“When I close my eyes we’re all still alive and it becomes obvious then what the gods want from us.”

The opening sentence of the novel foreshadows that the story will involve the death of a family member. Since the family members tell the story looking back from a point in time after Nainoa’s death, other foreshadowing occurs throughout the novel. The reference to “the gods” also sets the stage for the vital role they play in the novel.

“But the shark was holding you gently, do you understand? It was holding you like you were made of glass, like you were its child. They brought you straight at me, the shark that was holding you carrying its head up, out of the water, like a dog.”

Malia describes the miraculous event that leads her to believe Nainoa is a vessel of the gods. The idea that a shark, the fiercest of predators, could show compassion toward a human dramatically disrupts the natural order. The shark motif recurs throughout the novel, including references to gods who manifest as sharks.

“He’s some kind of prodigy, the teachers were saying, and Mom and Dad like the sun when teachers talked about me. They’d started to say I was something special. Even right where Dean and Kaui could hear.”

At an early age, Nainoa knows he is his parents’ favorite child because of his gifted intellect and healing powers. However, his favored status puts pressure on him to meet unrealistic expectations. It also breeds resentment from his siblings that erodes the family’s bonds with each other.