SOLVED. Old YA novel w Dolphin, Not fantasy or SF [s]

[Joe]

I vaguely remember this book from the late 1960s-early 1970s (definitely published before 1977). It's not fantasy or science fiction. It takes place in a warm, coastal or island area. The main character/protagonist is a poor fisherman's son (the book is written from this boy's perspective) who falls in love with a rich tourist-type girl. They're both school-age, not working adults (the girl may be older). I think the boy has a crippled leg. There's also a dolphin involved, somehow (maybe the boy and girl save the dolphin?). In the end the boy's father tries to kill the dolphin but the boy puts himself in the way and is killed instead (harpoon?). A pretty dark ending for what I remember as a YA book, but I guess that's why it stuck in my head all these years.

[Olivia]

maybe

[Joe]

Thanks, but the book I was looking for was first published no later than the very early 1970's. The boy is definitely the main character, not the girl, and it's the boy that is poor. I'll edit my original post to clarify my question.

But thank you for playing!

Joe wrote: "I vaguely remember this book from the late '60s-early '70s. It's not fantasy or science fiction. It takes place in a warm, coastal or island area. A poor fisherman's son falls in love with a rich t..."

[Mindy]

This is probably not it, but there are some similarities so worth a try.

The Boy and the Dolphin by Rothberg, published 1969.

Basil is a fisherman's son. He lives in the Caribbean and his mother's name is Amelia. Basil and his father are friends with a dolphin named Simo. It's a trawler captain that tries to kill the dolphin. The father, Samuel, falls overboard during the confrontation, and the dolphin tries to save the father from a shark that's in the water, but the father dies anyway, somehow.


I don't see a girl in the story, other than Amelia, the mother.

Soon after, the dolphin and Basil also die and Amelia is left alone. So the dark ending is covered at any rate. lol

From WorldCat: The boy and the dolphin /

Abraham Rothberg; Imero Gobbato
1969 1st ed.
English Book Book : Fiction : Juvenile audience 85 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
New York : Norton,

A boy forms a close friendship with a dolphin with the aid of three secrets of the sea revealed to him by his fisherman father.

Mindy

[Kris]

Brothers of the Sea by D.R. Sherman?

Reviewers on Amazon say, "This book is set in the exotic Seychelles Islands of the Indian Ocean. The author is from Africa on the Indian Ocean coast. The setting is portrayed realistically. It is a story about a teenage boy, his father, their fishing boat, a dolphin, a beautiful young girl with a rich mother, and old regrets. Also, this is a tragic story."

"While fishing one day a dolphin saves young Paul's life and they develope a unique friendship."

[Joe]

This sounds fairly close, and the publishing date is in the right ballpark. I wish it were online somewhere.

[Joe]

I found a Reader's Digest condensed copy at the library, and "Brothers of the Sea" is definitely the book I remembered. Thank you so much for your help, it's been driving me nuts for years.

[Kris]

Glad we could help! It's great to hear when long-lost books are rediscovered. :)