Scar
of the Bamboo Leaf
by Sieni A.M.
Release
Date: 07/09/14
Summary
from Goodreads:
"That
boy is like the bamboo...foreign and unknown in this environment. But like the
bamboo, if you plant and nurture it in the right soil, it has the potential to
grow vibrant and strong."
Walking with a pronounced limp all her life has never stopped fifteen-year-old Kiva Mau from doing what she loves. While most girls her age are playing sports and perfecting their traditional Samoan dance, Kiva finds serenity in her sketchbook and volunteering at the run-down art center her extended family owns, nestled amongst the bamboo.
When seventeen-year-old Ryler Cade steps into the art center for the first time, Kiva is drawn to the angry and misguided student sent from abroad to reform his violent ways. Scarred and tattooed, a friendship is formed when the gentle Kiva shows him kindness and beauty through art, until circumstances occur beyond their control and they are pulled away.
Immersed in the world of traditional art and culture, this is the story of self-sacrifice and discovery, of acceptance and forbearance, of overcoming adversity and finding one’s purpose. Spanning years, it is a story about an intuitive girl and a misunderstood boy and love that becomes real when tested.
Walking with a pronounced limp all her life has never stopped fifteen-year-old Kiva Mau from doing what she loves. While most girls her age are playing sports and perfecting their traditional Samoan dance, Kiva finds serenity in her sketchbook and volunteering at the run-down art center her extended family owns, nestled amongst the bamboo.
When seventeen-year-old Ryler Cade steps into the art center for the first time, Kiva is drawn to the angry and misguided student sent from abroad to reform his violent ways. Scarred and tattooed, a friendship is formed when the gentle Kiva shows him kindness and beauty through art, until circumstances occur beyond their control and they are pulled away.
Immersed in the world of traditional art and culture, this is the story of self-sacrifice and discovery, of acceptance and forbearance, of overcoming adversity and finding one’s purpose. Spanning years, it is a story about an intuitive girl and a misunderstood boy and love that becomes real when tested.
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Excerpt:
“How
did it go today?” Kiva asked as she moved closer to her uncle.
In
front of her laid eleven slabs of dark wood, not smooth like a dining
room table’s but jutted and ragged in places. She recognized the
shapes of incomplete patterns, some more defined than others.
“It
was interesting,” he said almost to himself. “Some of the
students took to it like they’d been carving most of their lives.
Others had a harder time grasping an idea for themselves.”
Kiva
scanned each slab carefully, some impressing her with their arcs and
straight lines, and attempted to guess the work of the boy with the
mysterious tattoo. Her instincts led her to one and she paused.
She
stared unblinking. And read. And reread the sentence again.
This
is stupid.
Her
eyes narrowed at the words, a slashing of letters that looked almost
like graffiti, the lack of care and respect evident in the way he had
deliberately scarred the wood. She couldn’t help but feel a burn
igniting on the inside. Why
didn’t her uncle stop this?
She wondered briefly what he would do, how he would handle this at
the next class.
Mau
shook his head and chuckled beside her, taking her by surprise. She
swung her head to him.
“How
is this funny?” she asked, concerned for the challenge ahead of
him.
Her
uncle wiped the sweat from his brow. “He has guts, I’ll give him
that.”
“What
are you going to do? You can’t accept this.” Kiva waved a hand in
its direction as if to make it disappear off the table.
“Don’t
be upset, Kiva. I asked these students to tell a story, their story.
It can be a very personal thing to do. If this boy, Ryler, has a hard
time telling it, then he just needs time. Anger usually veils itself
as fear. He will come around. He just needs a little time. A little
direction.”
Kiva’s
mind tried to process her uncle’s words, but it lingered on his
name. Ryler. So his name was Ryler. “How are you not upset about
this? He’s disrespected you,” she retorted.
Mau’s
mouth twisted to the side like a shrug. “It could have been worse.”
“How?”
“He
could have carved, ‘This is effing stupid.’”
About
the Author
Sieni
A.M. is a coffee addict, world traveler, and avid reader turned writer. She was
born and raised in the South Pacific, graduated from the University of
Canterbury, and is currently living in a port city near the Mediterranean with
her husband and two daughters.
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