This book spoke to me for many reasons. I’ll go into them in a bit, but first a little backstory.
My dad worked for the airlines for over 20 years, and we got to fly on his employee passes quite often. Living in California, Hawaii was a short flight across the Pacific. And yes, I do mean short; because of trade winds and routes, it was often a shorter flight to Hawaii than it was to NY or Florida. Go figure.
Anyway, I first visited the islands when I was about ten years old, and I fell in love with everything about them. The people were amazing, the culture was fascinating, and the vibe was thoroughly relaxing. Even as a kid, I got all of that.
Fast forward to college, where I was friends with a guy whose family was from Hawaii. On one of our family visits over there, he invited my cousins and me to a few of his family gatherings…including his cousin’s wedding.
That’s right: we crashed a wedding in Honolulu. I mean, I guess we were invited, but not formally. But that’s the Hawaiian way. It was an incredible evening from start to finish. You would never know that we haoles didn’t belong. I found out that that word has different meanings depending on who is speaking it. Fortunately for us, it was used in jest and everyone was gracious and welcoming.
All of those memories (and more) came roaring back to me as I read True to Me. The author perfectly captures the Hawaiian way by embodying her characters with different aspects of the culture. The protagonist, Quinn, is guided by all of them along her path of discovery, which gives her a deeper understanding of her life, both past and future.
I don’t want to reveal the plot, as several reviews do, as that’s not what I’m about. Plus, I think that readers should be able to experience Quinn’s journey right along with her without knowing what will happen next. Her decisions are more impactful that way.
Quinn’s personal growth along the way was a joy to watch. I did think that a little bit more detail of her “uptightness” would have been good, especially when it came to her relationship with Ethan. But it was all still clear enough that she was searching for something, even if she wasn’t sure exactly what that something was at times.
And this is the crux of the story. Quinn is searching for the answer to a question about her family but is really looking to find herself. This is ultimately relatable, because everyone (at one time or another) has had questions about the path they are on and whether there is something more “out there.” And frankly, this is the time of year when people think it the most.
Ultimately, this is a beautiful story set in a magical place that illustrates the importance of learning how to breathe and take the time to figure out what the world is trying to tell you. Hawaiians understand the strength of ohana and how vital pono is. Everybody should take a lesson from them. Quinn did and was certainly happier for it.
Happy New Year everyone – find your path and don’t look back.
