Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a groundbreaking debut novel that folds the legends of Hawaiian gods into an engrossing family saga; a story of exile and the pursuit of salvation from Kawai Strong Washburn.

In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends.

Nainoa’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods―a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his expanding abilities; further north in Washington, his older brother Dean hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth and fame; while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her independence from the family’s legacy.

When supernatural events revisit the Flores family in Hawai’i―with tragic consequences―they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.

Author: Kawai Strong Washburn
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 400pp
Size: 5.5 x 8.25 x 1.25
Notes: paperback
Release Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1250787316

SIGNED INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY EDITION
Edition: Limited to 1,500
Release Date: April 24, 2021
ISBN:  978-125082293
Indie Next Pick Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn featuring an IBD-exclusive cover with a map stepback and extra bound-in material including a conversation between Kawai and Tommy Orange, a conversation between Kawai and Marlon James, and a reading group guide. SIGNED by the author.