Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a groundbreaking debut novel that folds the legends of Hawaiian gods into an engrossing family saga a story of exile and the pursuit of salvation from Kawai Strong Washburn. Named one of the Best Books of 2020 by the New York Times (#30), the Guardian, the Boston Globe, Oprah Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, BBC Culture, Good Housekeeping, LitHub, Spectrum Culture, Third Place Books, and Powell's Books. A finalist for the 2020 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2020. WINNER OF THE 2020 PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL. When supernatural events revisit the Flores family in Hawaii - with tragic consequences - they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a groundbreaking debut novel that folds the legends of Hawaiian gods into an engrossing family saga a story of exile and the pursuit of salvation from Kawai Strong Washburn. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his expanding abilities further north in Washington, his older brother Dean hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth and fame while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her independence from the family’s legacy.

Nainoa’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods - a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, 7-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn