The River Between Us

Historical Fiction Book Review
LS 5603.20/Spring 2010
S. Vardell

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Peck, Richard. The River Between Us. New York: Puffin Books, 2003. ISBN 0142403415

PLOT SUMMARY:
Where do you come from? A father, Dr. William"Bill" Hutchings and his sons, take a trip to Grand Tower, Illinois. The year is 1916. Traveling in a Model T Ford Touring Car to the "home place", this journey sets the stage for an emotional journey that will change each of the passengers lives forever.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Set in Pre-Civil War along the Mississippi, prejudice and mystery lead to an unforgettable love story that helps in understanding the branches on this family's tree. "Devil's Backbone" is on a hill straddling the town of Grand Tower. A road that runs between the river and the "Backbone" leads to a weathered farm house, the Pruitt-Hutchings family homestead located in Grand Tower. South of  Grand Tower homestead is the diverse city of New Orleans. As Grand Tower's young men are sent to fight for the Union, others make their way up the Mississippi seeking freedom from the slavery conflict.  Delphine, Native New Orlean  and a striking southern "belle", and her "dark" companion, disembark from a steamboat. A shroud of mystery surrounds the two women. The Pruitt women take them in as boarders unsuspecting that this single act of kindness will change the family's origins forever. This story is cleverly told with a straight forward tenor. Richard Peck allows the mysteries surrounding the family to unfold taking the reader through the realistic landscape of a Pre-Civil War town. Details express the hardship of this time in America. Each Character is fleshed out and contributes actively to the tale. This story spans three generations beginning with the Pruitt Family: Mrs. Pruitt, twins Tilly and Noah and Cass, the mysterious boarders Delphine and Calinda and Tilly's suitor, Howard Leland Hutchings.  Second generation is the son Bill Hutchings and finally, third generation, Bill's children: Howard Leeland, Raymond and Earl.

Peck includes notes on the story's authentic setting of the Mississippi River. Using detailed research, the author accurately weaves his main characters in an out of the tragic events and results of the Civil War. The River that Runs Between us is a metaphorical title. Literally, the Mississippi cuts through the land. The road to the homestead runs between the river and the "Backbone". The conflict of slavery divides the country. Noah is separated from his family to fight the war. Prejudice and social status separates loved ones. No amount of time or reconciliation can remedy the scars of war, love or loss. All who read this can identify with the universal theme of discovering "who we are and where we come from". Readers will glimpse a different time and place allowing a better understanding of the conflict of the Civil War and how our "free" society, in some cases, isn't free at all.

AWARDS WON AND REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Great Lakes Great Books Award, 2004 Finalist Children's Chapter Book Michigan
Los Angeles Times Book Prize, 2003 Finalist Young Adult Fiction United States
National Book Awards , 2003 Finalist Young People's Literature United States
Parents' Choice Award, 2003 Gold Fiction United States
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2004 Winner United States

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 16))

Imagine an age when there were still people around who'd seen U.S. Grant with their own eyes, and men who'd voted for Lincoln." Fifteen-year-old Howard Leland Hutchings visits his father's family in Grand Tower, Illinois, in 1916, and meets four old people who raised his father. The only thing he knows about them is that they lived through the Civil War. Grandma Tilly, slender as a girl but with a face "wrinkled like a walnut," tells Howard their story. Sitting up on the Devil's Backbone overlooking the Mississippi River, she "handed over the past like a parcel." It's a story of two mysterious women from New Orleans, of ghosts, soldiers, and seers, of quadroons, racism, time, and the river. Peck writes beautifully, bringing history alive through Tilly's marvelous voice and deftly handling themes of family, race, war, and history. A rich tale full of magic, mystery, and surprise. (author's note) 2003, Dial, $16.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 12 up. Starred Review. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)

A boy's grandmother recounts the story of her teenage years, when a steamboat brought two strangers to Grand Tower, Illinois--glamorous Delphine and her companion Calinda. The townspeople think these "Secesh gals" may be Confederate spies but the truth is far more complicated. The harsh realities of war are honestly related in the always surprising plot. Category: Older Fiction. 2003, Dial, 165pp, $16.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 1: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration.

CONNECTIONS:
Subject catagories CLCD:
Racially mixed people Fiction.
Family life--Illinois Fiction.
Race relations Fiction.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Juvenile fiction.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Fiction.
New Orleans (La.)--Social life and customs--19th century Fiction.
Illinois--History--1778-1865 Fiction.