Moving to a South Pacific island from small town Oklahoma, sixteen year
old Nancy Sanders trades cruising Main Street in search of tater tots
for strolling sandy shores with islanders who feast on sea worms and
summon sharks with song.
With a dash of teenage sass, MANGO RASH chronicles Nancy's search for
adventure--and identity--in two alien realms: the tricky terrain of
adolescence and the remote U.S. territory of American Samoa. Against a
backdrop of lava-rimmed beaches, frangipani-laced air, and sensual
music, Nancy immerses herself in 1960s island culture with a colorful
cast of Samoan and American expat kids.
But life is not one big beach party, Nancy soon finds, when she clashes
with her parents over forbidden boys and discovers double standards in
the expat community. Samoa, too, is experiencing growing pains as
ancient customs collide with 20th-century ways. In the midst of all
this, a hurricane shatters the peaceful paradise, delivering lessons in
attachment and loss, strength and survival.
Like Nancy, readers of this unforgettable memoir will fall in love with
Samoa's biscuit-tin drum serenades, its mountains like mounds of cut
velvet cushions, and its open-hearted people, who face adversity with
grace. And just as Nancy does when her own health crisis thrusts her
into a very different kind of unfamiliar territory, readers will draw
strength from fa'a Samoa: the Samoan Way.
In language as lush as the island landscape, MANGO RASH enchants,
entertains, and, ultimately, inspires with its message about embracing
and learning from other cultures.
