Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy, a review by Linda

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt

This historical fiction novel is based on an incident which actually happened. Turner Buckminster, son of a minister, is new in town, and doesn't know anyone. He meets Lizza Bright, a resident of a nearby island. She's the first African-American he's known. They become good friends. But the powers that be in town want the African-Americans off the island, so they can use it for tourism. This is a painful story, with moments of goodness.

You might need a few tissues, as some of the characters do die. It takes place in a small coastal town in Maine in 1912.

This was an honor book for both the Newbery Award and the Michael Printz Award (young adult).