Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Guest Post by Rebecca Chapman

ALA Notable/Best Books; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; 2005 Newbery Honor; SLJ Best Book; Michael Printz Award

Ratings Explanation

Language: There are some religious exclamations and mild obscenities as well as derogatory terms directed toward the residents of Malaga Island.

Violence: Turner and Willis get into a fistfight twice. Some townsmen burn down the homes on Malaga Island. The Sheriff fires a shotgun at close range to frighten Turner, then fights with Turner’s father and pushes him off a cliff.

Sexual Content: References to physical attraction between Lizzie and Turner. For instance, he shivers when she stands behind him to show him how to swing a baseball bat. They hold hands a few times. Mrs. Cobb accuses Turner of being nude twice. Once when he is standing in the street in front of her house without a shirt on, and then again when he removes his shirt and trousers while in her kitchen in order to wash blood from them.

Adult Themes:  There are religious themes throughout the novel such as creationism. Turner’s father gives him Charles Darwin’s, The Origin of Species to read. Lizzie’s grandfather and Turner’s father are both ministers. The book also addresses themes of prayer, the expression of faith, and the role of pastors.  Racism and elder abuse throughout the book.

Synopsis

Turner Buckminster, a minister’s son, moves with his parents from Boston, MA to a small town in Maine. Not only does he struggle to find his place in their new hometown, but he also must try to live up to his father’s absurdly high expectations. Turner feels lost and alone until he meets and makes friends with Lizzie Bright Griffen. Their interracial friendship creates even more challenges for Turner. Turner’s mother is protective of him. Turner and his father’s relationship evolves through the narrative from being alienated and strained to becoming warm and mutually respectful. Turner’s mother disapproves of some of the Ministers’ attitudes and actions. In the beginning of the novel she supports him with reservations and makes it clear that she has concerns. Their relationship evolves into a warmer and more loving one also. Turner and Lizzie become friends from the moment they meet and their friendship blossoms into attraction.

Potential Topics of discussion: The separation of state and religion, the expression of individual spirituality, racism, ageism, the capacity for change, interracial relationships, family relationships, cultural diversity, and the history of mental institutions.

©2010 The Literate Mother