After accidentally wishing on a family heirloom to hear what boys are thinking, Clara wakes up the next day able to do just that. Every idea, every worry, every generous or petty thought crossing their minds—somehow, they now form a chorus of voices in hers.
But why couldn’t her newfound powers have arrived sooner? Then, maybe, she could have stopped her ex–best friend Leo from betraying her and ditching her for the more popular kids. At least her dad is open to the idea of moving her off O‘ahu and out to Arizona to be with him.
If Clara can use what she hears to solve her problems, then her powers might just be able to make up for lost time—but instead, she ends up making a bigger mess of everything! While scrambling to fix her mistakes, Clara must question old friendships, enter into new ones, and try to figure out what makes a home, and if she is willing to leave hers behind.
I loved the relationship between Clara and her Tutu (grandmother). I thought it was strange that her parents would leave her in a different state with their grandmother especially if she had health concerns. Clara's Tutu was fighting with her dad to get Clara to stay. She wants her family home with her and why wouldn't she? If Clara were to leave she would be all alone. But her dad was listening only to what Clara was saying and not thinking that his older mother needed him too which was frustrating as a reader. Tutu is as hard-headed as her son but provides a stable and caring figure in Clara's life. I appreciated how everything got resolved and that Clara finally had her dad by her side.
Clara becomes more open to the kids around her once she gets her powers but it takes her a while to learn to really listen. The heart of this book is about listening and communication with others which offers a great message to young readers. It was wonderful to see her and Leo finally speaking to each other and getting over what was obviously a miscommunication.
There are a couple of things I wish were different. I wish Clara's power wasn't just boy-related since who wants to read boys' minds for the rest of their lives? I do understand the appeal to middle-grade girls but overall I wish her power didn't center around boys. I also wish there was a glossary. When I read books with Spanish words it feels like home so I can understand it could be the same with Hawaiian words but it might frustrate younger readers with the amount of Hawaiian words that they might not know the meaning of.
I hope that Kahakauwila continues to write more middle-grade books but explains the meaning behind Hawaiian words in the future because it took me out of the experience of this heart-warming book more than I wanted it to. There are so few Hawaiian authors writing books in mainstream publishing so the publishing of Clairboyance (just like Lei and the Fire Goddess) excites me. I look forward to seeing where she takes her readers in her next book.
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