Hawaiian native Tita works to escape a vicious cycle of poverty and abuse, only to realize along the way that life can not only be better, it can be whatever she wants it to be...

Take a deep dive into the lives of real Hawaiians as we follow Tita and other native women living and struggling against abuse and despair in a world controlled by tourism' s long tail.

These stories of resilience offer readers a glimpse behind the bird-of-paradise curtains and a look at what' s not in the travel magazines.

What is it like to live day in and day out in a place that everyone else considers paradise? To live within America but not be considered American enough?

Bitter Over Sweet gifts us a rare, authentic indigenous voice speaking about these often misunderstood islands. It' s Night of the Living Rez meets Lilo and Stitch.

"A stunning collection. I'm a sucker for flash, for voice-y lit, for the unexpected, for the problematic, for Brown girls, for pop culture, and for playing with form, and Llanes Brownlee brings this all together beautifully in Bitter over Sweet. It's a feat of fresh style, intricate language, imagination, grit, and so much heart."

—DEESHA PHILYAW, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies