Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) by Scott O'Dell

🐋 Scott O'Dell wrote this book based on true story of a Nicoleño Native American girl called Juana Maria, who had lived alone for 18 years on San Nicholas Island, in the 18th century. Our girl in this story is Karana, also a Nicoleño girl, who, at the beginning of the story, lives with her father - the leader of the tribe, her little brother Ramo, and older sister Ulape. They live in a village called Ghalas-at, where the people survive by hunting, fishing, and gathering roots. One day a Russian fur-hunter ship called Aleut arrived at the island to hunt for otters. Karana's father dealt with the Russians to let them hunting for a certain price, but the Russians refused to pay, which angered the Ghalas-at people. On the battle that followed, many were killed, including Karana's father.

🐋 Lacking of surviving men, and fear of the Aleuts' returning, the Ghalas-at people decided to move to a new island, leaving their home behind. When the ship was about to leave, realizing that little Ramo had left behind on the island, Karana jumped from the ship amidst the coming storm (which was too dangerous for the ship to return), and swam back to the island. Now alone on the island, Karana and Ramo lived together under the roof of their house, and from the foods they gathered or hunted. The only threat was from the wild dogs, whom, when the people left, became more ferocious. One day they devoured little Ramo, which left Karana really alone on the island, and must somehow survive from the wild dogs, while waiting for the ship to return. But the ship never returned....

🐋 Every girl of Ghalas-at had been taught from childhood that women should not do men's tasks like making weapons or building canoe. It's interesting to see Karana so afraid at first, that something bad would befallen her for what she's doing. But in the end, her survival drive was much stronger than any patriarchal tradition. It's a silly tradition after all; a weaker girl than Karana would soon have been perished of starving or killed by the wild dogs had she not been able to make weapons or canoe, and hunt, and build shelter. On the other hand, Karana still preserved her feminine qualities, like when she made herself a pretty skirt from cormorant skins and feathers, and then wore it when she's out on the shore, admiring herself. 

🐋 It's interesting to read how Karana gathered abalones, then dried them up under the sun. Or how she re-shaped a canoe, that she wouldn't be able to haul herself, to a smaller one. The arrows and spears that she produced, and used to kill some of the wild dogs to avenge her brother's death. Not mentioning how she built a home with fences made of whale bones. It really reminded me of Robinson Crusoe. I loved how Karana tamed the wild dog's leader, to be her only friend. And especially, Karana's kinship with the other inhabitants of the island - the animals: the otters, the sea lions, the whales, the birds. I realized how lonely she was, how longed she was to meet and have conversation with other human beings; and I admired her resilience and spirit. In short, it's a lovely book for young adults, full of adventures and good lessons of survival and character building.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