What do you think?
Rate this book
Lizzie bright and the Buckminster Boy
A unique coming-of-age novel based on the true event of an island's destruction in 1912...
219 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2004
376 people are currently reading
7586 people want to read
About the author
Gary D. Schmidt
76 books2,168 followersGary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,764 reviews
December 1, 2012
I was forced to take a moment and catch my breath after I closed this book. I needed to gather myself, order my thoughts, and reflect on everything I had just read. The best part about it? I will still need to do so for a long time to come. I can already predict the amount of "staying power" this book will have upon my mind, and the thought makes me smile.
I will be able to categorize every YA book, from here on out, into two categories: The YA books I've read before this book, and the YA books I will read after. This novel has become the fulcrum upon which my experience with YA novels has pivoted.
Phillip Pullman once said (paraphrasing from my shoddy memory) that some topics, some issues, and some themes are just too large and complicated to deal with in an adult novel; they can only be handled properly when they are in a children's book.
I never really understood what he meant, and to me at the time it seemed like an attempt to over-aggrandise the type of work he did. That was, until I read this book.
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy has all the traditional and expected elements of a classic YA novel: coming of age story, not fitting in to a new place, bonding with the few other ostracized people of a community including selected old people who grow to love said outcast, frustration with parents, love in unexpected places, etc:. It has all the checklist elements needed in order to "pass" the "good" YA test. But... it has so much more.
Intertwined with all of the story are continuous layers and messages, there to be teased and plucked out if the reader so desires. Diffused throughout the entire book, the language of the story is stitched together with a beautiful descriptive needle. The beauty and playfulness of the descriptive passages is very Robert McCammon-ish, and adds a sophistication to the novel that I have never experienced with YA books before.
This book does not treat its readers like children, it treats them as exactly what they are, Adults who are young. Adults who can deal with heartache, pain, struggle, and still see the bright side of things. Adults who, though young, are searching for the answers of how everything and everyone should fit in the world. This novel is a prime example of what is possible when a writer does not underestimate their readers, and I genuinely hope everyone will enjoy this novel as much as I did.
I will be able to categorize every YA book, from here on out, into two categories: The YA books I've read before this book, and the YA books I will read after. This novel has become the fulcrum upon which my experience with YA novels has pivoted.
Phillip Pullman once said (paraphrasing from my shoddy memory) that some topics, some issues, and some themes are just too large and complicated to deal with in an adult novel; they can only be handled properly when they are in a children's book.
I never really understood what he meant, and to me at the time it seemed like an attempt to over-aggrandise the type of work he did. That was, until I read this book.
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy has all the traditional and expected elements of a classic YA novel: coming of age story, not fitting in to a new place, bonding with the few other ostracized people of a community including selected old people who grow to love said outcast, frustration with parents, love in unexpected places, etc:. It has all the checklist elements needed in order to "pass" the "good" YA test. But... it has so much more.
Intertwined with all of the story are continuous layers and messages, there to be teased and plucked out if the reader so desires. Diffused throughout the entire book, the language of the story is stitched together with a beautiful descriptive needle. The beauty and playfulness of the descriptive passages is very Robert McCammon-ish, and adds a sophistication to the novel that I have never experienced with YA books before.
This book does not treat its readers like children, it treats them as exactly what they are, Adults who are young. Adults who can deal with heartache, pain, struggle, and still see the bright side of things. Adults who, though young, are searching for the answers of how everything and everyone should fit in the world. This novel is a prime example of what is possible when a writer does not underestimate their readers, and I genuinely hope everyone will enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Read
April 22, 2016Alright...I have so much to say about this book...this is a winner, a really good book. Excellent. My first Printz Award book for this class. More soon.
Okay..Here's the "more soon" part. This book won the Printz Award, and I really like how they describe their criteria for literary excellence and quality on their website by what it is not. For example, a book is not quality simply by being popular. Although, of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. This book does not look to me like it was/is a popular read. But, it is quality.
The characters in this book are delicioulsy detailed and their relationships are real and engaging. The Maine breeze is a character itself in this book, as the setting takes on a whole dimension of life and growth in itself. The breeze is described in every momentous scene of the book and can be "like a cat awaking for a bowl of milk" to "solemn" when Turner's father dies. It steals the gold from the maple trees and the silver from the aspens or it just slinks away. It carries news up and down the street. It scatters old leaves around the foundations of the house where the people were forced to leave. It lends a special eye to scenes, revealing secrets of the moment the reader might otherwise have overlooked, almost like a hidden narrator. As I have just begun reading The Thief Lord for the Batchelder, I can see a deep parallel in how they both use the setting as an engaging, developing character in their stories. In conjunction with great characters and great character development, that appeals to me a lot.
