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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
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,...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
May 24th 2004
by Clarion Books
(first published January 1st 2004)
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Alright...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...more
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...more
Mar 24, 2008
Tiff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone ages 12 and up who can appreciate a well-written, touching tale
Shelves:
audio,
newbery,
printz,
young-adult,
tiffs-favorites,
own,
top-ten,
from-my-high-school-library
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.
The friendship between a preacher's son and a black girl in 1912 Maine is tested by the prejudice of the townspeople. Great character development. It was good, but I wouldn't have given it a Newbery honor book award.
Mar 02, 2010
Kristine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Kristine by:
Trent Mikesell
This was a really good book. I really really liked it. After I read the book the author's note at the end said it was based on a true story!!! Made the ending even sadder!
This is the story of a minister's family who moves from Boston to small-town Maine at the turn of the century. There is some conflict between the town and the residents of a nearby island . . . but this book is so much more than that.
The only thing that kept it from a 5 star is that I think in most situations of conflict ther...more
This is the story of a minister's family who moves from Boston to small-town Maine at the turn of the century. There is some conflict between the town and the residents of a nearby island . . . but this book is so much more than that.
The only thing that kept it from a 5 star is that I think in most situations of conflict ther...more
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 Afr...more
This book is a very well-written, very entertaining book set in 1912 about a minister's son who moves to Phippsburg, a small town in Massachusetts, when his dad is asked to pastor the church in that small seaside town. When he arrives, our 13 year old protagonist doesn't get along with any of the other kids from that town and ends up befriending a young girl who lives on a nearby island called Malaga.
The problem is that the people of Phippsburg are trying to evict all persons living on that isla...more
The problem is that the people of Phippsburg are trying to evict all persons living on that isla...more
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this book. I have been known to judge a book by its title and cover, but I gave this book a shot, and I'm glad I did. A young minsters boy and his family move from Boston to a tiny little town in Maine, and life becomes a horrible mess for young Turner. First: he doesn't play baseball like the other boys in town, then he accidentally hits an old ladies fence with a rock, becoming subjected to reading and playing the organ for her, and then on his...more
Excellent piece of writing with beautiful descriptions of coastal New England weather. Best book I've read all year.
"The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the tide 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. Turner knew that everything in the world rejoices in the touch, and everything in...more
"The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the tide 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. Turner knew that everything in the world rejoices in the touch, and everything in...more
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
AUDIO BOOK/GDS
Rating: **
Bookshelves: ENGL 420
Status: Read in November
Review:
GARY D. SCHMIDT and AUDIO BOOK CATEGORIES
Schmidt uses a little-known narrative—racism and segregation in the Northern United States in the early 1900s—as backdrop for a coming-of-age story for Turner Buckminster as he tries to fit in to his new town in Maine. Turner, the son of the local preacher, Rev. Buckminster, seems to do everything wrong and can’t fit in wi...more
AUDIO BOOK/GDS
Rating: **
Bookshelves: ENGL 420
Status: Read in November
Review:
GARY D. SCHMIDT and AUDIO BOOK CATEGORIES
Schmidt uses a little-known narrative—racism and segregation in the Northern United States in the early 1900s—as backdrop for a coming-of-age story for Turner Buckminster as he tries to fit in to his new town in Maine. Turner, the son of the local preacher, Rev. Buckminster, seems to do everything wrong and can’t fit in wi...more
This book won a Newberry Honor, and it's easy to see why. Schmidt is an amazing, lyrical writer. I found myself getting caught up in individual sentences and losing track of the plot for brief periods of time. In this novel, Turner Buckminster III is newly arrived in Maine, where his father is the minister. However, it doesn't take long for Turner to get caught up in local politics, as he befriends Lizzie Bright, a black girl that lives on nearby Malaga island, in a community that town leaders a...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Oct 22, 2012
Amanda Childs
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
engl-420-fall-2012
GARY D. SCHMIDT CATEGORY
When Turner moves to a small town on the coast of Maine, he soon realizes that he doesn't fit in. People are constantly hounding him about his behavior, saying he doesn't act as a minister's son should, and the other boys play baseball so differently than he's used to, that he can't even participate. But when Turner strikes out on his own, he meets a smart black girl digging clams on the beach. The two form a secret friendship that's threatened bot only by racism in the t...more
When Turner moves to a small town on the coast of Maine, he soon realizes that he doesn't fit in. People are constantly hounding him about his behavior, saying he doesn't act as a minister's son should, and the other boys play baseball so differently than he's used to, that he can't even participate. But when Turner strikes out on his own, he meets a smart black girl digging clams on the beach. The two form a secret friendship that's threatened bot only by racism in the t...more
