The Newberry Medal winner The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell is an interesting book. It pits the will of a young girl against many dangers in an isolated setting. The struggle for survival in this text captures an intense narrative about making difficult choices at a young age. Sometimes, young-adult fiction can miss the mark with young people’s lives–and sometimes they can be visceral. Throughout The Island of the Blue Dolphins, we see a coming-of-age story about survival and being at ease with your circumstances.

Summary of the Blue Dolphin

The Island of the Blue Dolphins is about Karana (Won-a-pa-lei), a Nicoleno girl who lives alone on an island off the coast of California. Karan lives alone on the island after her people engage in a battle with Russian fur hunters. Karana takes to her new life by adapting to the island without her community while battling feral dogs. The story revolves around her struggles and her reticence to be rescued.

Back of the Book

From the book: “In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. When they left and sailed to the east, they leave a young girl behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.”

Critical Response

Most critics and reviewers praise the novel. It is a Newberry Medal-Winning classic, along with a Hans Christian Andersen Medal. On Goodreads, the novel has 108,363 five-star reviews. Reviewers write that its lessons in survival and readability are beneficial. One reviewer wrote: “Karana’s remarkable story is not to be missed. A story that is enjoyable for adults as it is for older children!”

However, the book also has 10,168 one-star reviews, with reviewers stating that the book relies on stereotypes of Indigenous Americans. Additionally, reviewers have pointed out the “two-dimensional” characters. They also stated that the reader should see far more growth in the main character over 18 years.

Impressions

Negative reviews aside, I had a recent thought about The Catcher in the Rye as a book that I still can not really get behind, even though I read it precisely when I should have read it as a young person. I may be a phony, but I can see how the appeal of this book has waned in the new era of social understanding.

The development of this character over the course of the novel is an important plot construct to note. She seems to be a living, breathing character who is quiet industrious and capable of success. As a coming-of-age story, it shows the reader how somebody from a different background and different view of life and change into somebody capable of surviving on their own. The Island of the Blue Dolphins creates understanding. That is really important for a book.

On the blog, I have looked at a few novels about survival that stand as great testaments to children’s literature. These novels include Hatchet and a few others. I think I will give this book a reread at some point to just take in the multimodal accompaniment that this novel has created, from movies to critical responses in print.