From the award-winning author ofHula, a dazzling saga that moves from Hawaii to California and back, about the generations of women tasked with protecting the history and place that made them.

A young woman lies in a hospital bed in a coma, watched over by her estranged grandmother. Some say she jumped off the cliff; others say she was swept away by a wave. But her tutu at her bedside suspects something else is wrong, that the reason for the hardship and heartbreak in their family history is tied to a story that shes never toldone about a powerful stone, the pohaku, that her family was tasked with protecting generations ago. In fits and starts, the grandmother begins . . .

We travel back in time to the eighteenth century, when the explorer James Cook becomes the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands. Cook arrives in pursuit of an ancient prophecy, a key that would unlock the mysteries of the world, but he is killed before he can learn about the mysterious stonea stone born alongside future Hawaiian royalty, the key to something even more powerful than Cook could have imagined.

So begins a thrilling family saga of the women charged with protecting the pohaku, as it is taken from Hawaii to California and possibly beyond, bringing fortune to the well-intentioned and misfortune to the bad. But with each successive generation, the fractures caused by its displacement widen until it becomes clear that the pohakus story must survive if there is to be any hope at all of the family’sand a nationsreconciliation with their home, with nature, and with each other.

Reminiscent of Yaa GyasisHomegoing, Min Jin LeesPachinko, and Tommy OrangesThere, There,The Pohakuis an immersive and bold novel about the history, perseverance, and resilience of the Hawaiian people

Jasmin IolaniHakes was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii. She is the author of the novelHula, and her essays have appeared in theLos Angeles Timesand theSacramento Bee.She is the recipient of the Best Fiction award from the Southern California Writers Conference, a Squaw Valley LoJo Foundation Scholarship, a Writing by Writers Emerging Voices fellowship, and a Hedgebrook residency. She worked throughout college as a professional luau dancer. She lives in California.

• Publisher: HarperVia
• Publish Date: Feb 03, 2026
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• Type: Hardback
• EAN/UPC: 9780063421134
• Dimensions: 9.0 X 6.0 X 1.0 inches | 1.0 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Popular Fiction, Literary Fiction