Kona Stories Book Club to Host Special Guest Author

Book cover courtesy of Kona Stories.

Kona Stories Book Store’s monthly fiction book club will feature a special guest appearance by Sara Ackerman, author of the featured book “Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers.”

The group will meet on Tuesday, June 12, at 6:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to read the book and come prepared to discuss it with a pūpū or beverage to share. A $5 donation is welcome.

Ackerman was born and raised in Hawai‘i and studied journalism, later earning graduate degrees in psychology and Chinese medicine. She is the author of six novels: “Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers,” “Sea of Four Directions,” “Volcano House,” “The Ranch at Redwater,” “Salt and Seaweed,” and “Honeycreepers.”

“Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers” explores female friendship, the bond between mother and daughter, and the enduring power of love amid the tropical beauty of Hawai‘i during World War II.

Synopsis:

It’s 1944 and combat in the Pacific is intensifying. Violet Iverson and her daughter, Ella, are piecing their lives back together one year after her husband vanished. As suspicions about his loyalty surface, Violet suspects Ella knows something. But Ella refuses to talk. Something—or someone—has scared her.

Sara Ackerman. Photo courtesy of Kona Stories.

Violet enjoys the camaraderie of her friends as they open a pie stand for the soldiers training on the island for a secret mission. But even these women face their own wartime challenges as prejudice against the Japanese islanders pits neighbor against neighbor. Then there’s the matter of Sergeant Stone, a brash marine who comes to Violet’s aid when the women are accused of spying. She struggles with her feelings of guilt but can’t deny the burning attraction—or her fear of losing another man when Stone ships out for Iwo Jima.