AN EXPANSE OF BLUE
Coming May 19, 2026
Now Available for Preorder
Warwick’s | Camino Books | Barnes and Noble | Bookshop | Amazon
Fans of The Poet X will fall for this powerful, romantic debut novel-in-verse about a Native Hawaiian girl's fight to find belonging in a fracturing family, sharing a message of love with resounding emotional truth.
Aouli Elizabeth Smith is adrift: unheard at home and an unbeliever at church, fighting her sister and losing her best friend. Overflowing with feeling, she pours her secrets and herself into her song journal when the world threatens to sweep her away. The one place she feels tied down to earth is at her Aunty Ehu’s house. Those joyous Saturdays with her extended Native Hawaiian community living in Western Washington are precious to her. Under the maple trees, the fragments of her life fit together, if only for an afternoon.
Then, an unspeakable truth about her father shatters this one perfect corner of her life.
As Aouli’s world constricts around what others wish she could be, language fails her. But when a new boy, Nalu, turns up with eyes that seem to pierce right into her soul, maybe it’s love that can give her the words to set herself free.
PRAISE FOR AN EXPANSE OF BLUE!
⭐ “Via distinctive and emotionally resonant verse, Adams crafts an evocative story about identity, devotion, and belonging…Measured and profound language—arranged in short lines, cascading stanzas, and block formations that reflect emotional shifts—conveys Aouli’s internal growth and cultural awakening with aching assuredness.” - Publisher’s Weekly, Starred
“Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) debut novelist Adams makes strong use of the verse format, effectively utilizing layout to emphasize meaning in this culturally rich coming-of-age story. Aouli’s desperate yearning to be seen and valued for herself will resonate widely. An emotionally raw, nuanced work from a new voice to watch.” - Kirkus Reviews
ANTHOLOGIES & POETRY
LEGENDARY FRYBREAD DRIVE-IN
Michael L. Printz Award Winner
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner
Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.
The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June's serves up more than food: it hosts live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again. That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.
Featuring stories and poems by: Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Brian Young.
Praise for Legendary Frybread Drive-in!
⭐ “…The emotional core of the book feels deftly balanced, ranging from touching moments of magical connection with loved ones to emotional explorations of feelings like grief, and regular teenage awkwardness and crushes….”
— Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“…A huge range of tribal affiliations and locales are represented, and distinct traditions and customs are easily woven in through dialogue, avoiding heavy exposition or explanation…”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Stories in this noteworthy and absorbing compilation work as stand-alones, but to get the full benefit and sense of intertribal community, read them together…. In voices, styles, and scenarios as varied as the tribes and locations represented, the stories and poems…capture often-pivotal moments in young people’s lives.”
—Shelf Awareness
Now Available for Preorder
WITNESS: POEMS TO ADDRESS THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF POLICING
out 09.01.26
A potent YA poetry anthology that explores policing and public safety while honoring the past, recognizing our present, and making space for dreams of the future.
In this deeply moving collection, anthologists and poets Ari Tison and Ty Chapman give readers an opportunity to reflect, to discuss, and above all, to witness.
The complete list of poets includes:Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams, D. R. Bernstrom, Fong Li Blessing, Ty Chapman, Kinsale Drake, Margarita Engle, Amanda Gorman, Ronald Greer, Nikki Grimes, Carolyn Holbrook, Kari Anne Holt, Douglas Kearney, Tae Keller, Erin Entrada Kelly, Halee Kirkwood, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Ada Limon, Mariama J. Lockington, W. J. Lofton, Kyle Carrero Lopez, Kekla Magoon, Kyle Tran Myhre, Alice Paige, Junauda Petrus, Bao Phi, Jason Reynolds, Karuna Riazi, Laura Ruby, Aida Salazar, Hannah V. Sawyerr, Ollie Schminkey, Taiwana Shambley, Sun Yung Shin, Danez Smith, Ari Tison, Padma Venkatraman, Jasmine Warga, and Kao Kalia Yang
THE COUNTRY IN THE MIRROR: POEMS OF PROTEST & WITNESS
out 04.21.26
Edited by Sharon Darrow and including nearly ninety poets from across the United States and Canada, The Country in the Mirror: Poems of Protest & Witness is an urgent anthology of poems written in response to the troubles of our times. It is comprised of a variety of voices, from new writers to well-seasoned poets who are widely published and celebrated, such as Martín Espada, Nikki Grimes, Rachel Hadas, Gregory Maguire, Bianca Stone, among others, writing about a myriad of issues related to immigration, detention, loss of voice, civil rights, climate change, rising fascism, global wars, genocide, history, abortion, LGBTQIA+ experiences and more.
The Country in the Mirror holds a mirror to our diversity, our freedom of expression, and our collective humanity to remind us of the liberties we have as Americans, and to caution of their loss.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER
SAN DIEGO POETRY ANNUAL 2024-25
HAWAIIAN BABY FOOD CIRCA 1997 by Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams is a finalist for the 2024-25 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize!
The SDPA includes many of the finest poets from the San Diego region and beyond, plus the Steve Kowit Poetry Prize honorees and finalists.