The Island of the Blue Dolphins teems with wildlife – abalone, otter, giant squid, cormorants, and so many fish! Karana has been alone on the island for years. Her tribe left on a ship with white men after they were attacked by Aleuts and Russians, leaving Karana and her brother behind. Soon after, her brother was killed by a pack of wild dogs, leaving her the sole human on the island. Karana knows what is important to survive: shelter, food, and weapons. But her tribe divided labor between the men and women, and only men make weapons. If she makes her own weapons, will they shatter the way the elders said?
Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins is a Newberry Award Winning historical fiction about the real-life last woman of Nicoleῆo tribe living on San Nichols Island off the California coast. Her tribe was “rescued” from the island by missionaries around 1835 – it would be nearly 2 decades later before her own rescue by a seal hunter. O’Dell takes a few liberties with the historical facts in this take on the woman’s story – she may have been a decade older than portrayed in this novel, and there’s no proof of certain events contained in this retelling. However, at the point of publishing in 1960, very few details could be corroborated. Verbal communication was impossible with her as no one could speak her language. The island is now home to the Naval Base Ventura County, but expeditions in the past 20 years have been able to prove several aspects of O’Dell’s retelling including the location of several caves and caches of weapons, tools, and ornaments that support Karana’s story.
I give Island of the Blue Dolphins 4 out of 5 stars. While there were no errors and the characters were well developed, this wasn’t a “shout if from the rooftops” kind of book for me. There were aspects of the book that felt forced and contrived, especially conversations between the islanders and the visiting hunters coming by boat. I also question how quickly Karana went to her eventual rescuers where she was so afraid of previous hunters.
I would recommend this book to younger readers and adults alike. Specifically, I would suggest this book for readers in the Channel Islands or Southern California region. This is also a great book for readers looking to learn more about the indigenous peoples of the area and their interactions with those from other regions and with settlers.
I chose Island of the Blue Dolphins for the Booklist Queen Reading Challenge prompt “a YA Historical Fiction”. I originally read this book in middle school and loved it. It was the book that made me fall in love with historical fiction. However, I failed to see the magic with this read. I liked the book, but I missed that feeling like I need to tell everyone about it. A lot can change in a few decades though. O’Dell was one of my favorite authors from my middle school years – this book, The Black Pearl, and Sing Down the Moon were all my favorites. If your young reader is looking for a reader to fall in love with, try O’Dell!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: The Book of Magic, Alice Hoffman
- Current audio book: Born Confused, Tanuja Desai Hidier
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Tom Lake, Ann Patchett
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