Turner Buckminster moves to a small town in Maine, where his father is the new pastor. In spite of the beauty of the town, Turner is miserable in his role as “the minister’s boy.” Then he meets Lizzie, who lives on nearby Malaga Island. The islanders are former slaves who have very little money, and the townspeople wish they would leave. Turner and Lizzie become good friends, in spite of their differences. Soon the townspeople are plotting to send away the islanders, and Turner must decide how to help.

This book was written by a Calvin prof-Gary D. Schmidt. I generally enjoy his books, and this was no exception. There were some “new-ageish” components involving whales and the ocean, which seemed quite important to the author and the main character. I choose to skim those sections and focus more on the history of Malaga Island and on how Turner changed as he learned to stand up for what is right.

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1. […] a small plug for my alma mater: Schmidt, who is also a winner of the Newbery Honor for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, […]

   Pingback by BookPikks » The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt — March 4, 2008 @ 9:22 pm

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