The friendship between Lizzie and Turner is so real and memorable it haunts you, as it does Turner, with her voice coming back to meet his when he is back out at sea with the whales. This is among the best descriptions of friendship I have read. It lasts you.
As you read this book, you are on a journey of discovering who you, as Turner Buckminster are, who your father is, who your friends are and aren't, what your life will be determined by. It is a very existential read. You look for secrets in this book..big ones,like the secret to the meaning of life Who is Turner's father on the inside? What does the whale know? What will we each person in this life be determined by?
You "light out for the territories" when you take this book in your hands just as Turner does when he takes The Origin of Species into his.
The knowledge in his father's eyes, in the whale's eyes is very deep, made deepr by the whole telling of the story behind it. It is the profound knoweldge that "the tide runs in and the tide runs out, and there is nothing in the world more beautiful and and more wonderful in all its evolved forms than two souls who look at each other straight on....that everything rejoices in the touch, and everything in the world laments in the losing"
A simply excellent read.
And what's more, I never would have truly known it was historical fiction without the author's note. Good historical fiction can... ring heartfully true in this time.
Okay..Here's the "more soon" part. This book won the Printz Award, and I really like how they describe their criteria for literary excellence and quality on their website by what it is not. For example, a book is not quality simply by being popular. Although, of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. This book does not look to me like it was/is a popular read. But, it is quality.
The characters in this book are delicioulsy detailed and their relationships are real and engaging. The Maine breeze is a character itself in this book, as the setting takes on a whole dimension of life and growth in itself. The breeze is described in every momentous scene of the book and can be "like a cat awaking for a bowl of milk" to "solemn" when Turner's father dies. It steals the gold from the maple trees and the silver from the aspens or it just slinks away. It carries news up and down the street. It scatters old leaves around the foundations of the house where the people were forced to leave. It lends a special eye to scenes, revealing secrets of the moment the reader might otherwise have overlooked, almost like a hidden narrator. As I have just begun reading The Thief Lord for the Batchelder, I can see a deep parallel in how they both use the setting as an engaging, developing character in their stories. In conjunction with great characters and great character development, that appeals to me a lot.
The friendship between Lizzie and Turner is so real and memorable it haunts you, as it does Turner, with her voice coming back to meet his when he is back out at sea with the whales. This is among the best descriptions of friendship I have read. It lasts you.
As you read this book, you are on a journey of discovering who you, as Turner Buckminster are, who your father is, who your friends are and aren't, what your life will be determined by. It is a very existential read. You look for secrets in this book..big ones,like the secret to the meaning of life Who is Turner's father on the inside? What does the whale know? What will we each person in this life be determined by?
You "light out for the territories" when you take this book in your hands just as Turner does when he takes The Origin of Species into his.
The knowledge in his father's eyes, in the whale's eyes is very deep, made deepr by the whole telling of the story behind it. It is the profound knoweldge that "the tide runs in and the tide runs out, and there is nothing in the world more beautiful and and more wonderful in all its evolved forms than two souls who look at each other straight on....that everything rejoices in the touch, and everything in the world laments in the losing"
A simply excellent read.
And what's more, I never would have truly known it was historical fiction without the author's note. Good historical fiction can... ring heartfully true in this time.
November 22, 2008
a little boring
Slow beginning and middle. Picks up a little in the last 1/4, but not enough to make up for the other 3/4. The book tries to teach a message, but it takes so long in getting there that its a little bit anti-climatic once it does come.
Slow beginning and middle. Picks up a little in the last 1/4, but not enough to make up for the other 3/4. The book tries to teach a message, but it takes so long in getting there that its a little bit anti-climatic once it does come.
May 24, 2017
This was such a good book. I recommend it to adults as well as tweens and teens.
