Book Review: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Gary D. Schmidt, copyright 2004, 217 pages. *****

If I could give a book 10 out of 5 stars, it would be Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. The central character is a young teenage boy that moves to a small community in Maine from Boston around 1912. Turner Buckminster is the son of the new minister of a local Congregational church. Unbeknownst to his father and mother, Turner is targeted by local bullies almost immediately. This harrassment drives him away from potential male friends his age and into the company of a young African-American girl that lives on an island just off the coast and clams daily for her family's subsistence. Turner's forbidden friendship with Lizzie Bright has a profound influence on his moral and spiritual development as town politics work to destroy the village of shacks where Lizzie and her grandfather live. The story is near and dear to my heart having been raised in a clergy family and having raised my own children in that context. Whether or not you affiliate with the Christian faith or any faith, you will both be kept on the edge of your seat and inspired to stand up for what is right by the redemptive qualities of this novel.

The Purpose of my Blog...

This blog has been created as part of a personal journey that I decided to undertake. I am currently reading several award winning books written for younger teens in an effort to identify styles and genres that are appealing to me. It is my hope to eventually find time to write books for this age group. I will be writing reviews of the books I read as well as everyday observations of the world around me as I gather images to use in my writing. Happy reading!