Zia

I read Zia, a 179 page, adventure book by Scott O'Dell. Zia is the sequel to
Island of the Blue Dolphins. The main character in the book is Zia. Zia is a
fourteen-year-old determined girl, who lives on the island of Santa Barbara
with her brother, Mando. Mando is a young boy, who likes to fish and has an
attitude as if he take on anything that comes his way. The two get along
pretty well, and work together throughout the story.

Zia is the story about a teenage girl who tries to find her aunt
Karana. Karana was stranded on a island and was her last relative,
besides her brother. The quest to find her family member is very
dangerous.

One day Zia and her brother, Mando, were collecting clams on a
beach when she saw a boat, that had been washed up by a recent
storm. When they returned to the mission they went to confession. Zia
talked to her friend, Father Vicente. She told him of the boat and
asked if they could keep it. He responded to her question by stating
that by law she was able to keep the boat because she had it. Then she
told him that the words Boston Boy was written on the side of the
boat. Father Vicente said that the boat belonged to a whaling company,
and that they had one of their whaling boats.
Zia and Mando renamed the boat Island Girl . They decided to
row the boat to the Island of the Blue Dolphins, a sixty mile
journey, to find Karana. Zia told Father Vicente the news and he told
her to visit Captain Nidever. Captain Nidever had been to the island
before and had seen a woman and her foot prints on the beach. He
suggested not to go because it was too far, and they had no
experience.
Ignoring his warnings, the two went along with their plan. They
started off with no trouble, but they soon became tired. Soon
they saw a large ship approaching with the name Boston Boy . The men on
the ship spotted the Island Girl and took them aboard to work. Mando
worked as a person who fed the fire to keep on going. While Zia worked
in the kitchen making the meals for the men. Zia and Mando talked
together and decided to escape. Successfully doing this, they made it
back to the mission.
When they told Captain Nidever what happened, he had good news
for them. He said that he, with his companion, where going
otter hunting, and along were going to stop by the Island of the Blue
Dolphins. Zia begged to let her go with them, but he refused. So
instead she asked if Father Vicente could go, and he agreed. Zia wanted
Father Vicente to go because he looked Indian and Karana would not fear
him.
Everyone worked to get Father Vicente ready for the trip. Then
finally the day came for him to leave. Every person was there
to see them take off, hoping they would return safely.
After he left, Zia had to work in the fields with other women.
To teach how to plant there was Gito Cruz, who was the
mayordomo (mayor), of the mission. While working he talked with all
the young people of the mission and explained a plan of escape from the
mission. He explained how the people were like slaves at the mission
and they should return home. Everyone agreed to go with him, except Zia
who wanted to stay in case Karana came with Father Vicente when they
returned.
The night of the escape there was a fiesta. While dancing with
Zia, Gito Cruz explained to Zia that he knew how she was
feeling. So, he told her that he would send a messenger, with a map for
her and Karana a month after he reached his destination. This way the
two could both live together.
That night Gito Cruz made his escape with his band of boys and
girls. When the elders awoke they were furious and questioned
Zia. But decided that she knew nothing. A group of soldiers were sent
to look for them, but when the soldiers returned empty handed they
questioned Zia again. At the end of their cession together, the leader,
Captain Cordova took Zia with him to the garrison. There she was kept
in a small cell, and was fed water and tortillas. The nights were
freezing and everyday a lady came for her food and asked her if she was
ready to tell the Captain all she knew. Each time Zia replied that she
knew nothing. Every few days the Captain sent for her, and each time he
talked to her more sternly. But each time she replied very little with
not much info. Then one time he called her and said they found Gito
Cruz and they were cornered in a cave. He asked Zia more questions, but
with no response, Zia was sent to her room, where through the small
hole in the wall she saw Father Vicente returning with Karana.
Once she saw them get off the boat, Zia began yelling and
waving her arms. Father Vicente saw her and went to the
garrison. The Captain and the Father yelled at each other but
eventually Zia was freed. While the two were yelling Zia met with
Karana thought the hole. There, instantly knowing of their connection,
they attempted to hug each other and Zia tried to communicate with her,
but neither of them understood each other. After leaving the garrison
the three walked back to the mission.
Soon the father in charge died and Father Vicente took his
place. He made new laws and treated Karana very nicely, with
many exceptions because she was new. Then Father heard talk about Gito
Cruz and his band again. So he met with others and decided to talk with
them about coming home. Father Vicente, Zia, Karana and her dog all
went to find Gito Cruz. Reached him, Father Vicente invited the group
to come back to the mission, and with a little persuasion he agreed to
return. On their return, fire accidentally caught in the forest.
Everybody running for their lives hurried for the mission, all lead by
Karana. Everybody returned to the mission safely.
Another father was sent to take Father Vicente^s place in
charge since the elders thought he was too young to rule
wisely. Then life became much harder than before and Karana was treated
not as she should of so she left to live in a cave on the beach.
Karana became sick, but was healed by a Medicine Man. One day
Zia came to visit and Karana was sick once more. She went to
the mission for help, but they agreed only to help if Karana came to
them, which she would not. Zia went to visit one last time where Karana
gave Zia her necklace and died. Zia believes she died from home
sickness. After burying Karana, Zia left the mission. She walked for
ten days to return to her home land, and with her she took Karana^s
dog, who soon became Zia^s good friend.