June 9, 2011
I'm sorry to say I didn't like this book at all. It wasn't terrible, I just found it terribly boring. I actually fell asleep twice while reading it, and almost fell asleep a bunch more times throughout. I think it's just Gary Schmidt's writing style. I've never been very fond of overly descriptive narration. At least half of this book is just description, and most of it not essential description, or at least it felt like it to me. I also didn't like the ending. I understand that this book was based on actual events, but I've never liked books where, in the end, nothing's changed. The town hasn't changed their attitude/opinions, Turner's situation hasn't changed much, and a lot of people are dead. And nothing Turner or his father did made a difference at all, which is what really irritates me. Sure, it's a great coming-of-age story, but all it really does is illustrate that sometimes life really stinks, and doing the right thing can sometimes just make life stink even more. It's not much of a positive idea to leave impressionable young adults with. Plus, this book reads like a lot of the "great books of literature" I had to read in high school, which I don't think will encourage many young adults to voluntarily pick this book up on their own.
What redeems this book is the relationship between Lizzie and Turner. Lizzie's character is so sassy and refreshing, and I love how these two kids interact with each other. But there is far too little of these interactions in the book to make it worth reading again, at least for me.
Warnings (on a scale of 1-5):
Language: 1 There is very mild language that crops up very occasionally throughout the book, but nothing really offensive.
Violence: .5 A man gets thrown off a cliff by another and ends up dying later on, but really, it's hardly worth mentioning as far as violence goes.
What redeems this book is the relationship between Lizzie and Turner. Lizzie's character is so sassy and refreshing, and I love how these two kids interact with each other. But there is far too little of these interactions in the book to make it worth reading again, at least for me.
Warnings (on a scale of 1-5):
Language: 1 There is very mild language that crops up very occasionally throughout the book, but nothing really offensive.
Violence: .5 A man gets thrown off a cliff by another and ends up dying later on, but really, it's hardly worth mentioning as far as violence goes.
November 8, 2013
Oh Gary D. Schmidt-how do I love thee, let me count the ways.
1. Wonderful insight into boys who really try to be good. Even better in this book with all of poor Turners mishaps
2. His love of the arts and the influence they can have for good in lives both young and old
3. Connection with nature
4. Constant exploration of how the young are the ones who are still innocent enough to try harder, especially with treating people right.
5. Belief in the innate goodness of most people, even if it takes most longer to get there.
6. Turning tragedy into beauty. Every time.
This is based on historical events where an entire people were kicked off their home island off the state of Maine in the early 1800's. Saddest of the Schmidt books I've read but just as wonderful.
1. Wonderful insight into boys who really try to be good. Even better in this book with all of poor Turners mishaps
2. His love of the arts and the influence they can have for good in lives both young and old
3. Connection with nature
4. Constant exploration of how the young are the ones who are still innocent enough to try harder, especially with treating people right.
5. Belief in the innate goodness of most people, even if it takes most longer to get there.
6. Turning tragedy into beauty. Every time.
This is based on historical events where an entire people were kicked off their home island off the state of Maine in the early 1800's. Saddest of the Schmidt books I've read but just as wonderful.
October 25, 2013
WORST BOOK EVER. A lot of repetition and slow paced plot events. Too much confusing whale metaphors. It was overall boring and it just wasn't intriguing. It was the book that did not really pull you in and you just wanted to abandon it. If you are looking for a historical fiction book, don't read this one. I would give it one star.
March 25, 2008
Wow. This was an incredibly written, heartbreaking tale. I absolutely loved it. I listened to it on CD while traveling, and so many times I wanted to pull my car over, rewind, and write down a quote from the book. The writing was just amazing. What more can I say.
April 28, 2025
3.5⭐️
Gary Schmidt that was just mean, how could you make it that sad??
Gary Schmidt that was just mean, how could you make it that sad??
May 17, 2010
In 'The Wednesday Wars', Schmidt visited the Vietnam War era. Here he goes back to 1912, just as successfully. But calling 'Lizzie Bright' an historical novel, though it is based on real events, is too limiting.
Like 'Wednesday Wars,' it's about a boy growing up and beyond his father, helped along by a spunky girl and some wise women. Unlike that book, though, it's not completely about finding happy endings. The town of Phippsburg, Maine, did evict the black settlers of neighboring Malaga Island, and placed a number of them in the Draconian Home for the Feeble Minded, where they soon perished.
Schmidt doesn't sugarcoat any of that, but still manages to leave the reader with a bit of hope. And as in 'Wednesday Wars,' to paint vivid characters and to ask essential questions about life. The aptly-named Mr. Stonecrop is the most marvelous of villains, and Lizzie is going to stick in my mind for a long time.
