"HOUSE OF THE RED FISH" BY GRAHAM SALISBURY; WENDY LAMB BOOKS, AGES 12 AND UP, $16.95

"House of the Red Fish" is the new sequel to "Under the Blood-Red Sun," written by Graham Salisbury, one of Hawai'i's best authors for middle school readers. "Under the Blood-Red Sun," Salisbury's 1994 novel set in Honolulu during World War II, won more than a dozen literary awards across the country, along with Hawai'i's Nene Award, and continues to be widely enjoyed by Hawai'i's middle school students.

"It has always been a mystery to me why 'Under the Blood-Red Sun' has remained so wildly popular. What is it that captures readers so much?" Salisbury asked in an e-mail. "So I thought I'd go back and see what Tomi, Billy, and most of all, Grampa Joji, were up to. Maybe they have something to teach me. Indeed, they did: ingenuity and perseverance."

"House of the Red Fish" picks up the story of Japanese-American Tomi Nakaji in 1943, a year after "Under the Blood-Red Sun" ends. After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the people of Hawai'i live in fear of another attack. The Islands are under martial law. Groups like the Businessmen's Military Training Corps, comprised only of whites, roam the streets after curfew like vigilantes. Racism is rampant, and all Japanese are suspected as potential spies.

Tomi's father and grandfather are held in Army prison camps. Tomi's neighbor, Keet Wilson, once a friend, has become his most dangerous enemy, bullying and tormenting Tomi at every turn. Tomi's only solace lies in his tight friendship with a haole kid named Billy Davis.

When Tomi locates his Papa's sampan, sunk the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, he finds hope and inspiration in the idea of raising the Taiyo Maru and restoring it, in anticipation of his father and grandfather's return. Raising the boat presents a series of seemingly impossible logistical and political obstacles, each of which drives Tomi harder to succeed.

"I believe that if someone wants something bad enough they will go out and make it happen," Salisbury said. "My sincere hope is that kids who read this book pick up on that, and consider developing that same kind of passion for achieving their own goals, whatever they may be."

Salisbury has a keen ability to evoke emotion from the reader and his intimate understanding of Hawai'i's unique cultural landscape permeates his work. He weaves history, camaraderie, and a coming-of-age story that connects brilliantly with today's kids.

While "House of the Red Fish" is currently hitting bookstore shelves, Salisbury is finishing up his next book.

"I'm in the final editing stage of a book to be published in 2007 called 'Night of the Howling Dogs.' It's set on the Big Island at Halape. It's based on a 1975 earthquake and its ensuing self-generated tsunami. Fishermen, hikers, and a troop of Boy Scouts were camping at Halape at the time of this terrifying event. My cousin was one of them," Salisbury said. "The characters and their situations in 'Night of the Howling Dogs' are fiction, but the event is true. I got the story firsthand."

Jolie Jean Cotton is a Honolulu freelance writer and mother of an enthusiastic young reader.