Zia [Paperback]

Scott O'Dell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044091115X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440911159
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Scott O'Dell (1898-1989), one of the most respected authors of historical fiction, received the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, and the Hans Christian Andersen Author Medal, the highest international recognition for a body of work by an author of books for young readers. Some of his many books include The Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Road to Damietta, Sing Down the Moon, and The Black Pearl.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not terrible, but not Island of the Blue Dolphins, August 3, 2007

By 

leila (lexington, ky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zia (Mass Market Paperback)

Sequels are almost always a let-down. I loved IotBD in grade school, and was thrilled to discover the sequel -- twenty-five years later, while in the library with kids of my own. I took it home and devoured it, but was left dissatisfied.

Not only does Zia's story pale in comparison to Karana's heroic survival, but several moments left me frowning with annoyance.

First of all, the plot inconsistencies drove me mad. Midway through the book, we are given to believe that all the young people at the mission have run away, leaving only Karana and some old Indians behind. (This is crucial to the plot, as she alone is blamed by the cruel captain as a suspected accomplice of the runaways.) But then we learn, out of the blue, that her brother has also remained behind -- but we're never told why. Later, when Karana comes to the mission and is given a bed in the girls' sleeping quarters, I thought this room would now be desolate -- but O'Dell tells us it's still crowded. With whom?

Sadly too, the character of Karana takes a beating in this book. In IotBD, she was a hero, larger than life. But seen through Zia's eyes, she is a mute and pitiable recluse lost in a foreign world, who takes childish delight in melons. This might be realistic, but it's a pathetic turn of events that I would rather not have read.

There is also a tragic irony that runs through the plot, to wit: Karana left her island to seek companionship at long last. But in the sequel, we learn that she ends up withdrawing to an isolated cave where she recreates a tinier, sadder version of her free life on the island, before finally dying of a broken heart. Zia, meanwhile, originally left her home village for the regimented life of the Mission solely in the hope of finding Karana -- but in the end, what she learns from Karana is that she'd be better off back home.

In other words, both characters would have been better off if Zia had never heard of Karana and Karana had died on her island. And I think I would have been better off had I not stumbled across this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People my not want what you want for them...., September 6, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Zia (Mass Market Paperback)

Adventure! Excitement! This book has it all! I can tell you if you like these two things you have to read this book. This book is actually the sequel to the Island of the Blue Dolphins! And I know you're thinking "Is it about Karana? About her new life? Is she ok?" Well, if you really want to know it is about her niece named Zia. When the rest of Karana's tribe left, Karana's sister left too. Her sister got married and had a baby named Zia. Zia was raised hearing storys about Karana and Zia decided she wanted to find her. When Zia was fourteen she was sent to live in a mission, a place where Native Americans are sent to learn Christianity, and she realizes it is really close to the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Zia finds a boat and tries to find her long lost aunt. Will she succeed? Will she fail? You'll have to read the book for yourself. If you haven't already I suggest you read Island of the Blue Dolphins before you read Zia. Have fun reading!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book was full of action., January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Zia (Mass Market Paperback)

A fourteen-year-old Indian girl named Zia lives in the Santa Barbara Mission with her brother Mando. They find a boat on the shore near the mission and decide to go on a trip to the Island of the Blue Dolphins to find their Aunt Karana. On their way, they see the ship the boat had originally belonged to, and they try to outrun it, but it captures them. They manage to escape from the ship, but do not find their aunt. After returning, Zia asks a sailor and a priest from the mission to go to the island and get their aunt. They say they will, but only if she makes them a sail for their ship, Zia makes it for them, and they leave. While they are gone, some of the people at the mission plan to escape because they hate it so much. They leave, but Zia gets blamed for their escape and has to go to jail since she helped them leave.

This is a good book for people who like historical fiction and strong, determined girls. It is very adventurous and suspenseful. I recommend this book to people of all ages.