11 year old Alexander Kaonakai Westin — Zader for short — is allergic to water. One drop on his skin sears like white-hot lava. Too bad a lifetime of carrying an umbrella and staying away from the beach isn’t the answer, especially when his popular almost twin brother Jay looks destined to become the next Hawaiian surfing sensation.But avoiding water is just the tip of Zader’s troubles... more11 year old Alexander Kaonakai Westin — Zader for short — is allergic to water. One drop on his skin sears like white-hot lava. Too bad a lifetime of carrying an umbrella and staying away from the beach isn’t the answer, especially when his popular almost twin brother Jay looks destined to become the next Hawaiian surfing sensation.But avoiding water is just the tip of Zader’s troubles. Eating raw seafood and rare meat gives him strange dreams about a young girl in a red cape and nightmares about a man with too many teeth. There’s also the school bullies who want to make Zader their personal punching bag, the pressure of getting into Ridgemont Academy, and the mysterious yearly presents from his birth family that nobody talks about. It’s enough to drive Zader crazy, especially when he suspects old Uncle Kahana and Ilima know a secret that explains his unusual biological quirks. After all, they were the ones who found him newborn and abandoned on a reef and brought him to the Westins to adopt. Uncle Kahana swears Zader is ohana — family — by blood as well as adoption. Too bad he’s not saying more.When Jay quits surfing after a shark scare, Zader decides it’s time to stop hiding in the shadows and start searching for answers.Growing up adopted in Hawai‘i just got a little weirder. less
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