The Only Outcast

by Julie Johnston

A moving story set in the twilight of childhood.

In the year 1904, Fred Dickinson teeters on the brink of manhood. He is spending the last summer of his childhood at his grandfather’s family cottage on Rideau Lake, the only place he feels truly alive. Shy and stuttering, Fred’s ambition is to make his living on the water, mapping the lake for hidden shoals. His father however, has other plans. Believing Fred to lack character, his father is arranging for him to work in the city to toughen him up.

Fred’s summer is one of love, adventure, and mystery. He falls in love and suffers heartache, discovers a long-buried secret about a rumoured murderer, and defies his father for the first time. Although he started the summer as an outcast, Fred eventually succeeds in finding his own place among his family and friends.

Using as a backdrop the actual 1904 diary of a young man, Julie Johnston invents a captivating tale of discovery, youthful passion, and intrigue, recapturing the atmosphere of a time less hectic, less sophisticated.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Family

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Julie Johnston grew up in a small town in eastern Ontario, then went to the University of Toronto to study physio and occupational therapy. After university she and her husband, whom she met while in Toronto, worked for over a year at the Ontario Hospital School for physically and mentally handicapped children in Smith Falls, then travelled for four months in Europe, moved to Kingston, then Toronto and, finally, settled in Peterborough where she raised four daughters. Over the years, she published many short stories in several magazines, but not until an encouraging interview with a writer-in-residence at Trent University, did she begin work on a novel. Hero of Lesser Causes was completed (the first time) in 1986. After many re-writes and several publishing delays, it was published to great acclaim in 1992, winning the Governor General's Literary Award / Children's Literature (for English text) that year. Julie Johnston's second novel, Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me, was also honoured with the Governor General's Literary Award, making her the first author to win the award for both her first and second books.

Awards

1992 Governor General's Literary Award / Children's Literature (for best English text) for Hero of Lesser Causes.

1993 National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award for Hero of Lesser Causes.

1994 Governor General's Literary Award / Children's Literature (for best English text) for Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me.

1995 Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award (Young Adult/Middle Reader Category) for Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me.

1995 Young Adult Canadian Book Award (Canadian Library Association) for Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me.

Reviews

[Liz Crumb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute story. I loved it. And it was told in a very realistic way; characters don’t always get the answers they are looking for, and love is always such a toss up when you’re young. I’m glad the main character learned how to stand up for himself and get over the girl who gilted him. It was very humorous and beautifully written.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Julie Johnston. For some reason our library only has one of her books. Her writing never gets in the way of the story and yet is lovely and precise. In this one she began each chapter with an entry from a real journal, followed by the boy actually narrating the events of the journal entry. This boy stutters and is very misunderstood by his father. But he is smart, observant, thoughtful and kind.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rousing tale thatwill make you laugh, garunteed.(?)

[William McGinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/4 D

It's not that The Only Outcast is a bad book; it's just that it's too miniature and forgettable.

In the year 1904, Fred Dickinson teeters on the brink of manhood. He is spending the last summer of his childhood at his grandfather’s family cottage on Rideau Lake, the only place he feels truly alive. Shy and stuttering, Fred’s ambition is to make his living on the water, mapping the lake for hidden shoals. His father however, has other plans. Believing Fred to lack character, his father is arranging for him to work in the city to toughen him up.

Apparently Julie Johnston based this book off of a diary from the real life Fred. You know what that reminded me of? Recently my roommate from college dropped out of his course in cars, and to be fair, it was a course that gave harsh grades and was for people with prior experience. But he told me he took the course because the industry paid well and he could have insurance if he got hurt. If you ask me, that's not quite enough to warrant a class. It's kind of the same for this book. Something tells me this diary is one of a kind and Johnston probably found it by chance before anything could happen to it after 90 years. I feel if she had something bigger to tell, though, it would've left a much better lasting impression. I'm always open to a novel that's different from what I usually read, but by the end of the book I wasn't even excited to write a review.

I liked the scene where Fred's dad says he got his son into a job at a factory in Toronto that makes robes. Fred's reaction to it and the fact it's his father and he's already made up his mind and apparently in that economy it's kind of hard to find a job, is pretty spot-on, and there's a scene with bats and a fishing mishap that I sort of liked. But I finished the book forgetting most of the names of most of the characters within the next day, and then by the second day, the last name Dickinson, and then that it was taking place in 1904. I'd rather go to summer camp myself.

[Max Cunanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Only Outcaste”, by Julie Johnson, is a historical fiction type of book. I chose this book because it was about a boy with a speech problem, who wants his father to say that he is proud of him. The protagonist, Fred Dickinson, writes about his experiences at his relative’s cottage. When he gets there, he and his cousin, Harold and his brother, Ernie, looked around the area and started to have some fun. They traveled a lot and heard many strange rumors about a haunted cottage for sale and the person, who is related to them. He also learns about his mother, who passed away when he and his siblings were young.

This is a man vs. self conflict. Fred struggles not only to speak properly, but struggles to do what is right. He barely remembers his mother and tries to act as if it wasn’t a big deal.

The motif of this book is that time discovers the truth. It takes Fred a while to understand not only about the others, but also himself. He sometimes judges people, but later on he learns more about them.

The symbol of this book is Frederick’s pocket watch. What is written in it says: “TIME DISCOVERS TRUTH”. He got it from his father for his birthday, and he would always look at it to check the time. As time passes, so does everything he sees.

The quote I like from the book, “Every passing minute reveals some new truth about ourselves or about those around us. Trouble is, it’s hard on us. We can only take so much truth,” (174, Johnson). I chose this because there are some that can not handle the truth. I even had some limits like learning about how my old dog died. That was a lot for me when I was young and it was hard to accept it.

I would recommend this book to those who like to read about someone’s diary. The book had some drama and a little bit of romance. There is even some suspense in the story. This book would make you feel connected with the protagonist, which makes it more interesting to read it.

[Malcolm]

it was good and lots of plot twists