I picked this novel up because the topic intrigued and startled me. I had no idea that leprosy was still an issue, and in the US no less.
This is the story of a twelve year old Hawaiian girl who is sent to live in a lepers' colony. She is all alone, abandoned by her family, which evidently wasn't uncommon. The leadership of the colony is incompetent and the sick and dying are left to fend for themselves to find shelter, fetch drinking water, and fight over what little food is delivered to the island.
Lililha befriends a young boy who has lived in the colony longer than her and serves the drunken superintendent. While she makes a mortal enemy of Kalani, the bully leader of the sick and dying.
This story is shocking and disturbing, appropriate for only the most mature and advanced elementary reader. Probably much more appealing for middle and high school readers.