"Ancient Sites of Kaua‘i: A Guide to Hawaiian Archaeological and Cultural Places," by Van James (Mutual Publishing, $19.95)

Sacred places, or "wahi pana," merge ancestral and spiritual meanings, according to Van James’ invaluable Kauai guide. The island’s wahi pana, clearly mapped and photographed, include natural sites such as standing stones, "pohaku," on a cliff as well as manmade features like petroglyphs. Care and preservation are urged.

After all, as Sabra Kauka writes in her preface about removing weeds from a heiau, "our past as well is right there, just below the surface, just within reach."

Stories like that of Hina-hau-kaekae, a girl who was turned into a hau tree, enliven this lovely, illuminating book.

"Grove Farm, Kaua‘i: 150 Years of Stewardship and Innovation," by Jan W. TenBruggencate (Watermark, $34.95)

Anyone who’s seen "The Descendants" will remember the breathtaking overlook of family lands that Matt King (George Clooney) wants to save. The actual site was Kauai’s Haiku coastal plain, part of Grove Farm, the sugar plantation founded by missionary son G.N. Wilcox. Like the father of current owner Steve Case, Wilcox started out in plantation management.

In the highly readable and deeply researched narrative of Jan TenBruggencate, a veteran Kauai journalist, we learn what it cost the Wilcoxes to keep the farm independent and to finally have to sell. Sidebars profile longtime plantation workers. "Lihu‘e: Root and Branch of a Hawai‘i Town," by Pat L. Griffin (Kaua‘i Historical Society, $35)

This comprehensive building-by-building history delves back to what author Pat Griffin calls Lihue’s "prosaic" and comparatively recent sugar mill roots.

Among the many photos are the 1930 Territorial Office Building designed by Hart Wood and the 1969 Lihue Public Library designed by Stephen Oyakawa, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.

There’s also a 19th-century belle in a jaunty cap. She is Victoria Kamamalu, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I who received 51,000 Kauai acres in the Great Mahele, 2,000 of which formed Lihue’s core. "The past is prologue," Griffin aptly notes.

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“Page Turners” highlights books by Hawaii authors and books about Hawaii or of interest to Hawaii readers. To submit a book for consideration, send a copy and information to Features Department, 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. For more information, email books@staradvertiser.com.