Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
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Book Reviews of Island of the Blue Dolphins
Book Review: A Quiet, Memorable Story of Survival and Persistence
Summary: 5 Stars
A beautiful story of a "girl Robinson Crusoe." Karana is a member of a tribe living on the island of Ghalas-at off the coast of California. When her tribe decides to leave the island with some ships, she is accidentally left behind with her younger brother, who is killed soon afterward. She builds a home for herself, befriends a wild dog, and lives alone for many years before being discovered by sailors.
This novel is inspired by the true story of a woman who was left alone on this island for 18 years, called The Lost Woman of San Nicolas. Very little is known about her. After leaving the island, she spent the rest of her life at a Catholic mission in California, where no one spoke her language. O'Dell does incorporate what little is known about her into his story: the leap from the ship, the wild dogs, and the skirt made of cormorant feathers. He adds an encounter with an Aleut girl, and a few guesses about cultural details of her tribal tradition that may or may not be substantiated historically.
Although the story is pure fiction, it achieved classic status because of its timeless human themes. O'Dell's heroine shows great courage in building her shelter, finding food, taming her dog, and finally revealing herself to the island's visitors. For many years she lives alone, maintaining not only her own safety and sustenance but also seeking out expressions of beauty and kindness, and caring for the animals within her sphere of influence. It is a romantic story, but one that is marked by deep loneliness. In a bittersweet ending, she leaves her lifelong home for the sake of hearing another human voice.
This is a quiet, memorable story of survival and persistence in the face of difficult conditions and profound grief. Karana's practical means of surviving against the elements and predators are interesting in themselves, but her courage in facing hunger and danger, and living alone year after year, make her a heroine worth emulating.
Book Review: An amazing story of survival. . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you ever been to a beautiful island surrounded by amazing sea life. Do you love the cultures and the natural beauty of Navtive Americans? You might enjoy Scott O'Dells famous fictional book Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Scott O'Dell, the author of many great children's books, was born in Los Angeles. He had many adventures there in his childhood. One of the many adventures that he had (and my favorite) was when he and 3 friends went to sea on a 12 foot long log. They a a wonderful time "sailing" thier "boat" and looking for devilfish. When he got older, he started writing books for adults. When he wrote Island of the Blue Dolphins, he didn't know it was a children's book until a friend of his read his work and said, "This is a children's book, and a very good one at that!". It won many awards including the John Newbery Medal. In addition, he wrote 28 other excellent children's books.
Karana, the main character in Island of the Blue Dolphins, is the Chief Ghal-ast's second daughter. She has a wonderful life on the island, until the Aleuts came. They killed almost all of the men on the island, including Karana's father. The others that were not killed were sent by boat to a safer place to live. They left karana and her younger brother behind. After her brother was killed by wild dogs, Karana lived alone on the island. From this point to the final page, we see her struggle to survive on the uninhabited Island of the Blue Dolphins and enjoy the adventures that she has along the way.
Not only is it a tale of survival, but a story of natural beauty and the human spirit. It is a haunting, unusual, and indescribable story. It is one of my favorite books ever written.
This story is so wonderful and so beautiful words cannot begin to describe it. So if you are interested in Native Americans and fascinating stories, you should definitely pick up and read a copy of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Book Review: A good read
Summary: 3 Stars
This story is about a girl called Karana. She lived on an Island shaped like a Dolphin, hence called Dolphins' Island. When the Russians come to their Island for hunting Otters, they agree to part with half their share with the Island people as they would be hunting on their territory. But the Russians, while leaving, refuse to give the share and a fight breaks out between the 2 sides killing many people from the Island. Karana's father was the chief of the Tribe who was also killed.
When the new chief is appointed, he decides to move from the dolphin's Island to a near by Island where it would be more safe. But somehow during the moving process, Karana is left behind. She decides to wait for the next ship to come and take her to the Island. But seasons later, when no ship arrives, she decides to make the Island her home and do her best with whatever she can.
