Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

By Gary D. Schmidt

Turner Buckminster can’t find anything good to say about his first six hours in Phippsburg, Maine, where even baseball is a different game. He’s about ready to light out for the Territories, where every shirt he wears won’t have to be starched white and no one will know him as the new minister’s son. But after meeting Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl who lives on nearby Malaga Island, a poor community founded by former slaves, he doesn’t feel quite so miserable. Lizzie shows Turner how to hit a Maine baseball, dig for clams along the shore, and row a boat next to a whale—opening up a whole new world to him, one filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine’s rocky coast.
But the two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner’s father, want to force the people of Lizzie’s island to leave so that a lucrative tourist trade can be started there. Although Turner is forbidden to step foot on the island, he and Lizzie try to save its people—and get caught up in a spiral of disasters that alter their lives forever.

Depressing. I was so depressed after this book was finished. I felt lost and sad for Turner and Lizzie. It started out so fun and light and then it had to dive into racism and serious matters...But really this book was very good. I can see why it is an award winner. It brings up a lot of controversy and tells a very human story of a boy who is just learning that he doesn't always have to be 'the minister's son' and a negro girl who knows far too well what is expected from her and of her. This is their story of friendship, love, and understanding each other in the most basic of ways. It's a great story by a talented author, though I wish that it could've ended happier for them.

The Wednesday Wars

By Gary D. Schmidt

Holling Hoodhood is really in for it.
He’s just started seventh grade with Mrs. Baker, a teacher he knows is out to get him. Why else would she make him read Shakespeare…outside of class?
The year is 1967, and everyone has bigger things to worry about. There’s Vietnam for one thing, and then there’s the family business. As far as Holling’s father is concerned, nothing is more important than the family business. In fact, all the Hoodhoods must be on their best behavior at all times. The success of Hoodhoood and Associates depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has Mrs. Baker to contend with?

This book completely deserved the Newberry Honor it got. Holling's perspective and narration of events in this rather rough part of history along with his own personal tragedies and triumphs will leave you profoundly grateful and reminiscent of when you were a kid yourself and were certain that one teacher really really hated your guts. I felt for him at every disaster, every embarassment, and every tragedy. This coming-of-age book is sure to be shelved with the best of them; including Lowis Lowry's The Giver and Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl, with it's own unique voice. And oh boy if you know Shakespeare, you'll get an even bigger kick out of Holling's interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Hamlet, Julius Ceaser, and Macbeth. You gotta love the honesty of kids before they learn tact! I especially loved the fact that Holling memorized Caliban's curses from The Tempest and started calling everyone he hated Shakespearian cuss words. :) Toads, beetles, bats! But this book is good!

The High King

By Lloyd Alexander

When the sword of Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon in the kingdom of Prydain, falls into the hands of Arawn-Death-Lord, Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Prince Gwydion raise an army to march against Arawn’s terrible cohorts. After a winter expedition filed with danger, Taran’s army arrives at Mount Dragon, Arawn’s stronghold. There, in a thrilling confrontation with Arawn and the evil enchantress Achren, Taran is forced to make the most crucial decision of his life.

This is the final installment of the chronicles of Prydain, and I was so anxious to read it, mostly to finally find out about Taran's past. I had all kinds of precieved ideas about how Lloyd Alexander would finish out this series, but I was delighted that I was wrong in my assumptions, and even better I was still completely satisfied! Try it and you'll like it. It might seem slow at first, but keep going and you'll be glad you did.