The Islander is a book by the Newbery Medal

Newbery Medal

The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...

 winning author Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant is an American author. She has written more than 100 children's books in English and Spanish. With the divorce of her parents when she was four and living without running water and electricity she became an author including works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry...

 published in 1998 by Dorling Kindersley

Dorling Kindersley

Dorling Kindersley is an international publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 51 languages. It is currently part of the Penguin Group....

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It is the story of Daniel, whose parents have died; he goes to live with his grandfather on a remote gray island off British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. Together they live an extremely lonely life, hardly talking to anyone. But the loneliness soon lifts from Daniel when he meets a mermaid

Mermaid

A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...

. He returns to the shore later, hoping to meet her again, but instead finds a sea otter, who then tosses him a seashell which contains a key. This book is his search to find what the key unlocks. Which is the key to life.