The River Between Us

I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed this little book. Adopted by a local 5th Grade Social Studies Department as required reading it is remarkably well written with plot twists this seasoned reader did not anticipate and thoroughly enjoyed.

Without revealing too much of the plot it begins in 1916 as a family is packed together in their Model T to make a trip from their home in Illinois to visit their elderly grandparents in Missouri and to hear of their memories from the Civil War some 50 years past. The remainder of the book, except for the final chapter, is a flashback to the Civil War representing those memories.

The story centers around a dirt poor Illinois family with a missing father and a teenage son named Noah. A daughter, show more Cass, who sees visions, terrible visions of events yet to come adds a mystery to the plot, and a young, enticing, and beautiful young lady who arrives on a steamboat from New Orleans named Delphine. Fiercely loyal to the newly forming Confederacy she is nevertheless very grateful to Noah’s Union loyal family who takes her in.

Much more about period Southern culture is introduced because of this arrangement which surprised me considering the targeted audience but which this reader found unique and actually refreshing as it was approached with a delicate but honest and straight forward touch.

The final chapter returns us to 1916 for the return trip to Illinois and reveals some info this reader never anticipated. Perhaps lovers of mysteries who like to figure out plots in advance could see it coming but I like to be taken along with the story and did not see the final developments and I loved it.

Winner of several awards including National Book Award Finalist, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, A Riverbank Review Children’s Book of Distinction, and others. show less

I avoid historical fiction like the plague, but I must admit that I loved this book. I listened to it as an audiobook which really added an extra dimension to the work, particularly when one of the character's lapses into French. I enjoyed the authentic feel of being transported to the beginning of the Civil War, to a town just along the Mississippi. The setting, dialect, and bit of mysticism truly made the story seem three dimensional. Although set in the Civil War, the story focuses more on the relationship of the main protagonist and her family. I loved the pacing of the story, the heart wrenching tragedy and surprising twists and turns that kept me guessing and at one point even shocked.

I haven't read historical fiction in a while and I really appreciated the brevity of this Civil War novel as well as the story within a story. When a young man goes to visit his grandparents in southern Illinois with his father on the eve of WWI he has no idea what he is about to learn. His family is hiding a wealth of secrets dating all the way back to the Civil War. When his grandmother recounts the summer that her life changed forever - both her grandson and the readers are captivated. Two young women exist a steamboat in a flurry of petticoats and finery and change the little Illinois town forever. No one knows if they are rebel sympathizers or society girls - but one thing is for certain - one of the young woman is black - is she a show more slave or freed? Because there are no suitable lodgings in town Tilly's mother opens up her house to them and life is never the same again. Interesting story that covers aspects of the war that many are probably unfamiliar with. Two fantastic narrators really make this a story worth listening to! show less

The River Between Us is fantastically written, with realistic historical language that is clear to understand and flows smoothly. The story is a beautiful cycle, beginning and ending in 1916, and provides ample foreshadowing as well as a satisfying conclusion, thus earning it a rating of 5Q. In terms of popularity, the appeal may be more limited, but could be sold to teens with well-done booktalking and by targeting teens with a particular interest in oral family histories or in the Civil War.

Personally, I very much enjoyed this book despite myself. Initially, I was rather turned off by the excessive descriptions of petticoats, but the story moved quickly into a wonderful depiction of civilian life during the Civil War, a story about show more unconventional families, and an exploration of story-telling in general. The foreshadowing throughout the book - particularly enhanced by the fact that the majority of the book is actually a flashback - caused me to immediately re-read it upon finishing, because I was certain there was so much I had missed the first reading. show less

This two-time Newbery winner wrote yet another gem. This book contains excellent portrayals of the life of Northern and Southern women during the Civil War, of a country torn apart in loyaties and racial bigotry and prejudice.

Peck shines a scathing light on the hypocritical nasty do gooder church ladies who are filled with racial prejudice.

Set in a small Illinois town wherein the Mississippi river is a focal point of economics for the area, Peck superbly writes of the impact of the Civil War upon the life of the small town folk who merely want to go on with their lives.

I recommend this book to those who like historical fiction and to those who enjoy the writing of Richard Peck.

An absorbing tale of a poor family living in southern Illinois at the start of the US Civil War. I was so drawn into the story and characters that I read on, late into the night. Another excellent work by this author.

The River Between Us by Richard Peck (2005) This story “begins” in 1916, with a doctor driving his teenage son and twin children to his Illinois hometown on the bank of the Mississippi River, and then shifts to 1861, as a young woman describes how her town is affected by the mounting dissent between the North and the South, and the arrival of a mysterious woman from New Orleans.

The narrative shift from the doctor’s teenage son to the female voice two generations prior is abrupt, but her story so compelling that the trip in the Model T is almost forgotten by the time the frame is returned to. Having experienced the Civil War’s effect on the family from a first-person perspective (and the revelation on page 157) makes the 1916 show more doctor’s decision to go to war much more powerful and personal, and links the Civil War not only to the first World War, but also to all wars. The character Delphine with her foreign (both to 1861 Grand Tower and to modern readers) manners remains consistently intriguing, as the reader tries to anticipate her true motivations. show less