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The Island Keeper
Tired of being fat, rich, and miserable, Cleo Murphy runs away, desperate to prove herself.
Her destination is a deserted island her father owns in Canada. She is determined to stay and survive, through her supplies are scanty and she knows nothing about living out of doors.
As the summer months pass, Cleo does fend for herself, and finally she feels ready to face her family on the mainland. But by a cruel twist of fate her canoe is destroyed, and instead she must prove herself again and face the brutal Canadian winter.
Her destination is a deserted island her father owns in Canada. She is determined to stay and survive, through her supplies are scanty and she knows nothing about living out of doors.
As the summer months pass, Cleo does fend for herself, and finally she feels ready to face her family on the mainland. But by a cruel twist of fate her canoe is destroyed, and instead she must prove herself again and face the brutal Canadian winter.
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
5 people are currently reading
416 people want to read
About the author
Harry Mazer
42 books45 followersHarry Mazer is an American author of books for children and young adults, acclaimed for his 'realistic' novels. He has written twenty-two novels, including The Solid Gold Kid, The Island Keeper, Heroes Don't Run, and Snow Bound, which was adapted as an NBC After school special, as well as one work of poetry and a few short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
March 4, 2021
NOTE: It's a YA/children book which was published before the YA genre turned out to be a mess which barely has anything but stupid love triangles in it.
Does anyone still remember that book?
I read it when I was a child, and I was deeply moved by the heroine's struggle with the wilderness and herself. Cleo's journey of finding her inner strength, overcoming fear, self loath and the grief of losing her beloved mother and sister, took my breath away.
For most of the book Cleo is the only human character in the story, and we are with her every step of the way through her journey. At first she was a sheltered crybaby but eventually she became a much stronger and more independent person who was finally able to face her own self, who could also face hardship and take matter into her own hands.
At the later half of the book, Cleo was pushed to the limit repeatedly when she tried to survive the harsh winter on the island, and I admire how the author, Mr. Mazer took his heroine through the long, harsh struggle of survival. It is a brutal struggle, but somehow through his writing Mr. Mazer managed to show us not only Cleo's growth, but also the beauty and wonder of Cleo's Island, the beauty of wildlife and of life itself, and such beauty has still stayed with me for all these years.
Does anyone still remember that book?
I read it when I was a child, and I was deeply moved by the heroine's struggle with the wilderness and herself. Cleo's journey of finding her inner strength, overcoming fear, self loath and the grief of losing her beloved mother and sister, took my breath away.
For most of the book Cleo is the only human character in the story, and we are with her every step of the way through her journey. At first she was a sheltered crybaby but eventually she became a much stronger and more independent person who was finally able to face her own self, who could also face hardship and take matter into her own hands.
At the later half of the book, Cleo was pushed to the limit repeatedly when she tried to survive the harsh winter on the island, and I admire how the author, Mr. Mazer took his heroine through the long, harsh struggle of survival. It is a brutal struggle, but somehow through his writing Mr. Mazer managed to show us not only Cleo's growth, but also the beauty and wonder of Cleo's Island, the beauty of wildlife and of life itself, and such beauty has still stayed with me for all these years.
August 14, 2014
Of course I had to rate this five stars--The Island Keeper was one of my very favorite books growing up. Reading it to my eight-year-old, I was struck by the fact that I remembered almost every detail of the story: how Cleo manages to run away to the island, why she winds up staying longer than anticipated, how she . Some of the language can get a little melodramatic, and a few details might be dated, but for the most part, this story really holds up. It's way better than Hatchet, and that got the Newbery Medal! I am finding myself a bit offended by the two-star reviews on here. The Island Keeper doesn't deserve that.
January 12, 2023
A well written story of survival in the wilderness. The main character Cleo runs away from a life of privlege in part to grieve over the death of her sister but also to prove herself to her family.
She decides to visit an island in the middle of a large lake in Canada where she and her sister spent a summer when they were younger. She carefully leaves no clues as to her where-abouts. After several months living off of the land on the island during the summer, she decides she is ready to return home but instead is stranded when a storm destroys her canoe and her only way off the island. Now she is forced to survive with very few tools or supplies and winter is on its way.
