The Misfit

Uncle Drayton hadn’t meant he was never going to teach him to be a man, had he? Maybe he was waiting for Austin to show him he wasn’t – what had he said? – "a sniveling whiner" – Like his father. Austin felt a pinch in his chest. Was that what Father was, really? I"’ll show Uncle Drayton", he told himself firmly. "I’ll find a way to fit in here. He’ll see. He’ll just see."

Book: The Misfit (Christian Heritage Series: The Charleston Years #1) by Nancy Rue, Focus on the Family Publishing, 1997

Genre: Historical Fiction

Target Audience: Boys 10-14

Subjects: Slavery, Friendship, Truth and lies, Trust

Summary: “Boston Austin” never runs out of questions. That’s why he’s so smart! He knows a lot of things that most others do not. But not everyone appreciates him or his questions. While his dad is traveling, he, his mom and his little brother are staying on their Uncle Drayton’s plantation… in the south… where they believe in… and practice… slavery. He has been taught by his parents that slavery is wrong, so he fails to fit in from the start. His aunt and cousins don’t like him because they know he is an abolitionist. The slaves don’t like him because he’s related to his uncle. So when an opportunity to earn the trust of his cousin Charlotte and her friend, Henry-James comes up, he leaps at it. But how far will he go to keep this friendship? Will he do that which he knows to be wrong in order to have it?

Notes: This is the third set of books in the Christian Heritage Series. Each set focuses on a particular time period and tells the story of a young boy growing up in that time. This set is about a young boy who has been raised as an abolitionist but is living with his uncle’s family on a plantation in the south where they don’t believe slavery is wrong. In this book, Austin starts to get to know who Jesus is, learns how to be a friend and learns the importance of telling the truth and doing what is right, even when it may come at a heavy cost.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Ephesians 4:25 – Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

John 15:15 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.