2005 Printz Honor Book
Prejudice and intolerance are the elephant in the room in this novel by Gary Schmidt. Turner, the new preacher's son arrives in Maine with less than a warm welcome. Baseball isn't played the same way as it had been in Boston, and he thinks that the local boys' habit of jumping off the cliffs into the ocean is crazy. The only person who befriends him is Lizzie Bright Griffin, the pastor's daughter on Malaga island--which was colonized by freed slaves.
Turner finds himself in trouble when he discovers that the well-to-do white men in his town plan to force the Malaga inhabitants off the island in order to build a resort.
Receiving no help from his father, Turner takes it upon himself to try and save the residents
of Malaga island--with tragic results.
I have to say, that I didn't grow up with a strong example of racism, and at points in this book, it shocked me. It certainly doesn't encourage anyone to become racist, but because of the mature tones of this book, I would encourage middle school or higher on this one. However, a very important story that should be learned by everyone.
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