Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy	Yearling Book
Written by Gary D. Schmidt	2006
Historical Fiction	217 pages
Reading Level ages 10-12	Newberry Honor and Printz Honor

Summary

Turner just moved into the town of Phippsburg, Maine. His father is the preacher and as his son, Turner must be an example and wear starched shirts while all the other children are wearing comfortable plaid. He wants to light out to the territories when they don’t play baseball the same way as in Boston. He is forced to play the organ for an elderly lady as payment for kicking a rock that bounced off her picket fence. Mrs. Cobb sits in her recliner listening to him play and talking about her last words and makes him promise to write them down. He wanders down to the beach, frustrated that nothing is going right, not even baseball. He tossed up a rock to hit with a driftwood piece when someone shouted. It was Lizzie Bright Griffin. She lives on Malaga Island with her grandfather and other descendants of runaway and freed slaves. She teaches him how to play baseball and collect mussels. They form a quick friendship that is frowned upon by the leaders of the community. The leaders want to evict the islanders to make a resort for income. They strong-armed Turner’s father as the Reverend to help them. Lizzie still meets with Turner, but instead of at their beach, she comes in the backdoor of Mrs. Cobb’s house. At first there is only stony silence, but Mrs. Cobb comes to be affectionate and accepting of Lizzie. Mrs. Cobb died and left her house to Turner, who decides that Lizzie and her family can live there. Lizzie is always telling Turner to face the world straight and see it how it really is. They saw whales in the bay and Lizzie said that they let you touch them, only if you knew what it meant to look in their eyes. One night, Turner stayed in Mrs. Cobb’s house fearing something would happen. It did happen but not at her house. The leaders burned all the houses on the island down and administered the rest of the islanders to the mental hospital down the road. Turner struggles with the Sheriff and his father, finally standing for his son and what was right, fell off the cliff. He was in a coma and eventually died. Turner tried to save Lizzie, but had to wait for the thaw. When he arrived, he found she had died ten days after being institutionalized. The plan for resorts didn’t last and the town slowly declined. Turner took on sea jobs as he grew and one day rowed alone to look for whales. He had found what it meant and cried as he placed his hand on one of the majestic mammals. He wanted to tell Lizzie but knew what she’s say already and returned home to tell Willis.

Reaction

I loved reading this book. The cover and back synopsis are mi leading. It appears to have a happy story line but ends up with most of the characters dying. The imagery was engaging and allowed the reader to envision the scenery and characters. My favorite analogy was of the secret council of the deacons compared to a whale to come down the road than the decision to be kept secret until Sunday. It had a range of emotions and was engaging until the last page.

Potential Problems

There are a lot of deaths: Lizzie, her grandfather, those in the institution with her, Mrs. Cobb, Mrs. Hurd, and Turner’s father. It also is based on a town’s fierce prejudice to the islanders and those who are misfits and go against their thinking.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to an older audience and those interested in historical fiction. This is a great example of that genre.