The Invisible Wild - by Nikki Van De Car (Hardcover)

About the Book

When sixteen-year-old Emma finds a mysterious boy in the woods, she unlocks memories of magical Hawaiian spirits and works with the legendary menehune to break his curse and protect the sacred forest on the Big Island.

Book Synopsis

An epic adventure steeped in Hawaiian lore, this enchanting novel explores the connection between our world and that of the spirits of the wood, from bestselling author Nikki Van De Car.

According to legend, when the kanaka 'ōiwi sailed over two thousand miles across untraveled seas to the most remote island chain in the world, they encountered another people living there. They were two to three feet tall, squat and strong, good and kind, and bothered no one without cause--they were the Menehune. When the Hawaiians came, the menehune chieftains feared the changes they brought. So, on the night of a full moon, they called all men and their firstborn sons and ordered them to leave Hawai'i. Some refused and, instead, hid behind to remain with their families. In the early 1800s, Kauai chief Kaumaualiʻi took a census of his people--and 65 of his 2,000 subjects were all that remained of the original people of Hawai'i.

Flash forward to today: sixteen-year-old Emma is out running errands when she comes across a boy from Hilo living in the woods, saying things that do not make sense. It's here, in these woods, that Emma has memories of finding a space between "the worlds" as a child. She soon realizes this boy has accessed the place she lost, as well as the people, the Menehune. She helps him hide until whatever spell has been cast over him is broken. Together, Emma and the Hilo boy have to figure out what the Menehune want before it's too late to save the only home any of them have known.

Review Quotes

"Intensely lush atmospheric descriptions create an immersive and sensory read... Intersecting topics of nativeness and heritage, self-identification, tourism, environmental justice, folklore, and more are buoyed by a bit of romance, and the sum of all the parts manages to be both starkly realistic and surprisingly hopeful."--Booklist, starred review

"Van De Car's wondrous and magical YA debut cherishes Hawai'i's everyday, developing a stunning atmosphere through creation chants, a pālila's "bubbly warble," mist "like the breath of an unseen dragon," black lava roadsides, and heaps of haupia (a coconut dessert). The Invisible Wild is altogether enthralling, hopeful, and great fun."--Shelf Awareness

"Debut YA author Van De Car's immersive narrative weaves together issues of identity and authenticity, Native Hawaiian beliefs, environmentalism, and the inequities of economic power and development with a strong sense of place...Magically real and hopeful."

--Kirkus Reviews

"Heartfelt and moving, The Invisible Wild shows a side of Hawai'i rarely seen by outsiders. Van De Car seamlessly weaves a story about Hawaiian sovereignty, the complexities of kanaka identity, and environmental activism with humor, urgency, and both romance and adventure. A poignant exploration of forgiveness and making things right from an authentic Hawaiian lens."--Keala Kendall, author of How Far I'll Go (Moana's Twisted Tale)

"The Invisible Wild touches so many of the strings that are tied to the heart of Hawaiʻi, readers feel welcomed into our homes, to hear the stories as we learned them from our elders and asked to consider some of the implications of progress in such special places."--Malia Maunakea, author of Lei and the Fire Goddess

"Forgotten worlds, the kanaka maoli, the Menehune, reclaimed memories, a cursed boy in the woods, and a looming property development combine in an unforgettable tale of the Hawaii that was and the friction of the Hawaii that could be. At times hopeful, then heartbreaking, The Invisible Wild weaves the conflict between myth and modern life and the loyalties we owe ourselves and nature. An immersive, spell-binding page turner, The Invisible Wild breathes with the love of the land and her people, and calls to the ancestral stories that refuse to be left behind and the untamed parts that live in all of us."--Natasha Deen, award-winning author of In the Key of Nira Ghani

About the Author

Nikki Van De Car is kanaka māoli and the author of over two dozen books on crafting and magic, including The Junior Witch's Handbook and The Junior Astrologer's Handbook, and is a freelance book editor. This is her first YA novel and pulls from her experiences growing up in Hawaii.