Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins tells the true story of the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island", an Indian woman marooned for 18 years, and was the Newbery Medal winner of 1961. Think Robinson Crusoe, but with a Native American girl.

Spanning from the period before her abandonment up to her departure from the island, the story is narrated by Karana, the marooned woman. After many of Karana's people are killed in a battle with Aleut hunters, the remaining islanders emigrate from the island to the California mainland. An impending storm forces the ship to leave early and Karana and her younger brother are left behind. Soon after, her brother is killed by a pack of wild dogs. The ship never returns, and Karana is left alone on the island for what will be 18 years.

During that time, she learns to survive on her own. She takes over traditionally male tasks such as canoe-building and spear-making in order to survive, overcoming superstition that doing so would bring bad luck. Also during that time she domesticates the wild dog who killed her brother, attempts and fails to leave the island on her own, fights a "devilfish", and secretly befriends an Aleut girl when the Aleut hunters return.

Its sequel, Zia, tells of her niece and Karana's eventual arrival on the California mainland.

Tropes used in Island of the Blue Dolphins include:
  • The Aloner
  • Bus Crash: The entire people of Ghalas-at.
  • The Chief's Daughter: Karana is actually the daughter of the chief, but she averts the trope as she doesn't trust the Aleuts for a second.
  • Death by Newbery Medal: Let's see... Karana's father, Karana's brother, Karana's whole village, and her dog.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Karana's dog, Rontu. After nearly killing him, she has a change of heart and adopts him.
  • Deserted Island
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: Ramo
  • Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods: "Devilfish" is a somewhat archaic epithet for an octopus.
  • Last of Her Kind: Possibly Karana. It's implied in the later part of the book that the ship didn't come back because it sank, drowning all of the people of Ghalas-at.
  • The Musical: The Seattle Children's Theatre made a musical play of the story for kids. Less than halfway through the book's story she immediately leaves the island with the Aleut girl.
  • Retcon: According to Island Of The Blue Dolphins, nobody survived the sinking of the ship. So how did Zia, Karana's niece, get to the Santa Barbara mission?
  • Roman à Clef
  • Revenge: Karana intends to kill the pack of wild dogs that killed her brother, but she adopts their leader instead.
  • Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: In the sequel, Karana dies soon after arriving at the Santa Barbara mission. Which is what happened in real life too.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Karana's brother. Sorry girl, but if your younger brother decides to go off hunting, alone, on an island with packs of vicious wild dogs running around everywhere, he was going to die.
  • Uncanny Family Resemblance: How Karana can tell that Rontu-Aru is Rontu's son.
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