Island of the Blue Dolphins recap

Karana lives with the Ghalas-at on an island off California until a dispute with visiting Aleut sea-otter hunters kills most of the community's men. A rescue ship later takes the survivors away, but Karana jumps overboard when her brother Ramo is left behind. Wild dogs kill Ramo, leaving her alone. She builds a home, makes weapons despite tribal prohibitions, gathers food, and abandons a dangerous attempt to reach the mainland. Her effort to destroy the wild dogs changes when she nurses their wounded leader and names him Rontu; he becomes her companion. Karana also cares for birds and an otter, and she befriends an Aleut girl named Tutok during a later hunting visit. Rontu eventually dies, and Karana tames a younger dog, Rontu-Aru. After eighteen years a ship finally finds her. She leaves with her animals and learns that the ship carrying her people had sunk, preventing anyone from returning for her.

A ship arrives at the Island of the Blue Dolphins, home of Karana and the Ghalas-at people. Its captain, Orlov, leads Aleut hunters who want the island's valuable sea otters. Karana's father, Chief Chowig, agrees that the visitors may hunt in exchange for an equal share of the catch, but both sides remain suspicious. When Orlov prepares to sail without giving the islanders what they believe they are owed, the dispute becomes a battle on the beach. The hunters escape, but Chowig and many other Ghalas-at men are killed. The surviving community, now made up largely of women and children, must reorganize its life under Kimki's leadership while guarding against another attack.

After the devastating fight with the Aleut hunters, Kimki leaves the island to find a safer country. Much later a ship arrives to collect the Ghalas-at. During the hurried departure, Karana discovers that her younger brother Ramo has been left ashore. She jumps from the ship and swims back rather than abandon him. The ship cannot return in the rising storm, and the two children expect it to come back soon. Ramo declares himself chief and goes out alone, but the island's wild dogs attack and kill him. Karana is now the only person left on the island. Grief turns to anger, and she burns the abandoned village before beginning the work of keeping herself alive.

Alone after Ramo's death, Karana makes weapons even though her people's customs discouraged women from doing so. She chooses a defensible place for a house, fences it with whale ribs, stores food, and protects herself from the wild dogs. Hoping to reach the mainland, she launches an old canoe, but leaks and rough water force her to turn back. The island, once a place she only wanted to escape, becomes the home she must understand and maintain. Karana hunts the dog pack and wounds its large leader. When she finds him helpless, however, she cannot finish killing him. She carries him home, feeds him, and names him Rontu. The animal that had represented her anger becomes her companion.

Karana and Rontu settle into a shared life. She improves her shelter, explores the island, and survives dangerous encounters at sea and along the cliffs. Her relationship with the island's animals changes: she rescues a wounded young otter, Mon-a-nee, and treats birds and other creatures as companions rather than merely resources. When Aleut hunters return, Karana hides her canoe and moves into a cave so that she will not be discovered. The visit revives memories of the attack that destroyed her community and makes any contact with the newcomers seem dangerous.

While hiding from the returning hunters, Karana meets Tutok, a young Aleut girl. Karana is wary and initially conceals her identity, but the girls gradually exchange words, food, and small gifts. Their friendship gives Karana brief human companionship without erasing the danger associated with the hunting party. Tutok eventually sails away with her people, leaving Karana alone again. The seasons continue. Rontu grows old and dies, and Karana buries the companion who transformed her relationship with the wild dogs. Later she captures a dog that resembles him and names it Rontu-Aru. Earthquakes and a great wave alter parts of the island, but Karana repairs the damage and continues waiting.

A ship finally anchors near the island, and this time Karana is able to make contact with the men who come ashore. She dresses and prepares herself to leave, gathers what she can take, and boards with Rontu-Aru and her birds. The island has sustained her through eighteen years of solitude, but the arrival offers the human community she has long waited for. During the voyage Karana learns that the ship which removed the Ghalas-at later sank, taking with it the knowledge that she had remained behind. She reaches the mission settlement in California, carrying her memories of Ramo, Rontu, Tutok, and the island animals into a new life.

After many years alone, Karana sees a ship whose men have come to take her away. She prepares the clothing expected by the strangers, gathers the possessions she can carry, and leaves the island with Rontu-Aru and her birds. On the voyage she learns why no one returned for her: the ship that carried the Ghalas-at away later sank, and the knowledge that she had remained behind was lost. Karana reaches the California mission settlements after eighteen years of solitude. Her departure closes her life on the island without undoing its losses; she carries with her the skills, memories, and affection for animals that sustained her there.