The River Between Us by Richard Peck

Bibliography:
Peck, R. 2003. THE RIVER BETWEEN US. New York, NY: Dial Books. ISBN: 0803727356

Plot Summary:
THE RIVER BETWEEN US begins in 1916 with 15 year-old Howard L. Hutchings recalling a visit he made with his father and two younger brothers to met his grandparents in Grand Tower, Illinois. His recollections sandwich the story of his grandmother, Tilly Pruitt, as a young girl in 1861 during the beginnings of the Civil War. Tilly’s story centers around how her family is affected by the war and the mysterious presence of two strangers, Delphine and Calinda. Howard’s family history unravels throughout the book revealing how war can affect friends, families, communities, and countries. Author Richard Peck includes an author’s note which provides additional information about events in the book.

Critical Analysis:
The story is told through the point of view of two different characters. Howard speaks from 1916, fifty-five years after the events in the novel occur which involved his grandmother Tilly. Tilly tells the story of how two strangers affected her family’s life during the Civil War. The dialogue in the story reflects the uneducated speech of the rural poor while also including terms specific to that time period. There are many instances where songs are included that tell of the political turmoil during that time period.

War is seen through the female perspective as Tilly shows concern for her twin-brother Noah. He yearns to enlist for the North despite his family’s protests. Readers can relate this to today’s war which is also hotly contested regarding right and wrong, and through family members that may have enlisted or were injured during service. Different women are portrayed in this novel. Tilly is a quiet, humble girl, Delpine an outspoken debutante, and Calinda a silent, enigmatic figure. The only characters that seem somewhat stereotypical are Calinda as a stoic slave figure and Delphine. Delphine begins the novel as an outrageous figure worthy of gossip, but her character is helped as she reveals her backbone during the battle scenes.

The town of Grand Tower is depicted as a small, poor community to contrast the worldliness Delpine brings into the town. This difference partly affects Tilly’s motivation to venture into the wider world. Overall the novel strives to show that there are no winners in war despite there being a valid, moral reason, that there are ramifications for every action, and that race does not define a person. This is a well-written novel that will help readers see the war from a different perspective.

Awards:
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books 2003
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award 2004
American Library Association Notable Books for Children 2004

Review Excerpts:
BOOKLIST
“Peck's spare writing has never been more eloquent than in this powerful mystery in which personal secrets drive the plot and reveal the history. True to Tilly's first-person narrative, each sentence is a scrappy, melancholy, wry evocation of character, time, and place.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The author crafts his characters impeccably and threads together their fates in surprising ways that shed light on the complicated events of the Civil War."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
“In this thoroughly researched novel, Peck masterfully describes the female Civil War experience, the subtle and not-too-subtle ways the country was changing, and the split in loyalty that separated towns and even families.”

Connections:
Below is a list of many possible avenues of future study for students interested in the Civil War. Some books use actual documents from participants in the war, other provide alternate endings, and the rest are divided into different perspectives from the war.
-Non-Fiction: THE BIG BOOK OF THE CIVIL WAR: FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, INCLUDING HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS, MAPS, AND DOCUMENTS by Joanne Mattern; EYEWITNESS: CIVIL WAR by John Stanchack; THE ROAD TO WAR: CAUSES OF CONFLICT by James F. Epperson; FIELDS OF FURY: THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR by James M. McPherson

-Fiction: ACROSS FIVE APRILS by Irene Hunt; IF THE SOUTH HAD WON THE CIVIL WAR by MacKinlay Kantor; READ-ALOUD PLAYS: CIVIL WAR (GRADES 4-8) by Timothy Nolan

-African-American’s Perspective: TO BE A SLAVE by Julius Lester; African-American Soldiers in the Civil War: Fighting for Freedom (Civil War Library) by Carin T. Ford

-Soldier’s Perspective: THE BOYS’ WAR: CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERS TALK ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR by Jim Murphy; BEHIND THE BLUE AND GRAY: THE SOLDIER’S LIFE IN THE CIVIL WAR by Delia Ray; THE SOLDIER’S LIFE IN THE CIVIL WAR by Douglas J. Savage

-Women’s Perspective: A SEPARATE BATTLE: WOMEN AND THE CIVIL WAR by Ina Chang