A Separate Peace

author
John Knowles

plot synopsis in 50 words or fewer
Set during World War II against the backdrop of a New England boarding school for boys, A Separate Peace is the story of two unlikely friends, Gene and Finny.

themes you could cite for your 9th grade english class
* The comparisons drawn between the war abroad and the dynamics between the boys at school.
* Who is the "enemy;" in what ways is he a figment of our own making?
* Individual and societal "fall from grace."

what really matters
The fantastic, all consuming, great story. It's one of those cult classics which you read in high school and never forget. But don't fret: I reread it a few years ago for a book group and it more than holds up. If you haven't read it recently, read it again, it's so worth it. And if you haven't read it at all, they really shouldn't have let you graduate from high school in the first place.

some of the hype
"I think it is the best-written, best-designed and most moving novel I have read in many years. Beginning with a tiny incident among ordinary boys, it ends by being as deep and as big as evil itself." -- Aubrey Menen

"A quietly vital and cleanly written novel that moves, page by page, towards a most interesting target." -- Truman Capote

"Is he the successor to Salinger for whom we have been waiting so long? -- Encounter.

"A masterpiece." -- National Review.

some other things this author has written
Morning in Antibes
Double Vision; American Thoughts Abroad
Indian Summer
Phineas; six stories
The Paragon
Spreading Fires
A Vein of Riches
Peace Breaks Out
A Stolen Past
The Private Life of Axie Reed