She is forced to learn skills just to survive as the weather turns colder with each passing week and food becomes scarcer as well.
I found the detail of survival techniques added to the realistic tone of this novel and the character portrayal of an, at first, rebellious teen, is dead on. While I found the story somewhat predictible, i.e. I never doubted that she would eventually make it back, I never the less was held in the power of the story wondering just how she would accomplish that feat. I couldn't put it down.
She decides to visit an island in the middle of a large lake in Canada where she and her sister spent a summer when they were younger. She carefully leaves no clues as to her where-abouts. After several months living off of the land on the island during the summer, she decides she is ready to return home but instead is stranded when a storm destroys her canoe and her only way off the island. Now she is forced to survive with very few tools or supplies and winter is on its way.
She is forced to learn skills just to survive as the weather turns colder with each passing week and food becomes scarcer as well.
I found the detail of survival techniques added to the realistic tone of this novel and the character portrayal of an, at first, rebellious teen, is dead on. While I found the story somewhat predictible, i.e. I never doubted that she would eventually make it back, I never the less was held in the power of the story wondering just how she would accomplish that feat. I couldn't put it down.
July 27, 2015
I first read Island Keeper when I was probably fourteen. At the time I was desperately struggling with my body image and I remember deeply identifying with Cleo. I was a slightly overweight teen and I hated myself. There was an appeal to shedding my life, running away and in the process shedding my weight. It is a telling thing about my own psychology that there was an appeal to stranding myself in the wilderness without help in order to shed that weight. I remember wanting it. I remember thinking that if only I could do something that extreme I might become happy with myself. I can not stress enough how disordered this kind of thinking is. And to write a book that glorifies what amounts to self harm in order to "become a better person" is really horrifying. Now, I'd like to think this kind of problematic book wouldn't make it onto the shelves now, but I can't say that for sure. But this is what we talk about when we're talking about bad representation. The outward appearance of diversity that has within in a problematic message. I mean granted, getting my undies in a bunch about a book written in 1982 is fairly silly, but it had an impact on me. I internalized it. I remembered it clearly, even now in 2015. We, as YA writers have to do better. Be better. Pay attention to not just writing surface diversity. #endrant
August 24, 2018
When I was a kid, I read this book over and over. It meant so much to me. I re-read it out of...nostalgia? But I discovered many things in this book that I hadn't remembered, that helped me appreciate a bit more who I was as a kid, and what sort of things I thought about. I can understand now, at 40, why this book so appealed to me when I was 7 or 10.
It's a story of a rich, fat girl whose sister dies, and she runs away and lives on an island in Canada to be alone and free in her grief. She fends for herself off the land, and grows strong and confident, and learns about who she is--something that's hard to do in her stifling home with people she can't be herself with. That's how I felt as a kid, and I loved the fantasy of being all alone, making my own decisions, and not having to worry about what people thought of me or said to me. I was a terrified and shy kid who couldn't do very much on my own--I think one of the reasons I so liked this story is because I must have known deep down there were a lot of things I was capable of that I hadn't yet experienced.
It's fatphobic--extremely--and some elements of it don't ring true to a careful, adult reader. But it's such a cool survival story, and I love that the MC develops a sort of spiritual relationship with the land, and comes to believe in herself by the end.
It's a story of a rich, fat girl whose sister dies, and she runs away and lives on an island in Canada to be alone and free in her grief. She fends for herself off the land, and grows strong and confident, and learns about who she is--something that's hard to do in her stifling home with people she can't be herself with. That's how I felt as a kid, and I loved the fantasy of being all alone, making my own decisions, and not having to worry about what people thought of me or said to me. I was a terrified and shy kid who couldn't do very much on my own--I think one of the reasons I so liked this story is because I must have known deep down there were a lot of things I was capable of that I hadn't yet experienced.
It's fatphobic--extremely--and some elements of it don't ring true to a careful, adult reader. But it's such a cool survival story, and I love that the MC develops a sort of spiritual relationship with the land, and comes to believe in herself by the end.
