Looking for a YA book from my youth

It's not much to go on, but I'm hoping someone either remembers or has better Google-fu than I do.

Some time in the late 80s or early 90s I read a YA book about a teen-ish girl in the Aluetian Islands. My most vivid memory is of her description of crabs, calling some "Jimmies," and going into extraordinary detail about the fishing process. I have the shadow of a memory that she was the first girl/woman to embark on fishing.

That's all I have to go on. Ring any bells?

15 points · 7 comments · view on lemmy.world

7 Comments

LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.one · 8 pts · 2y (2 replies)

My dad taught middle school.

Is it "Island of the Blue Dolphins," by any chance?

WndyLady@lemm.ee · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Thanks for the suggestion! Based upon the Wikipedia description I don't think this is it, but I'll read it to be sure.

LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.one · 3 pts · 2y

I hope you like it. It was one of my dad's favorite books!

Amphobet@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

I Am the Ice Worm by Maryann Easley?

WndyLady@lemm.ee · 4 pts · 2y

This is a possibility, although the descriptions I can find are pretty limited. One mentions that the protagonist is a mall-rat. Any guess on when the book is set?

Edit: This was written in 96, which would have been too late. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Donjuanme@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Good luck! It doesn't sound like isle of the blue dolphins. I hope you can give us more clues as you remember them. Was it a longer or shorter read? Was it in a collection of stories? Was it rooted in history or fantasy?

WndyLady@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y

Good questions! I think it was short by today's YA standards - - maybe 200 pages. Definitely not a collection, just a short novel. It was more a historical fiction.