The Only Outcast

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

This third young-adult novel by Julie Johnston, a two-time winner of the
Governor General’s Literary Award, contains the same qualities that
made her earlier works so powerful—a fine story, a strong theme, and
engaging characters.

Frederick, 16, is the eldest of four children being raised by their
stern widower father. In the summer of 1904, Fred and his siblings join
the extended family at a Lake Rideau cottage. While desperately desiring
his father’s approval, Fred perceives himself to be an outcast because
he stutters, something his father considers unmanly and a major
character flaw. At the lake, Frederick the Failure, as he sees himself,
achieves a modicum of success in boosting his self-esteem via some of
his actions, such as rescuing one of his brothers from drowning. He also
grows in maturity and self-knowledge through the pain of his first
failed love. Fred’s involvement in circumstances related to a local
myth ultimately leads him to stand up to his father and earn his
begrudging acceptance.

Johnston notes in her foreword that the book is based on the actual
diary of Fred Dickinson; the diary excerpts that introduce each chapter,
however, are part direct quotation and part invention. While the
book’s 1904 adolescents share much in common with today’s young
adults, Johnston’s writing skilfully captures the period’s social
customs, which make Fred and his peers appear alternately more mature
and less mature than contemporary teens. Highly recommended.