Also like 'Wednesday Wars,' 'Lizzie Bright' is about a kid being forced to read pretty high-level material--in this case, the 'Aeneid'--and finding out he likes it. That was especially satisfying for me, since I just read the 'Aeneid' for the first time, and thought it was a story which could appeal to children.
I'm becoming a Gary Schmidt fan. Highly recommended.
Like 'Wednesday Wars,' it's about a boy growing up and beyond his father, helped along by a spunky girl and some wise women. Unlike that book, though, it's not completely about finding happy endings. The town of Phippsburg, Maine, did evict the black settlers of neighboring Malaga Island, and placed a number of them in the Draconian Home for the Feeble Minded, where they soon perished.
Schmidt doesn't sugarcoat any of that, but still manages to leave the reader with a bit of hope. And as in 'Wednesday Wars,' to paint vivid characters and to ask essential questions about life. The aptly-named Mr. Stonecrop is the most marvelous of villains, and Lizzie is going to stick in my mind for a long time.
Also like 'Wednesday Wars,' 'Lizzie Bright' is about a kid being forced to read pretty high-level material--in this case, the 'Aeneid'--and finding out he likes it. That was especially satisfying for me, since I just read the 'Aeneid' for the first time, and thought it was a story which could appeal to children.
I'm becoming a Gary Schmidt fan. Highly recommended.
August 2, 2016
Oh boy. Gary Schmidt. I thought maybe Orbiting Jupiter was his most tragic book...but no. In terms of sadness and tragedy, this one throws that one out of the water. And I was not expecting that. I thought going in that it was going to be a sweet story of a summertime friendship taking place at the turn of the century - and it is in part, but if that's how I were to actually describe the book to someone...well, I'd be lying. That description hardly says *anything* about the book. Because it's not actually very sweet. Lizzie and Turner do have a sweet friendship, but it's one where everything swirling around it is full of pain and strife and hardship and turmoil. I don't have any idea why I thought that this book would be without any of those harder themes; Gary Schmidt always deals with turmoil of some sort in his books. They always feel real. But this one was *especially* frought. Not that that's a bad thing. It was brilliant in every respect. The book isn't long but it packs a huge punch and it is so beautifully written - as I've come to expect from Gary. I loved it. Of course, there's always a silver lining, so I don't want to give the impression that it's all sadness. But ultimately, I was left broken-hearted.
October 28, 2019
This book is so gut-wrenchingly sad. Schmidt weaves themes of not fitting in and racism and exclusion and grief all into one season of Turner Buckminster's life. Every character, big or small, feels fully human. And maybe it's because my mom taught this book, but I love the personified descriptions of the landscapes. And I love the lines in this—prison bars, the whale's eye, and being swallowed up by the world.
There definitely is happiness in this story, but all I'm seeing is the real grief and loss Turner and Lizzie experience in this idyllic Maine town. A must-read.
There definitely is happiness in this story, but all I'm seeing is the real grief and loss Turner and Lizzie experience in this idyllic Maine town. A must-read.
April 22, 2024
very nice
February 24, 2008
This is a young adult novel that I've been hearing about for the last year. It is remarkable, and I now wish I'd read it earlier. I want everyone I know to read it --it's that good. It's set in 1912 in a small town in Maine. The main character is the teenage son of a minister who has a new job in this town--so this boy, Turner, his father and mother move from Boston to Maine. Turner doesn't hit it off with the local boys, but one day when beachcombing he meets Lizzie Bright--one of the young African Americans who live on the nearby Malaga Island. She is a magical character, and Turner is pretty wonderful himself. The novel is based on a true story --how this main townspeople of Phippsburg wanted to turn the island into a tourist area and what they did to claim the land from the African Americans who had lived there for generations. It's a heart-breaking, enraging story --but the friendship between Turner and Lizzie, and the story of Turner's coming-of-age is deeply touching. This novel is also beautifully written, and nature becomes as much a character as do the humans. There are parts that are laugh-out-loud (Mrs. Cobb's real last words come to mind), but I needed tissues by the end--not just because some of it is so sad but also because of how nature and Turner connect. I loved this book.
December 18, 2024
What a beautiful book! I highlighted more passages than I can count on both hands and labeled each, simply, "beautiful." Schmidt's writing often moves me to tears because it's so beautiful. And in Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy he wrote characters that well and truly surprised me. I won't say which characters, but two that I despised at the beginning wormed their way permanently into my heart as the book progressed, and I still can't believe he managed to do that. I love the people Schmidt creates. I love the worlds he builds. I adore his books.
