This is a book unlike any book I have ever read. It shows the spirit of youth. For example, this story has a zest that makes the adventures more compelling then it would if the spirited feeling was not present. The first chapter is bland. The second chapter is rich and takes a turn into the world at Devon school in the 1940’s.

Finny is my favorite character. He was an ideal young man all the way to the end. His agility in speech and actions are griping. These qualities don’t diminish at first. But ultimately they do, when the tragedies start. Losing these character traits make these happenings more tragic. He is everything that tends to strike you as outstanding in a person. What we all want to be is charismatic, athletic, and spontaneous. He was the hero who we admired; it was his role to play what is lost and gone forever.

What the author was trying to say is a mystery. At least it will not be put to words in this report.

Though it takes place years ago, the story has not yet lost its shelf life. Every thing is still relevant today. Don’t dismiss anything by the date on the cover. There is no war right now, but there might be soon. One could say there is always a war on, a greater cause to give up the luxuries of everyday life for.

World War II was the most glorified war of all. This book delves into a much darker side. The discharge of Leper was disturbing. Normal though he seemed, the war brought out a crazed psycho. The horror that is felt when he verbally attacks Gene is very real and brings the war to life. The fear of war is in him. War plays many roles through out history, it is something that we can not avoid or contain something we can only fear.

The adults in this book seemed to be on a different level, somehow removed form everyday life. This shows the outlook that most teenagers have on adults. They have an attitude of indifference. The teens meet them with an open mind but adults are never fully with them or in the main story line. Examples of this are peppered throughout the story. One example would be when the Dr. told Gene of Finny’s death. Another student’s father comes and tries to talk to Gene about enlisting in the army. They talk for a long time but Gene never opened his mind to what he was saying.

As narrator, Gene is some one we get to know very well over the course of the story. We always know what Gene is thinking; we are what he is thinking. Gene always goes along with finny. He does this so easily that it is jarring; with a quick ‘yes’ or ‘okay’, he simply complies. This is an appealing quality in him that I would like to emulate.

Wow! This book is well written. Some of the images that are setup are amazing. After Finny’s second tragedy you can feel Gene’s mind spinning wondering through the world.

This is a book embodying spirit of youth. In a world of boys, nothing is set in stone, nothing can’t be broken. It segregated from the world of men, sheltered from the harsh world of conviction. In a world, that can never last forever. It is A Separate Peace.