Supersonic

Kohnstamm (Lake City) serves up a splendid, centuries-spanning tale of Indigenous and colonial history in the Pacific Northwest. In 1856, Duwamish chief Si’sia vows to protect sacred land near Seattle from violent white settlers, some of whom are named Stevenson and Stalworth. In 1971, Si’sia’s descendant Larry Dugdale works as a machinist on the prototype of a supersonic jet. Larry is in love with Ruth Hasegawa, whose immigrant ancestors once worked, and then owned, Si’sia’s land. Ruth’s mother, Masako, a Japanese internment camp survivor who established the music program at Stevenson Elementary School, controls Ruth’s every move in an ill-fated attempt to arrange a better life for her. Kohnstamm alternates Larry’s narrative with that of Ruth’s daughter, Sami Hasegawa-Stalworth, who in 2014 spearheads a push to rename the elementary school after her mother, only to be told that the school may have to close. The interconnectedness of the cast creates an addictive narrative tension, and Kohnstamm’s character work is top notch, particularly with the tragic Larry, whose earnest and increasingly drastic actions follow one misfortune after another. Readers shouldn’t miss Kohnstamm’s heartbreaking saga. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary. (Feb.)