Review Detail

Reader reviewed by P.G. Sherrie

John Knowles' A Separate Peace stands apart in the coming-of-age genre.  There is an immediacy in the book surrounding the mysterious event between Gene and Phineas that encapsulates all the headiness of adolescence.  Set in a New England all-boys prep school in the early years of WWII, A Separate Peace captures a piece of American history through a specialized segment of the population. Although the upper-class prep school may not be a setting which many readers can relate to, the issues of growing up, jealousy, and friendship are essential aspects of humanity, and cause the novel to appeal to a wide audience.