This story is her struggle with the nature's forces, with wild animals and most of all with loneliness. Karana has amazing courage and resilience. In spite of the adverse conditions she does not loose hope.
As an adult I enjoyed the story and the descriptions of the Island and the tribal customs. The story was interesting enough to pull me in. But I can see that children would find much more to love in this story. It could teach them morals and values without preaching. And a girl stuck on an Island, making the best of what she has got, making a hut, catching fish, building a boat could be appealing.
Overall, a good read. I am sad I didn't get a chance to read this as a child.
I found some really good information on Wikipedia. It was published in 1960 and won the Newbery Medal that year, and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1963. It is based on the true story of Juana Maria, the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas", a Nicoleño Indian marooned for 18 years on San Nicolas Island off the California coast before being rescued in 1853.
Book Review: silent reading book for english class
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is about a girl that was stranded on an island for several of years,and her name was Karana. She was left behind at the island with her little brother. They got left behind because their dad died, so the Aleuts told the village people who lived on the island if they wanted to go and live with them. They did wanted to, so one rainy night they packed and started walking to the ship, but the little brother forgot something, so he went back. Karana didn't want to leave him behind, so she went with him. By the time the little brother got his things, they were to late. The ship had already sailed away. They had to be stranded on an island, until some one would rescue them.
I liked this book because Karana had to build all her shelter in order to survive. She had to build her own little place to sleep and live. She hunted fish, made her own fire, and tried to find everything she could in order to survive. She met one girl, who beacame her friend, and she met a wolf, who first attacked her, and her brother. Later tha pack of wolves died, except for one. A few days later, he came to her. So Karana had two friend with her on the island.
This book was interesting and adventurous. It makes you wondar what will happen next. Especially when Karana and the little brother if they were going to make it to the boat with the Aleuts. It was fun reading how Karana survived and what it took to survive. This is the first book i liked since years, it is very intertaining. It is filled with fun and adventerous stuff.
My favorite part in this book was when Karana and her little brother were rushing to the boat, to go with the Aluets. But they didn't make it because they were to slow. I wondered if they were going to survive on the island, or if they were going to die. But only the brother did from the pack of wolves. Karana had to live by her self for awile. Later she didn't, because she met two new friends.
Book Review: Written with little feeling or emotion
Summary: 3 Stars
When I read a young adult book I don't expect it to be written heavy-handedly or with lots of metaphors, but when I read any book I expect some level of characterization and sense of time. Unfortunately, Scott O'Dell's prose is so bereft of any emotion that "terse" and "austere" seem about as fitting as "purple" and "flowery." The main character, Karana, spends 18 years marooned on San Nicholas Island. Read that again: *eighteen years*. I've only been alive for 20; that amount of isolation is beyond my comprehension. Yet she only shows a hint of loneliness when (after at least 10 years by herself) she befriends a girl who is only staying on the island temporarily. I don't require Karana to make deep, introspective looks into her own soul, but a little lip-service to solitude might be nice. Papillon was nearly driven insane by 3 years of solitary confinement and this girl can handle 18 years alone on an island with only a few momentary tremors of longing?
Even aside from loneliness I wanted Karana to merely express some feeling about anything. The first-person narrative merely serves as a clothesline to string 18 years of activity on: "Then I made a fence out of whalebones...then I domesticated a dog...then I went hunting for elephant seal...then I went hunting for devilfish...then I decided not to hunt devilfish anymore." Does she miss her parents or brother? Does she beleive in some form of religion? Does she wish her diet had more greens in it because she thinks her legs aren't muscly enough? I wished she could have expressed some feeling, something aside from "Fought the dogs again, killed three but not the leader. I need a stronger bow." The book reads more like a journal than a novel.
Overall O'Dell's novel simply isn't very compelling or interesting. I suppose there aren't many other survival novels with female protagonists, but beyond that this novel has little going for it.