60 pages • 2 hours read
Gary D. SchmidtA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
In 1912, Turner Buckminster moves to Phippsburg, Maine, and befriends Lizzie Bright Griffin, a Black girl from Malaga Island. Despite facing racism and opposition, Turner fights to protect Lizzie and her community from being forcibly removed. As tensions rise, Turner stands up against the town's authorities and his own father, leading to significant personal growth and unexpected alliances.
Gary D. Schmidt's Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy captures the complexity of racial and social tensions in early 20th-century Maine through compelling characters and evocative prose. Reviews praise its emotional depth and historical accuracy but occasionally critique its slow pacing. Overall, it's a poignant exploration of friendship and prejudice.
Readers who enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson will be captivated by Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. They gravitate towards historical settings, themes of friendship and social justice, and richly developed characters facing moral dilemmas. Ideal for middle-grade to young adult readers.
Recommended
Lexile Level
1000LHistorical Fiction
American Literature
Children's Literature
Emotions/Behavior: Fear
Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Identity: Race
Grief / Death
Race / Racism
Religion / Spirituality