mo'olelo for us stories for us

mo'olelo for us stories for us

About Kauakanilehua

Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams is a mixed Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) author and poet from Washington State. She earned her BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Washington and her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her short story in verse, Braving the Storm, can be found in Cynthia Leitch Smith’s anthology Legendary Frybread Drive-in (Heartdrum/HarperCollins). Her poem Hawaiian Baby Food Circa 1997 was a finalist for the 2025 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize. her debut young adult verse novel, An Expanse of Blue, (Heartdrum/HarperCollins) hits shelves on May 19, 2026.  
Kaua lives in Carlsbad, California with her husband where she spends her time writing, reading, daydreaming, dancing hula, and bending to her dogs’ every wish and whim.

Books

Now Available for Preorder
Warwick’s | Camino Books | Barnes and Noble | Bookshop | Amazon

An Expanse of Blue

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.
Coming May 19, 2026

Short Stories & Poems

Poem
A Finalist for the 2025 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize
Read the Poem here

Hawaiian Baby Food Circa 1997

Braving the Storm

Short Story in Verse
Bookshop | ThriftBooks | Camino Books | Warwick’s
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
Follow Kaua on Instagram for book news, reflections, and a surplus of dog photos. 
Follow her on Threads for publishing updates and sporadic appearances.