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is the third Gary D. Schmidt book that I've read, after Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now. I'm starting to see some patterns in his writing. His lead characters are boys with some troubles out of their control, usually a misfit in some way or another, with parents that are out of touch or are actually abusive. There's a strong peer friendship, an older woman in the community who helps him grow into a man, and some kind of art or literature that transforms him....more
***Gary Schmidt AND Printz Award Winner***
In this novel, set in the early 20th century in a small coastal town in Maine, young Turner must adjust to his new surroundings; he has just moved with his parents to this area so that his father can serve as the churches newest pastor. After being humiliated in front of the local boys because he plays baseball differently, he is befriended by Lizzie, a black girl whose family and fellow African Americans scrounge out a living on a nearby island. Things...more
In this novel, set in the early 20th century in a small coastal town in Maine, young Turner must adjust to his new surroundings; he has just moved with his parents to this area so that his father can serve as the churches newest pastor. After being humiliated in front of the local boys because he plays baseball differently, he is befriended by Lizzie, a black girl whose family and fellow African Americans scrounge out a living on a nearby island. Things...more
GARY D. SCHMIDT, PRINTZ AWARD
The most redeeming quality about this book is that it is a story based on historical fact. It's a classic novel of white idealism and the effort to get rid of the blacks in a certain area. In this case, it's to increase real estate value and to promote tourism in a region where the economy is about to take a plunge. In a small town where the people make the rules, however unfair they seem, a minister and his family find themselves in a struggle that threatens to tear...more
The most redeeming quality about this book is that it is a story based on historical fact. It's a classic novel of white idealism and the effort to get rid of the blacks in a certain area. In this case, it's to increase real estate value and to promote tourism in a region where the economy is about to take a plunge. In a small town where the people make the rules, however unfair they seem, a minister and his family find themselves in a struggle that threatens to tear...more
This books generates so much emotion out of you that when it ends you are angry. This book deals with pressure to play the part as the new Minister's son, or the Officer's kid, or whatever you may be.
On top of being the "new kid" Turner is a Minister's son and as such expected by the town to set a good example for everyone else. The story is set in a time where skin color and ansestry mattered. When Turner runs away from the other boys because everything is the same in theory, but different in...more
On top of being the "new kid" Turner is a Minister's son and as such expected by the town to set a good example for everyone else. The story is set in a time where skin color and ansestry mattered. When Turner runs away from the other boys because everything is the same in theory, but different in...more
This is why I keep reading....Because every once in awhile a book comes along that changes me and becomes part of me forever. I'll always remember who I was when I read it. I'll wish I had written it but I'll know I never could, though I'll draw inspiration and courage from it, for both writing and living.
Quick, ten books that have done this, and the age at which I read them: Anne of Green Gables (11). The Once and Future King (13). A Separate Peace (16). Dr. Zhivago (17). The Chosen (late 20s)....more
Quick, ten books that have done this, and the age at which I read them: Anne of Green Gables (11). The Once and Future King (13). A Separate Peace (16). Dr. Zhivago (17). The Chosen (late 20s)....more
Turner Buckminster, the new minister's son, has great trouble fitting into his new town, but he finds friendship with Lizzie, one of the despised former slaves "squatting" on a nearby island. When the small shanty settlement is driven away to make room for tourism, Turner attempts to defend Lizzie, standing against overwhelming social pressure. Throughout this story, the young people's friendship is developed with subtlety, depth, and a mild romantic tension. Lizzie is portrayed as a gentle, liv...more
Nov 03, 2011
Lisa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lisa by:
book club
Shelves:
fiction-historical,
fiction-young-adult
Turner Buckminster moves to Maine when his father takes a position as a minister in Phippsburg in the early 1900's. Turner becomes friends with Lizzie Bright who is from a poor island community founded by former slaves. As he develops relationships with Lizzie and others from the town, he faces prejudice and other social difficulties. It is interesting to watch the growth of the characters as they face adversity. While the book addresses some tough topics, it also has its lighter moments as well...more
Oct 26, 2011
Natasha
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Natasha by:
Suzette Gee
Shelves:
books-1-15
Lizzy Bright is a "colored" girl who lives on Malaga Island in Maine. Turner Buckminster is the son of the new minister in the nearby town, Phippsburg. He isn't readily accepted by the boys of the town, in fact, he gets bullied pretty bad. This novel is the growing-up story of Turner, learning to stand up for what's right even when everyone else is against you. Turner befriends certain people, and bad things seem to happen to all of them. Mrs. Hurd is taken to the asylum so that her son can sell...more
Devastating and beautiful. A lingering read, but worth it. The story takes place in the early 1900s and is based on real events that destroyed a community in coastal Maine. Turner and Lizzie forge a deep friendship despite racial barriers but can they ultimately overcome the corruption and prejudice of the town's elders?
