"Anywhere but Paradise"

Born in Hawaii, author Anne Bustard is still a beach girl at heart. If she could, she would walk by the ocean every day, wear flip-flops, and eat nothing but fresh pineapple, macadamia nuts and chocolate.

She is the author of non-fiction works for young readers including the award-winning Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly.

Bustard applied the Page 69 Test to her debut middle grade historical novel, Anywhere But Paradise, and reported the following:

From Page 69:

Later, in math, we tackle word problems. But I already have plenty of my own:

Likelike is pronounced “leakay-leakay,” not “likelike.”

Hilo is “hee-low,” not “high-low.”

Kaneohe is “kah-nay-oh-hay.”

Pau is “pow,” not “pa-you.”

Aina is “eye-na,” not “a-in-ah.”

Kalanianaole is a blur of letters and sounds.

And I still can’t figure humuhumunukunukuapaa.

Baffled by local customs, targeted by a school bully and worried about her quarantined cat, seventh grader Peggy Sue Bennett wants to return to Texas only days after her arrival in Hawaii in 1960. But friendship, the beauty of the islands and more, ultimately change her heart and mind.

On Page 69, Peggy Sue is flummoxed by the pronunciation of Hawaiian words. Sprinkled in conversations, ubiquitous on street signs and towns, as well as Native Hawaiian names, Peggy Sue cannot escape them. The scene on this page shows how frustration is Peggy Sue’s middle name.

For now.

Visit Anne Bustard's website.

--Marshal Zeringue