What is this pre-1992 YA book?

June 7, 2005 7:31 PM

In high school, I read a book that I remember being titled "The Island Girl." It seems like it would be easy to find this book since I have a title, unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure that's the title, and even if it were, there are approximately nine million books named "The Island Girl."

This particular Island Girl was about an overweight teenagerl who runs away from home after her father's remarriage, and somehow, she ends up on an island. The weather turns unexpectedly, and she gets trapped there and has to learn to survive. As I recall, she escapes the island by walking across the frozen water to get back to the mainland.

If it helps narrow it down, I know I read it before 1992 (because I graduated in '91, and I know I read it when I was in high school,) and it is not Scott O'Dell's "Island of the Blue Dolphins," even though it sounds like it is.

Does this book sound familiar? Can you name the author (and/or the actual title?) I've been trying to find it for a while now, and it's driving me nuts. Many thanks in advance for your help!

posted by headspace to media & arts (3 comments total)

I don't know the book, but the librarians on Fiction_L will.
posted by AlexanderBanning at 8:26 PM on June 7, 2005

It's The Island Keeper by Harry Mazer, from 1981. Found via this list of children's books about wilderness survival, with a plot summary:

Cleo Murphy is an overweight teenage girl who feels all alone in the world. After losing her mother and sister, she runs away to a desolate island in Canada owned by her wealthy father. Without food or shelter, she learns how to survive through the summer. When she is ready to return to her family, she loses her canoe and has to face the prospect of a winter alone on the island where surviving takes on a whole new meaning. This is an excellent confidence building story.
posted by mediareport at 12:10 AM on June 8, 2005

Bless you, mediareport, bless you. *kisses your toesies* And thank you for that link AlexanderBanning-- I have a new mailing list now!
posted by headspace at 7:20 PM on June 8, 2005