This book is certainly a good historical read, but I found myself thinking about gentrification in Washington D.C. and what that means to a city in which the African-American pop...more
This book is certainly a good historical read, but I found myself thinking about gentrification in Washington D.C. and what that means to a city in which the African-American pop...more
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 ba...more
Gary D. Schmidt's Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a book about a late nineteenth-early twentieth century teenage boy who has to go against the people of Phippsburg, Maine, to agree with his conscience. Turner Buckminster III is the son of a minister who strongly desires to escape his life and "light out for the territories." Being a minister's son requires a picture-perfect image that is nearly impossible to reach. Ridiculed by many and constantly judged by the townspeople, Turner fe...more
Mar 01, 2011
Linda Lipko
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
american-history,
young-adult
Once again Schmidt did it! He wrote an outstandingly beautiful book dealing with very complex, gritty issues.
This book was written before The Wednesday Wars and received the 1995 Newbery Honor award. It is particularly poignant, outstandingly breathtaking and incredibly tragic.
Based upon true occurrences of race-related issues in Phippsbubrg, Maine, the setting is the early 1900's wherein an interracial community of African Americans, who were rich in values and culture, but poor in financial me...more
This book was written before The Wednesday Wars and received the 1995 Newbery Honor award. It is particularly poignant, outstandingly breathtaking and incredibly tragic.
Based upon true occurrences of race-related issues in Phippsbubrg, Maine, the setting is the early 1900's wherein an interracial community of African Americans, who were rich in values and culture, but poor in financial me...more
Jan 09, 2011
TeenFiction Teton County Library
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historic-fiction,
race
Teton County Library Call Number: YA SCHMIDT
No rating
A fantastic read! This book takes place in Maine in the early 1900's when a young boy, Turner Buckminster, moves from Boston so his father can be the new town minister of Phippsburg. immediately, Turner feels like he will not fit in when his style of baseball difers from that of the local boys and his is afraid to jump off the cliffs into the icy ocean water. When he goes to spend some time alone on the beach, away from the mocking boys, and a...more
No rating
A fantastic read! This book takes place in Maine in the early 1900's when a young boy, Turner Buckminster, moves from Boston so his father can be the new town minister of Phippsburg. immediately, Turner feels like he will not fit in when his style of baseball difers from that of the local boys and his is afraid to jump off the cliffs into the icy ocean water. When he goes to spend some time alone on the beach, away from the mocking boys, and a...more
The first Gary Schmidt book I read was First Boy, which was a disaster of a book for me. Schmidt came to speak to my class a couple of months ago and I resolved to give him another read. Lizzie Bright, though not technically "southern literature", deals with many of the same themes so brilliantly that it secured a place in my heart. Schmidt gives a great deal of history along with a moving tale about what it means to be Christian in a segregated world. Turner is such an interesting and brave cha...more
I really enjoyed reading this book. I love historical fiction and it is part of the reason why I decided to be a history major. When I read a novel like Lizzie Bright, it makes me want to study the subject more, find out what really happened and why. Historical fiction has the ability to grab my interest and make me really feel for the characters. I want to be a history teacher because history is about stories, people, and cultures. Too often, historians take the stories out of history and make...more
In this novel, a young minister's son, Turner, moves with his family to the small coastal town of Phippsburg. Turner arrives at Phippsburg asa a young boy, unable to hit a baseball iwth a softball pitch, and the story ends when he has matured and been enlightened with burning knowledge of the world. Much of this burning knowledge was ascertained by reading Charles Darwin's works, but even more of the knowledge came from his experiences with death and hardship. He witnesses the town weed out the...more
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 tr...more
The story of Lizzie Bright and the Bunkminster boy is very captivating due to the dynamic relationships and social problems that it brings to light from page one. Turner immediately gains a sense of trust and connection with readers when he comes to Phippsburg. Everyone has felt lonely, out of place, and made fun of before. The narrative is also key to this development of realistic relationships. We see this mental and emotional development through Turner himself. The developmental range of char...more
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Gary 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.
More about Gary D. Schmidt...
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“Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches.”
—
72 people liked it
“The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the tide 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...everyting in the world rejoices in the touch, and everything in the world laments in the losing.”
—
20 people liked it
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