Juvenile Fiction
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2004
Hardcover
219
Library
2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book
In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot.
I feel like I should like this one a lot more than I actually do. Yes, it kept my attention, I didn’t set it aside and moan about having to read it, and yes, Turner, the main character was very likeable. But everyone else seemed like a cardboard character. The bad white guys are very bad. The black inhabitants of Malaga Island, that the bad guys want to get rid of, are all good. Sure, Turner’s Dad comes around a bit, and when his Mom is finally acknowledged as a character that can speak, she stands behind Turner, but where was she sooner? Why did it take Turner’s Dad so long to get his act together for his son?
OK, fine, some of the bad characters weren’t so bad after all, they had Reasons for being like they were, but it all felt very staged, very much a Book with an Important Message.
Needless to say, I was underwhelmed.
