce Moyer Hostetter is set in Hawaii during the 1860s. Pia is a thirteen year old boy who grew up in a village where everyone was family, or 'ohana. He spent most of his time with Kamaka, his twenty year old best friend, and the person Pia looked up to most in the world. Suddenly Pia's world fell apart when he was diagnosed with leprosy. He was sent to live in isolation on Moloka'i, Hawaii's leprosy settlement, with other people who had the disease. Life was miserable there. Pia felt as though Kamaka had abandoned him and he had no one to rely upon. Eventually Pia was tricked into becoming the slave of the most feared man on the settlement, Boki, who forced Pia to do all his dirty work, including stealing from the new arrivals. Pia lived this way for years, forgetting the old ways of his family and friends. Things turned upside down for Pia once more when Kamaka and his new wife arrived at the settlement. Another turn of events placed Father Damien in their settlement. Through several twists and turns, and with the help of his old friends and new, Pia was finally able to get back to his old way of thinking and realize he had 'ohana on the settlement, too.

This was a really interesting story. I didn't know much about leprosy before reading this. I also had no idea that people with the disease were treated so poorly. I really enjoyed the way the author showed how people can change based on their life circumstances. I also liked the powerful message she sent about honoring your beliefs. I really appreciated all of the author's notes and information at the end of the book about Hawaiian beliefs and the history of the leprosy settlement there. The video below shows the settlement as it is today.