June 4, 2015
This is a book that I read in 7th grade and I remember feeling like I got mixed messages from this book. Cheo, the protagonist's life falls apart when she finds out her sister has committed suicide. Her family is awful and tells her that they would rather her have died then her beautiful skinny sister. She decides she need to run away to the place where her sister died and has an adventure of survival on an abandoned island. This part is really great, because Cheo becomes independent and proves to herself that she is strong and this helps her deal with her grief. Then she leaves the island and goes back home where her family is so happy to see her again and they tell her how beautiful she has become for being half starved and skinny. I think this ending shows that she has become what she has always wanted to be, loved and beautiful, but I feel like she has become beautiful because of her new found confidence and the ending was not clear about that. I remember finishing the book and thinking to myself that striving to be beautiful in a shallow way was not what I had thought to strive for in life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2016
One of my favourite childrens' books, I try to reread it each year. It's has everything a good book should have; empowerment, nature, and a story of death/love.
July 22, 2011
This YA piece carried a degree of influence in my young life, once upon a time. I saw it as a sort of female compliment to My Side Of The Mountain. The stronger emotional and self-image elements made Cleo a believable character, and her determination to do something (however reckless and ill-researched)--rather than wallow in self pity or taking on some overtly destructive behavior as a coping mechanism--was actually inspiring. For the most part, the story is a 'one girl/woman show', which is understandable due to the isolating nature of the plot.
I see this book as a true coming of age story. While I was initially annoyed with the lack of preparedness in the heroine, she learns quickly and earned back my respect. The degree of character development and progress of maturity is logical and well structured. It left a solid impression on me, some 15 years later. I would be glad to have my children read it.
I see this book as a true coming of age story. While I was initially annoyed with the lack of preparedness in the heroine, she learns quickly and earned back my respect. The degree of character development and progress of maturity is logical and well structured. It left a solid impression on me, some 15 years later. I would be glad to have my children read it.
January 17, 2016
This book has made me realize how much I like the theme of survival in fiction form. From Hatchet to The Long Walk to My Side of the Mountain to this, I always enjoy the human condition put to the test in nature, involuntary or voluntary.
Though there wasn't much well-developed plot behind the survival of this novel, the survival sections were interesting enough for me to finish the book quickly while still enjoying it. I was a little disappointed that the relationship between Cleo and her father and grandmother never changes, but I'll probably never read this again anyway, so not so much loss (the other survival books I listed were better anyway). I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about survival, like me, or to anyone who enjoys reading about nature.
Though there wasn't much well-developed plot behind the survival of this novel, the survival sections were interesting enough for me to finish the book quickly while still enjoying it. I was a little disappointed that the relationship between Cleo and her father and grandmother never changes, but I'll probably never read this again anyway, so not so much loss (the other survival books I listed were better anyway). I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about survival, like me, or to anyone who enjoys reading about nature.
February 8, 2022
I was VERY lucky...I grew up with the adventurous Enid Blyton and Norman Dale books in the 1960's whereas kids nowadays only have Harry Potter or books on bullying at school/divorcing parents...blah.
No more adventures.
That's why I enjoyed this book (as much as "Goodnight, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian).
It's about an overweight girl who cannot get over a death in her family and finally runs away.
She spends months at a remote island on a huge lake, starts to heal and also loses weight.
The descriptions of nature are especially beautiful.
I wonder why this book was never filmed?
"Goodnight, Mr. Tom" and "Jacob have I loved" by Katharine Paterson were both filmed for TV.
"The Island Keeper" unfortunately not.
No more adventures.
That's why I enjoyed this book (as much as "Goodnight, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian).
It's about an overweight girl who cannot get over a death in her family and finally runs away.
She spends months at a remote island on a huge lake, starts to heal and also loses weight.
The descriptions of nature are especially beautiful.
I wonder why this book was never filmed?
"Goodnight, Mr. Tom" and "Jacob have I loved" by Katharine Paterson were both filmed for TV.
"The Island Keeper" unfortunately not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2025
Childhood favourite, reread for the nostalgia
January 14, 2025
This book is for YA readers and was published in 1982 for what that is worth. I never read it in my youth. Since I'm reading a lot of survivalist books lately, and following my journey with reading Hatchet and other Paulsen books, my curiosity was piqued with this story - a girl who lives on an island alone.