THE END

After reading this book I found that I really liked it. My
first reason for liking it has to do with the language the
author uses. I don^t like it because of the good word usage of good
descriptions, but of the actual language. Scott O^Dell writes some of
his words in Spanish and the rest in English. I enjoy this for two
reasons. My first is because it gives me a chance to practice my
Spanish. The other is because it gives you a since of where Zia is
living, or as we have learned to call it, the setting. Unlike in the
Fighting Ground, Scott O^Dell does not provide English translation.
Either the words he used are easy to understand or the reader does not
necessarily need to know. For instance Father Vicente answers Zia^s
question my saying,^...which is the truth,verdad. ^ or the author used
the word mayordomo which means mayor. Or the author will write the
word the first time in Spanish, and then later on write the word in
English.
The next reason why I liked the book is because it is the
continuation of Island of the Blue Dolphins. After I read
Island of the Blue Dolphins in the fourth grade I wondered what had
happened to Karana, and this book reveals the answer. In the first book
Karana was left alone on the island by herself. In this book Karana was
rescued from the island and brought to the mission t live with her
niece. At the end of this book it is the death of Karana. Now there are
no more questions.
Another reason why I enjoyed this book is because it is
exciting. Zia makes a long voyage with her 9 year old bother,
on a sixty mile journey. The long way is not the only reason why the
trip is dangerous but also because the two are traveling in a
four-person boat with only two oars, one of which was made by Mando. At
first the trip seemed easy but when the Island Girl was captured I
got worried and couldn't but the book down. Then when Zia was captured
by Cordova I thought that she would not get out in time to greet her
aunt. And finally, I feared that Father Vicente nor Karana would see
Zia waving her arms frantically to get their attention to be freed and
be reunited.
One more reason why I like the book was because there was
something unexpected in between. The entire time that I was
interested in the return of Karana after Father Vicente left, Gito Cruz
had the idea of fleeing from the mission. I expected the return of
Karana very soon because there was nothing else that I could think of
to come up in the story. Then all of a sudden Zia helped Gito Cruz and
his band escape from the mission, and become captured by Cordova and
kept in a small room with no windows.
The last reason why I found the book good is because the book
is in Zia^s point of view. This really helps to understand
exactly what is going through her mind and how she truly feels. I am
sure I could get by not reading the story from Zia^s point of view, but
writing the story this way helps me to get interested as well. Writing
it in first person also makes the story less confusing, considering the
book title is also the name of the main character.
For these reasons I enjoyed this book. I would especially
recommend this book to anybody who has read Island of the Blue
Dolphins. This book, in my opinion, is a great conclusion to how the
life of Karana ended. I also think that anyone who enjoys reading
adventure books should read this book. Or to anybody who wants to read
a short, easily understood book. Overall, I liked reading Zia.