Re-read December 2024 (audiobook): My heart. I forgot how much I loved Turner and Lizzie. I forgot how much Willis and Mrs. Cobb and Reverend Buckminster surprised me. I forgot how angry this book made me while simultaneously filling my heart with such contentment. Gary D. Schmidt is such a beautiful writer and I'm so grateful that I got introduced to his work. Do yourself a favor and read this book. And then read The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now and Orbiting Jupiter and The Labors of Hercules Beal and.... well, you get the idea.
Re-read December 2024 (audiobook): My heart. I forgot how much I loved Turner and Lizzie. I forgot how much Willis and Mrs. Cobb and Reverend Buckminster surprised me. I forgot how angry this book made me while simultaneously filling my heart with such contentment. Gary D. Schmidt is such a beautiful writer and I'm so grateful that I got introduced to his work. Do yourself a favor and read this book. And then read The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now and Orbiting Jupiter and The Labors of Hercules Beal and.... well, you get the idea.
March 28, 2015
I loved everything about this book and have added Gary D. Smith to my favorite authors list. This is coming-of-age historical fiction at is best, with gorgeous lyrical writing and heart-wrenching emotional reactions. The various themes and conflicts are delicately and deftly presented and handled. Schmidt not only has a remarkable way with words, but his characters almost seem to leap from his book because they are so real. A compelling and powerful read, it will stay with me long after I closed the cover. This book is beautiful, and just when I thought I had it completely figured out, it surprised me.
Based on a real place and real people. The author just gave a name to some of the people and created a character based on vague details of a person. Newberry Honor Award. There are Biblical references and allegories throughout that make this book a good one to discuss.
Young-adult, historical-fiction. If I were an elementary teacher I would read it to my class.
favorite quote:
“Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches.”
Based on a real place and real people. The author just gave a name to some of the people and created a character based on vague details of a person. Newberry Honor Award. There are Biblical references and allegories throughout that make this book a good one to discuss.
Young-adult, historical-fiction. If I were an elementary teacher I would read it to my class.
favorite quote:
“Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches.”
January 25, 2022
Almost perfect. It’s got that signature Schmidt style (it might be recognizable, but it’s always great) but is less sprawling than other Schmidt books - it feels like it takes up less space than them, like it’s narrower in scope. It’s a result of this being historical fiction written as historical fiction, I think, whereas his other books read like historical fiction written as contemporary fiction.
Maybe “narrower” isn’t the right description, but this definitely feels constrained by history: there’s only one way this could end, and that gives the story a degree of inevitability. It’s a hard world out there, and this doesn’t shy away from that.
I think Schmidt has grown as a writer since this book’s publication, but the classic Schmidt storytelling elements are all here. This is really, really worthwhile.
(It’s unfair to compare the two, but I was reminded of Hardinge’s The Lie Tree, even though the two share nothing but ministers and a Darwin mention. And yet if Hardinge’s book were more complex, I can’t help but think it would read something like this.)
Maybe “narrower” isn’t the right description, but this definitely feels constrained by history: there’s only one way this could end, and that gives the story a degree of inevitability. It’s a hard world out there, and this doesn’t shy away from that.
I think Schmidt has grown as a writer since this book’s publication, but the classic Schmidt storytelling elements are all here. This is really, really worthwhile.
(It’s unfair to compare the two, but I was reminded of Hardinge’s The Lie Tree, even though the two share nothing but ministers and a Darwin mention. And yet if Hardinge’s book were more complex, I can’t help but think it would read something like this.)
October 8, 2021
Oh no. No no no no no no no. Why!?!?!? I basically just walked around in a daze after finishing this book. I thought that the extra pages at the back of the book meant that somehow, magically, everything would work out, but no. It was the background history, and that just made it so much more real.
September 10, 2020
4.5 stars
This book was so beautifully written - especially the descriptive scenes of the natural setting, coastal of Maine about a century ago - that it brought tears to my eyes. The wind, in particular, grew to be a playful and communicative character of its own, calling out to Turner, drawing him to the seashore, playfully guiding him. Consequently, the setting of this story is absolutely mesmerizing and enthralling.
