Awards
A 2005 Newbery Honor Book
Synopses & Reviews
It only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town will let him forget that he's a minister's son, even if he doesn't act like one. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves. Despite his father's and the town's disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie, and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine's rocky coast.
The two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner's father, want to force the people to leave Lizzie's island so that Phippsburg can start a lucrative tourist trade there. Turner gets caught up in a spiral of disasters that alter his life but also lead him to new levels of acceptance and maturity.
This sensitively written historical novel, based on the true story of a community's destruction, highlights a unique friendship during a time of change.
Review
"Schmidt's writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters and a fascinating, little-known piece of history, this novel will leave a powerful impression on readers." School Library Journal
Review
"Schmidt takes his time with his tale, spinning gloriously figurative language that brilliantly evokes both pace and emotion....[T]he telling is both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Readers of this sensitive novel, based on the 1912 destruction of an island and the powerful kinship and courage of Turner and Lizzie, hear a strong message about hope and despair in race relations." Children's Literature
Synopsis
Set in 1912 Maine, this historical novel is based on the true story of a community's destruction. No one in town will let Turner Buckminster forget that he's a minister's son. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves.
Synopsis
This historical novel, based on the true story of a community's destruction, follows Turner Buckminster and Lizzie Bright as their friendship forms and their lives are changed.
Synopsis
[set star] "Both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review Turner Buckminster hates Phippsburg, Maine. Then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart, sassy girl from a poor nearby island community. Lizzie introduces Turner to the wonders of Maine's coast. But the two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner's father, want to force the people to leave Lizzie's island to start a tourist trade there. Based on the true story of a community's destruction, this sensitively written novel highlights a unique friendship during a time of change, and was awarded both a Newbery Honor and Printz Honor.
About the Author
It only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town will let him forget that he's a minister's son, even if he doesn't act like one. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves. Despite his father's-and the town's-disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie, and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine's rocky coast. The two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner's father, want to force the people to leave Lizzie's island so that Phippsburg can start a lucrative tourist trade there. Turner gets caught up in a spiral of disasters that alter his life-but also lead him to new levels of acceptance and maturity. This sensitively written historical novel, based on the true story of a community's destruction, highlights a unique friendship during a time of change. Author's note.
"Gloriously figurative language...brilliantly evokes both time and place...both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad." Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"a powerful tale of friendship and coming-of-age...haunting combination of fact and fiction has a powerful and tragic climax." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review
"an evocative novel...with fully developed, memorable characters...fascinating, little-known piece of history...will leave a powerful impression on readers." School Library Journal, Starred
"Schmidt fictionalizes a true event... vividly realized...fully credible...subtly drawn." THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
"historical incident ignites a rich novel...a drama that examines the best and worst of humanity." HORN BOOK Horn BookGary D. Schmidt is the author of the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. His most recent novel is The Wednesday Wars. He is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Kids Q&A
Read the Kids' Q&A with Gary D. Schmidt