Book Review: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy | By: Emilie Coulter by Gary D. Schmidt Reading level: Grades 6–9 Turner Buckminster is not having a good time in his new home. In 1912 Phippsburg, Maine, starched collars and a reserved demeanor is de rigueur for the minister's son, even one who is 13 and eager to explore the wonders of the coastline. Turner gets into one scrape after another, earning the disapproval of just about everyone in town…until he meets a soul mate, someone who loves baseball as much as he does, who can maneuver a dory through tides and currents like nobody's business, and who willingly spends hours clamming and investigating the rugged shoreline. Only problem is, Lizzie Bright Griffin is a girl, a black girl from nearby Malaga Island, founded by former slaves. And the residents of Phippsburg, Maine, definitely do not approve of Lizzie Bright, nor of anyone in her community. In fact, as Turner gradually discovers, the congregation hired his father as minister with the expectation that he would wield his power to help them force the “thieves and lazy sots” of Malaga off their land so that they can start a lucrative tourist business without this “blight on the town's aspirations, a hopeless barrier to its future” in their way. Turner's experience with Lizzie and her family and friends is, of course, quite different from the townspeople's ideas. With nothing to back him up but growing friendships with Lizzie and two old women in town, Turner turns his energy to saving the island and his friends. Lizzie Bright This stunningly beautiful Newbery Honor Book is based on a true, tragic event in Maine history. While many of the characters are too simplistically Good or Evil, certain major figures display a more authentic ambivalence. Turner struggles with his loyalties and responsibilities, and his moral code is challenged more than once as he chafes against the restraints placed on him by his father and his culture. Students of the Second Step program can discuss the prejudice inherent in this historical fiction and the choices both Turner and the rigid townspeople make to achieve their respective notions of the greater good. Is it okay to disobey one's father when one believes he is wrong? Why is it so hard sometimes for people—of any color—to trust one another? What happens when Turner allows himself to get to know Lizzie, Mrs. Cobb (a stuffy old woman who nags him relentlessly), and even Willis, the boy who spearheads a bullying campaign against Turner? Emilie Coulter Book Reviewer Committee for Children