Off we go...

I just finished this book, which is immediately going on my list of favorites -- I loved it. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction -- apparently I feel that a written account of a time before HD television and iPods will somehow be less interesting than a modern era. This book was proof to me that I shall, henceforth, be required to give historical fiction a chance...

As the name might suggest, the book takes place back in the late-1800s/early 1900s, when people in Hawaii who were afflicted with leprosy were forced to live in a colony on Molokai. It follows the life of a girl named Rachel, who, at the beginning of the book, is seven-years-old. When one tiny spot pops up on her leg (the beginnings of the disease), she is taken from her family on Oahu, and literally shipped off to Molokai. The book spans Rachel's entire life, from her imprisonment on Molokai to her eventual release back into the "real" world... and I was really impressed by how the author was able to make a story about a horrible situation (and what could've been the END of a life) into something that was ultimately about LIVING. I would highly recommend it...

I wanted to finish this book yesterday so I could download something new onto my Kindle and finally give it a try -- we're leaving for a week in California tomorrow morning, so I figured this would be the perfect chance to give my "paper" books a rest and allow my traitorous self to try out an e-reader. (Don't worry, Books!! I shall return, I promise!)

We're flying into San Francisco and then renting a car and driving down the Pacific Coast Highway -- we're planning to really take our time (as opposed to our usual marathon road trips), so hopefully I'll have lots of time to blog and post pictures. So be sure to check back this week and read all about our adventures... or maybe just our boring drive and our stops at random restaurants. Who knows. :)

See you in California!