Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Just in advance, this book (by Gary D. Schmidt) might make you cry. Seriously. It might, but that isn’t a reason to not read it. Some books are sad and you don’t like them at all, but this book is sad and extremely good. Anyway, enough of my prattle, here’s what it’s about…

Turner Buckminster isn’t in the best of moods these days. He’s left his comfortable Boston home behind, and is now in Phippsburg, Maine, where his father will be the new minister. But Turner doesn’t want to be known as the minister’s son, and he just can’t find a way to be happy in the nearly six hours he’s been there. Even baseball is different, and that just takes the cake. It sucks, and Turner is positive things will never get any better. How can they? But the Buckminster Boy is in for a surprise, which comes in the form of Lizzie Bright Griffin. She’s sassy and feisty, and lives on the nearby Malaga Island with her grandfather. The world isn’t so horrible anymore–Lizzie has opened it up for Turner. But the discovery of the town’s elders’ desire to turn Malaga into a tourist trade center brings everything down to Earth. And the battle to stop it brings a series of calamities Turner isn’t sure he can face. This is the sort of touching book great for both boys and girls, maybe even adults as well. It has good plot and real, great characters. I strongly suggest you take a look. And if you like it, check out another book by the same author, The Wednesday Wars.