Schmidt weaves a delightful and gripping tale as he explores themes of friendship and racism in this historical novel. When Turner Buckminster moves to Maine from Boston, he finds himself in a small, conservative town where his father is the new minister. Turner finds it hard to fit in, as he has a spunky and rebellious streak. Plus, he always seems to be getting his starched church shirts dirty and the neighbors riled up. Turner finds solace in this turn of the 20th century tale when he meets Lizzie Bright, a "Negro" girl living on Malaga Island, a place inhabited only by the African American population. The central conflict of the novel arises when the authority figures of the town want to clear the population on Malaga Island in order to build a tourist resort to attract revenue to the small town. Clearly, this causes Turner to explore his own values and the friendships he has made.
I really enjoyed this book. Turner is insightful and humorous, as well as strong in his own beliefs and character. I loved listening to his musings about people in the town. His family provides a nice contrast between the morals of human rights and the bigotry of racism.
One aspect of the book that I enjoyed is how Schmidt handled the topic of racism. I have never read a turn of the century novel on this topic. I never would have thought that racism would be so prevalent in a northern society, especially after the Civil War.
My only complaint about the book was that it was hard to connect to the setting due to the time period. Sometimes the descriptions would get too lengthy. I really just wanted to hear more of the dialogue. The ending was a surprise that I think teaches a realistic moral lesson.