The copper of the sky had deepened into a dark red, and the dark red was now deepening into the purple of early night. When turner looked over his shoulder to the east, more than a few stars had already yawned themselves awake and were stretching to begin their run.
The main characters - Lizzie (a black girl who lives on the island) and Turner (the white minister's son) - are well-developed, and the remaining cast of characters are almost all clearly good or bad (with the marvelous exception of the initially cantankerous Mrs. Cobb, who ends up befriending "a Negro girl," much to their mutual surprise). The powerful men, mostly churchmen, of the town were downright reprehensible, maddeningly so.
Turner knew that most of the business of any church happened right after the Sunday morning service, when everyone was breathing easy because the week's sermon had been successfully endured, the wheezing organ playing politely excused, and the tithing accepted as one of life's necessary hardships.
In many ways, this is a coming of age story, as young Turner comes into his own, standing against the pressures to conform, and discovering who is aside from being "the minister's son."
But though the dory rocked back and forth with the swell of them, the whales never came so close that the boat might capsize. Turner heard them ripping the surface all around him, and felt the diamond spray sprinkle fall on him in the moonlight like a benediction.
There's redemption in this story, for Turner, for his parents, even for the town itself - but the unexpected tragic losses were simply too heartbreaking for me in this season.
A round and golden moon rolled low along the horizon for the next few days, too huge and weighty to rise up any higher in the sky. When it finally began to shed its weight and loft higher, it lost its golden hue, and the light became grayer... Even the pine trees down to Thayer's haymeadow put on their darker green and hunched their branches closer as the mornings came in colder and colder.
I know the author based this book on a true story - and it's a story I am grateful but heartbroken to know. This is a book worth reading, and a piece of history worth knowing - but be prepared to weep in addition to being enchanted by the locale, and the writing, and the indomitable Lizzie Bright.
So he wept ... In the open sea, with the land blue in his eyes and the sea green in his hand, he wept. And all around him the swells grew still, and the sea breeze quieted, and the perfect sky above him vaulted like a painted dome.
This book was so beautifully written - especially the descriptive scenes of the natural setting, coastal of Maine about a century ago - that it brought tears to my eyes. The wind, in particular, grew to be a playful and communicative character of its own, calling out to Turner, drawing him to the seashore, playfully guiding him. Consequently, the setting of this story is absolutely mesmerizing and enthralling.
The copper of the sky had deepened into a dark red, and the dark red was now deepening into the purple of early night. When turner looked over his shoulder to the east, more than a few stars had already yawned themselves awake and were stretching to begin their run.
The main characters - Lizzie (a black girl who lives on the island) and Turner (the white minister's son) - are well-developed, and the remaining cast of characters are almost all clearly good or bad (with the marvelous exception of the initially cantankerous Mrs. Cobb, who ends up befriending "a Negro girl," much to their mutual surprise). The powerful men, mostly churchmen, of the town were downright reprehensible, maddeningly so.
Turner knew that most of the business of any church happened right after the Sunday morning service, when everyone was breathing easy because the week's sermon had been successfully endured, the wheezing organ playing politely excused, and the tithing accepted as one of life's necessary hardships.
In many ways, this is a coming of age story, as young Turner comes into his own, standing against the pressures to conform, and discovering who is aside from being "the minister's son."
But though the dory rocked back and forth with the swell of them, the whales never came so close that the boat might capsize. Turner heard them ripping the surface all around him, and felt the diamond spray sprinkle fall on him in the moonlight like a benediction.
There's redemption in this story, for Turner, for his parents, even for the town itself - but the unexpected tragic losses were simply too heartbreaking for me in this season.
A round and golden moon rolled low along the horizon for the next few days, too huge and weighty to rise up any higher in the sky. When it finally began to shed its weight and loft higher, it lost its golden hue, and the light became grayer... Even the pine trees down to Thayer's haymeadow put on their darker green and hunched their branches closer as the mornings came in colder and colder.
I know the author based this book on a true story - and it's a story I am grateful but heartbroken to know. This is a book worth reading, and a piece of history worth knowing - but be prepared to weep in addition to being enchanted by the locale, and the writing, and the indomitable Lizzie Bright.
So he wept ... In the open sea, with the land blue in his eyes and the sea green in his hand, he wept. And all around him the swells grew still, and the sea breeze quieted, and the perfect sky above him vaulted like a painted dome.