This book is NOT Hatchet.
Cleo is an overweight girl growing up in a rich family. Her mom and sis both died tragically, and she now lives with her overbearing grandmother and father. She decides to run away to an island her father owns in Northern Ontario and live there as long as possible.
She is inexperienced with camping and doesn't know what she's doing. She manages to get herself to the island, then whittles down her days eating the packaged food she bought for the trip and sleeping. She EVENTUALLY gets desperate and hunts for herself when a raccoon breaks into her stash, but I found a lot of the book she just sat there feeling sorry for herself. I did not feel as inspired in Mazer's writing as I did with Paulsen.
The book does feel dated with the mores of the era: get skinny, and act and dress like a lady so you'll be liked.
This book is NOT Hatchet.
Cleo is an overweight girl growing up in a rich family. Her mom and sis both died tragically, and she now lives with her overbearing grandmother and father. She decides to run away to an island her father owns in Northern Ontario and live there as long as possible.
She is inexperienced with camping and doesn't know what she's doing. She manages to get herself to the island, then whittles down her days eating the packaged food she bought for the trip and sleeping. She EVENTUALLY gets desperate and hunts for herself when a raccoon breaks into her stash, but I found a lot of the book she just sat there feeling sorry for herself. I did not feel as inspired in Mazer's writing as I did with Paulsen.
The book does feel dated with the mores of the era: get skinny, and act and dress like a lady so you'll be liked.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2018
In the beginning I wanted abandon the book. But after the action started to happen, I saw that I couldn't let go of the book. The theme is the human condition. A teenager that didn't have to do anything for herself has to live in the open wilderness. She is a very dynamic character because in the start she was extremely self conscious and was too afraid to stand up for herself in front of her grandmother. After having a lot of time to think by herself, she learned to love herself and to stick up to people when you need it.
June 7, 2018
I read this book for bookclub and at first I really wanted to give up on the book because of the decisions the character was making and how she was acting but once I kept reading, I began to like it more and more and I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys books that people tend to relate to but you have to be willing to get through some parts so that you can enjoy the great parts of the book. When she is growing as a person on the island I really enjoyed this part because it felt like I knew who she was and who she was becoming and also what she wanted for herself in the future.
February 9, 2023
Grabbed this randomly because I enjoy the “survival” genre.
I read it in less than two hours and was blown away! Definitely better than Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain. Throw in the nasty voices we hear in our heads as teens and the pressures from social/family/society. There is something pure and raw and hard in nature. Lovely but deadly.
Now a favorite and looking for a better copy!
Also anxious to read some of this author’s other works!
I read it in less than two hours and was blown away! Definitely better than Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain. Throw in the nasty voices we hear in our heads as teens and the pressures from social/family/society. There is something pure and raw and hard in nature. Lovely but deadly.
Now a favorite and looking for a better copy!
Also anxious to read some of this author’s other works!
December 9, 2025
This has been among my favorite books since I was a little girl, and it still holds up after 20 years of reading it every few years. Cleo is deeply relatable in a way I have rarely found in books, and her relationship with the island and personal transformation is inspiring.
My copy of this book has lost a chunk of its spine, the pages are yellowed and thinning, and lay completely flat from how many times this book has been read. Highly recommend.
My copy of this book has lost a chunk of its spine, the pages are yellowed and thinning, and lay completely flat from how many times this book has been read. Highly recommend.
December 5, 2021
I love this book. I’ve had since I was a kid in the 80’s! I’ve read it many times, and just read it again today. It’s a book you can come back to over and over and still appreciate Cleo and everything she goes through. The strength she finds in herself and the peace she finds in nature are inspiring!
December 13, 2017
Read this on a plane today. It was a favorite from when I was a kid and I still enjoyed it. But I alwasy enjoyed the "living off the land" idea.
July 17, 2018
Read this when I was a kid and finally re-found it!
December 10, 2019
This is a favorite from when I was a kid. I’ve read it dozens of times, and it holds up 40 years later. Survival story mixed with self discovery...great stuff!
