The story rolled so well I felt I was watching her share her story, complete with the usual side comments and brief histories that pepper animated conversations. This novel is also visually provocative, but not blatantly so, which would have been dreadful. I read this book in two evenings, with young boys charging about, even, because I didn't want to put it down.

Keely is a character that you want to "wahoo!" for, as she attempts to gracefully glide through such difficult times. The allusions to the time and place of her youth are, trust me, dead-on, another reason I really like this book. The other characters are rife with mannerisms and idiosyncracies enough to fill a Bob-Lo boat.

While I've never actually been there yet, the descriptions in "Flip-Flopped" led me into what I imagine would be real-world Hawaii, off the beaten resort path. Who needs Fabio?! Kam in his surf duds, with the descriptions of this clever authoress, does it for me.

Now, where did I put that Hawaiian music CD? We're having pineapple chicken tonight, btw.