Summary of Island of the Blue Dolphins

 The author describes the adventures that Karana experiences, the arrival of the Aleuts and Russians, the destruction against her tribe, the departure of the tribe in a ship that was sent to rescue them, the expectation that those who leave her and her brother on the island will return for them, the death of her brother by dogs, her trip in a canoe which ends when she realizes that the canoe is destroyed too badly to make the journey, her acceptance of the fact that she will be on the island for a long time, her building of a permanent shelter, her friendship with the leader of the wild dogs, the return of the Aleuts, her friendship with an Aleut girl, an earthquake and tsunami, the arrival of a ship and its quickly departure, the return of the ship several years later and her rescue. The author tells us about a different kind of adventure, Karana's relationship with the animals on the island. At first she wants to kill animals when killing them gives her something useful such as skins, feathers, teeth. Later, she views animals as friends, not something to be killed, whatever if they are useful nor if they are not obviously useful.