Born and raised in Hawaii, Sara Ackerman has written a fascinating novel chronicling the attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath.

Lana Hitchcock is estranged from her father, Jack, who raised her in the town of Hilo following her mother’s death in childbirth. Her childhood, which was pleasant and carefree, led to misunderstanding and rebellion against the man who dedicated his life to her. As a teenager, she made a promiscuous mistake that rendered her unable to conceive and spent the remainder of her youth with an aunt in California. Her marriage is now falling apart, and to make matters worse, she learns that her father has been hospitalized.

"RED SKY OVER HAWAII effectively deals with war and its casualties, the science of volcanoes, psychological problems during wartime, and the development of love and true friendship in the midst of tragic circumstances."

Lana departs Oahu on December 6, 1941 and flies to Hilo. Sadly, she is too late as Jack passed away hours before her arrival. The next day, Japanese warplanes bomb Pearl Harbor, dragging the United States into World War II.

Upon returning home to sort through her husband’s belongings, Lana renews her friendship with Jack’s fishing buddy, Mochi. His Japanese background makes him a target of the authorities, along with his ward, Benji. When a German couple, Ingrid and Fred Wagner, is taken to FBI headquarters for questioning, Lana consoles their daughters, Marie and Coco. Dutch London, a business friend of Fred’s, is granted custody of the girls in the event that their parents are held longer than overnight. He leers at Marie, which makes Lana and Coco nervous. Both German and Japanese residents are being rounded up, and the Wagners have been sent to a prison camp, suspected of being sympathizers.

Lana makes a split-second decision to escape to her father’s hideaway in the remote rain forest of Kilauea volcano, taking Marie, Coco, Mochi and Benji with her. After a long night, they arrive at Jack’s unfinished house. On the way up the mountain road, they are stopped and questioned by soldiers. One in particular, Major Grant Bailey, will play a pivotal role in Lana’s future.

Lana’s mother, a native Hawaiian, gives her a background that she strives to understand, a belated cognizance of her father’s love for the land and the deep impact he made on those he befriended. Jack’s dream had been to build a guest horse ranch at Kilauea, which she discovers through a growing friendship of her own with Grant.

Because the safety of her guests is paramount, Lana spins a web of lies about the girls and Benji, keeping Mochi hidden when Grant and others come around. A reader could surmise that Hawaii’s American residents faced similar predicaments, protecting lifelong friends of their own.

Ackerman places a heavy emphasis on Lana’s romantic desires, which tends to reduce the novel’s historical impact. Still, RED SKY OVER HAWAII effectively deals with war and its casualties, the science of volcanoes, psychological problems during wartime, and the development of love and true friendship in the midst of tragic circumstances.