September 19, 2025
This is one of the harder reviews I've had to write for a book this year and that because I want it to try and convey the full emotional, comedic, empathetic, and heartfelt scope this story has, but all I can do is just recommend you go and read for yourself.
Having grown up in New England, I dug the backdrop and location, and having read To Kill a Mockingbird and Where the Red Fern Grows, I appreciated how Schmidt doesn't shy away from the heavy themes, emotional moments, coming of age cringe/humor, and real slice-of-life moments.
The author has a gorgeous writing style that both depicts kids realistically but also isn't afraid to drop in some gorgeous scenery descriptions too. And it's just so dang good, you gotta check it out for yourself. Yes, I added the "dang" in there myself (That's an inside book joke you'll get if you read it).
There's some interesting themes of faith too which I found refreshing for a Christian historical author especially with how he balanced good storytelling and keeping a historical accurate depiction of the characters themselves.
Having grown up in New England, I dug the backdrop and location, and having read To Kill a Mockingbird and Where the Red Fern Grows, I appreciated how Schmidt doesn't shy away from the heavy themes, emotional moments, coming of age cringe/humor, and real slice-of-life moments.
The author has a gorgeous writing style that both depicts kids realistically but also isn't afraid to drop in some gorgeous scenery descriptions too. And it's just so dang good, you gotta check it out for yourself. Yes, I added the "dang" in there myself (That's an inside book joke you'll get if you read it).
There's some interesting themes of faith too which I found refreshing for a Christian historical author especially with how he balanced good storytelling and keeping a historical accurate depiction of the characters themselves.
March 29, 2025
This was a good children's book. It had racism, but then that was the time period. People just didn't stop and think about things, like being cruel to children simply because of their color. They felt they were in the right of it. Even white children, picked on because of being weak or different was allowed. You expect me to say "I'm glad times have changed." Well, no. They haven't. Missouri is still much the same, especially with the Orange Cheeto in charge, promoting hate.
I can see how this book won so many awards. It's writing was beautiful, it delivered a strong impactful message and I enjoyed the main characters point of view. Especially that of the children. The setting is Maine, a place I'd never been but I would like to see one day.
Overall, not my favorite Newberry, though it's a strong impactful novel. 3.5 ⭐ rounded up.
I can see how this book won so many awards. It's writing was beautiful, it delivered a strong impactful message and I enjoyed the main characters point of view. Especially that of the children. The setting is Maine, a place I'd never been but I would like to see one day.
Overall, not my favorite Newberry, though it's a strong impactful novel. 3.5 ⭐ rounded up.
September 18, 2022
I’m a sucker for books set in Maine. This book is full of memorable scenes, magic moments, and it will tear your heart out.
November 27, 2024
So good and devastating all at once.
May 1, 2017
Although this book had a slow start at the beginning, the last couple of meetings we had really hooked me in, and this book deserved at least a three or four star rating in my opinion. I enjoyed the lot's of action towards the end, and I liked the descriptive language author Gary D. Shmidt used in the text. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction.
September 2, 2025
this was deeply okay for 90% of the book, but those last few pages had me in my FEELS. so, 3 generous stars😙
June 5, 2021
I’m a huge Gary Schmidt fan. I love that he doesn’t dumb down his writing for his young audience. Whether he’s writing about Shakespeare, Audubon birds, or Aeneas, you get swept away by his stories. And this historical fiction about the citizens of Malaga Island was no exception. 5 stars because I’m likely to come back and read it again. And also because I’m not likely to ever drink a ginger ale again without thinking of poor Mrs Cobb!
“Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches.”
“But it wasn’t three times in a row. It was twelve times in a row. Twelve balls hit as high as pride. Twelve balls hit as far as hope. Twelve balls curling away as though they were lighting off for the Territories. And after every one, whistles and shouts and even clapping for baseballs as foul as baseballs could ever be.”
“Heaven only knew what the shutters would look like come morning. But they would be yellow again. Just as Mrs. Hurd had kept them. He began to paint, while behind him the stars glittered for all they were worth—which was considerable—and every single one of them held its place in this night’s sky without falling. Every single one.”
“There is nothing like playing a march like a dirge to irritate a congregation.”
“Turner almost said that the whole state of Maine would have to pull up its skirts and dance a reel before he would hire on with Mr. Stonecrop. But he didn’t think that needed saying aloud, either.”
“Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches.”
