A few weeks ago, a girlfriend of mine came down with THE SICKNESS. She was stuck in bed for like ten days straight, and it was up to me to entertain her. Remembering that my mom read this book to me when I was bedridden as a child, I thought it might make for a good read.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is very clearly a children's bedtime book. It reads a lot like a sitcom, each chapter something new and unrelated happens. And then the chapter ends, and something else happens. There's an earthquake. But everything is fine. She makes friends with an otter. She makes friends with a girl, who immediately leaves. That kind of thing.
So yeah, I get it. At ten minutes a chapter, IofBD is fun, yet episodic, enough to put someone to bed. I remembered loving it as a child, but it hasn't stood the test of time.