The year is 1900, and John Williams has come to the remote Pacific island of Ocean Island (now known as Banaba) to oversee the new phosphate industry. His wife, Ella, and their two-year-old daughter, Gwennie, follow him to begin their new life. After her initial culture shock, Ella grows to love the island and its people and to care deeply about their plight as the phosphate mining gradually destroys their beautiful home. While John supervises hundreds of indentured workers, Ella and Gwennie get to know the Banaban people, their culture and beliefs. Tetabo, their houseboy, teaches Gwennie about his people's magic and mysteries. John fears that his daughter is growing up like a native, but Ella refuses to send Gwennie to Australia to school. John, while loyal to the mining company, is uneasy at his superiors' treatment of the island and its people. Discontent and riots among the imported mine workers challenge him, the Banabans' anxiety about the mining worries him while the changes to his family perturb him. Nakaa's Awakening; Land of Matang is based on the author's researched family history. It is a story of conflicting loyalties, cultural differences and a family adjusting to a new environment while destructive mining practices threaten the near-extinction of the Banaban race. The survival of the Banaban people into the twenty-first century is a triumph of human spirit over industrial might. They continue to believe that good will overcome evil as they struggle to survive the wrath of the evil spirit Nakaa and his Awakening."Yet, though Matang was lost forever, a cherished tradition said that the ancestor gods had promised to return to their children one day, wherever they might be?" "Nakaa's Awakening" Stacey King has created a fascinating story about her great-grandparents and their life on Banaba Island in the early 1900s. The sad saga of the rape of the island and the usurpation of the rights of the Banabans by Australian and British phosphate miners is told through the eyes of the Williams family. Ella and John Williams shared a unique experience of adjusting to life on a tropical island, learning to respect and understand the original owners and bringing up their daughters far from their Australian home. Due to their strong and loving relationship they were able to deal with the challenges that faced them with great courage. Their two daughters, Gwennie and Uma, grew up on Banaba and became unusual and independent women as a result of their experience. The author has brought to life the Banaban people they met and came to love. The tale of the beliefs and traditions of the Banabans and the photos throughout the book help to make the story even more vivid. I am looking forward to the next book in this intriguing series. Virginia Falealili, Author Naaka's Awakening is the warm-hearted story of Ella Williams and her life on OceanIsland (now Banaba) in the early 20th Century. While her husband oversees the phosphate mining enterprise that brought the family to the island, Ella learns to love the rich culture of the island. Her loyalties are torn when shes ees the damage the company is doing to the Banabans' way of life. I highly recommend this story to anyone interested in the impact of European activities in the Pacific, and to anyone who loves to read of new and exoticplaces. Inspired by true events, and real people, this story held my attention and sent me off on a virtual visit via Google Earth. Naaka's Awakening: Land of Matang - I highly recommend this story to anyone interested in the impact of European activities in the Pacific, and to anyone who loves to read of new and exotic places. Inspired by true events, and real people, this story held my attention and sent me off on a virtual visit via Google Earth. Sally Odgers, Author/Editor, Australia Nakaa's Awakening "What an incredible story well written. I look forward to the next and the next and the next"Alice Billing, Australia Nakaa's Awakening "A very effective mix of historical facts and a well-written narrative to bring the history alive. It kept me wanting to keep reading to find out what happens to each of the characters and their individual character arcs. The Banaban words throughout assisted in placing you in the time and presence of the island,together with the rich description of the environment. I felt I was right thereon the island participating in the lives of the characters. I also loved how you proffered the different perspectives of each character and their Point of View of their dynamic environment." Fiona Macrae, Australia Historical fiction at its best! I have the good fortune to know Stacey King and to have visited Banaba with her, so I know just how passionate she is about all things Banaban and about her family history, which is so closely associated with the island.In this - the first of a four-novel series - she relates the true story of her great-grandparents' life on Banaba as members of the