From Goodreads: John Knowles' beloved classic has been a bestseller for more than 30 years and is one of the most moving and accurate novels about the trials and confusions of adolescence ever written. Set at an elite boarding school for boys during World War II, A Separate Peace is the story of friendship and treachery, and how a tragic accident involving two young men forever tarnishes their innocence.
My review: I seem to struggle with boarding school settings and I'm not sure why. I don't know if it is because I can't relate or if I just don't like the specific books I have read related to boarding schools.
However, I did enjoy (and could relate with) the struggles Gene had with identifying himself within the crowd and how he saw his relationship with Phinneas. This aspect of the novel connects with the struggles many teens have, abroad or at home, in finding themselves among a sea of friends and acquaintances. Adding in the war, the story grows thicker and more murky. Boys who are still youthful and immature are running off to war, only to find that war isn't always glory and it is never pretty.
Grade: D
According to the ALA, this book has been challenged in many school districts and high schools for allegedly offensive language and graphic language. Once again, I don’t understand the issue with such language since teens are saying and/or hearing it daily at school or on TV, in music lyrics and on video games. It is almost as if seeing such “graphic language” is harder to handle than hearing it on TV or in a lyric.
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