“But it wasn’t three times in a row. It was twelve times in a row. Twelve balls hit as high as pride. Twelve balls hit as far as hope. Twelve balls curling away as though they were lighting off for the Territories. And after every one, whistles and shouts and even clapping for baseballs as foul as baseballs could ever be.”
“Heaven only knew what the shutters would look like come morning. But they would be yellow again. Just as Mrs. Hurd had kept them. He began to paint, while behind him the stars glittered for all they were worth—which was considerable—and every single one of them held its place in this night’s sky without falling. Every single one.”
“There is nothing like playing a march like a dirge to irritate a congregation.”
“Turner almost said that the whole state of Maine would have to pull up its skirts and dance a reel before he would hire on with Mr. Stonecrop. But he didn’t think that needed saying aloud, either.”
November 11, 2010
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster boy was definitely a cute book. The characters were mostly stock characters though, which was disappointing. The main character, Turner, learns a lot from his father, his mother, Darwin, and the girl he meets on Malaga Island, Lizzie Bright. He learns to stand up for himself, even when it went against his parents' wishes. The theme of racism is very strong in this book, and Turner aims to fight the racism of the town elders, but ultimately fails. This book is tragic, a couple of very important characters die. The island that Turner fights for falls victim to the clutches of the town elders. Turner and his mother become outcasts in their town. It was very sad, and I'm not sure how well a child would deal with that.
The writing style itself was rather boring. It was description-heavy, dependent on imagery and metaphors about the sea. It was hard to get through, and I think would be especially hard for a young reader. The theme of baseball would probably interest any student interested in sports, but would lose the attention of another kid.
Over all, there is nothing wrong with this book, it just lacks the magnetism I believe good young adult literature needs.
The writing style itself was rather boring. It was description-heavy, dependent on imagery and metaphors about the sea. It was hard to get through, and I think would be especially hard for a young reader. The theme of baseball would probably interest any student interested in sports, but would lose the attention of another kid.
Over all, there is nothing wrong with this book, it just lacks the magnetism I believe good young adult literature needs.
May 29, 2008
I did not intend to like this book, I must admit. The hardcover cover illustration was . . . well, off-putting for me, and I'm really glad they did something new, because this is a book not to be missed. Based on true events, it's the story of a preacher's son who befriends a free black girl, on the eve of her community being destroyed to make way for a resort. Yep, a New England community of freed slaves and their children were ousted from their homes so that the view wouldn't be spoiled. But more than that, the relationship between the boy and his father, the town and the new preacher, and the white and black community members were real and vital and wonderful. By turns entertaining and angering, I couldn't put this book down until the harrowing yet satisfying conclusion. It's no wonder it won multiple awards, and I hope that it's getting the attention it deserves. This is a book that both boys and girls would love, even though it had an almost old-fashioned feel. It reminded me of the books I loved as a kid, things like "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" or Scott O'Dell's books. Wonderful!
August 23, 2015
I love the simple artistry of this book. It has all the elements that I love in a good book: distinct characters, acute and vivid description of geography, and redemption.
Here is a sampling of the poetic language Schmidt used to weave this tale of deep sorrow and deep friendship...
The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the time runs out, and there is nothing in the world more beautiful and more wonderful in all its evolved forms than two souls who look at each other straight on. And there is nothing more woeful and soul-saddening than when they are parted.
If you want to read a beautiful story that doesn't turn its head at the ugliness of human nature, then pick up Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.
Here is a sampling of the poetic language Schmidt used to weave this tale of deep sorrow and deep friendship...
The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the time runs out, and there is nothing in the world more beautiful and more wonderful in all its evolved forms than two souls who look at each other straight on. And there is nothing more woeful and soul-saddening than when they are parted.
If you want to read a beautiful story that doesn't turn its head at the ugliness of human nature, then pick up Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.
April 7, 2024
The fact that this book has been sitting in my "Read" section on here as a two-star for the past however many years is a CRIME. I think I had just gotten Goodreads and was adding every book I could remember reading, and I had read this when I was too young to remember anything that happened, so I gave it a bad rating based on what little I could recall. I would like to sincerely apologize for this act of youthful foolishness.
Anyway, this book is great. Schmidt has a wonderful balance of serious content mixed with a touch of humor to make you appreciate life more.
Anyway, this book is great. Schmidt has a wonderful balance of serious content mixed with a touch of humor to make you appreciate life more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,764 reviews