October 26, 2022
Interesting! A book on survival!
January 16, 2023
Top-tier survival story. The reviewers complaining that this book isn’t body positive have completely missed the point.
November 9, 2023
Favorite book as a child. Just reread it (forgot most of it) and loved it all over again.
January 2, 2024
The female version of My Side of the Mountain
January 28, 2024
I love this book. It is pure survivalist escapism, and i will reread it forever.
A bit outdated, but very nostalgic read.
A bit outdated, but very nostalgic read.
July 5, 2025
I first read this book at 10 years old. it inspired adventure in me, and I loved reading it again
August 24, 2025
I re read this book, as I loved it as a teenager- a girl, fed up with her uptight family and a lot of unprocessed feelings and anger, hides from the world and lives on an empty island- she learns how to survives in nature and how to rely on herself and her instincts.
This book gave me so much energy and confidence as a teenager, going through times where I felt like no one in the world understood me. Least my parents.
Rereading it 16 years later, I felt so nostalgic!! I do see that some parts the author writes about are unacceptable nowadays (fatphobic 100x!), but I do love what it teaches you about relying on yourself.
This book gave me so much energy and confidence as a teenager, going through times where I felt like no one in the world understood me. Least my parents.
Rereading it 16 years later, I felt so nostalgic!! I do see that some parts the author writes about are unacceptable nowadays (fatphobic 100x!), but I do love what it teaches you about relying on yourself.
February 24, 2010
Very compelling story about a girl who lost her sister and is tired of living with her cold grandmother and rich father, so instead of going to summer camp, she takes a bus up north to spend a few months on a small island in a big lake...all by herself.
She becomes friends with an owl, overcomes the loss of her beloved sister, loses a lot of weight over the course of the following months on the island and finds out more about who she is and what she wants to do in life.
Harry Mazer did write this book in 1981.
This is not only a book for teenagers, but for adults, too, who once in a while dream of escaping the real world for a while and to see how it feels to live in the wilderness.
She becomes friends with an owl, overcomes the loss of her beloved sister, loses a lot of weight over the course of the following months on the island and finds out more about who she is and what she wants to do in life.
Harry Mazer did write this book in 1981.
This is not only a book for teenagers, but for adults, too, who once in a while dream of escaping the real world for a while and to see how it feels to live in the wilderness.
March 6, 2009
Grossartiges Buch ueber ein junges uebergewichtiges Maedchen, das vor kurzem ihre juengere Schwester verloren hat.
Im Haus ihres Vaters, wo auch die ausgesprochen kalte, unpersoenliche Grossmutter lebt, fuehlt sie sich ungeliebt und unverstanden.
Als sie ins Ferienlager fahren soll, nimmt sie stattdessen einen Bus in den Norden der USA und verbringt ein paar aufregende Monate allein auf der Insel ihres Vaters.
Im Laufe der Monate verliert sie ihr Uebergewicht, freundet sich mit einer Eule an und lernt, wie man in der Wildniss ueberlebt.
Phantastisches Buch!!!
10 Sterne
Im Haus ihres Vaters, wo auch die ausgesprochen kalte, unpersoenliche Grossmutter lebt, fuehlt sie sich ungeliebt und unverstanden.
Als sie ins Ferienlager fahren soll, nimmt sie stattdessen einen Bus in den Norden der USA und verbringt ein paar aufregende Monate allein auf der Insel ihres Vaters.
Im Laufe der Monate verliert sie ihr Uebergewicht, freundet sich mit einer Eule an und lernt, wie man in der Wildniss ueberlebt.
Phantastisches Buch!!!
10 Sterne
November 17, 2017
I'm reading another "island" type book to my girls right now and it reminded me of this book I read a few times as a teenager. I probably would have given this 4+ stars as a teen, but my taste in books has improved. This is a story about a self-loathing teenager who's lost the two people in the world she cares about and runs away from home to an uninhabited island. It is a survival story of sorts. I wouldn't recommend it necessarily, because of some crude language, but it is definitely a compelling book that you don't want to put down until it's over.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews