A Separate Peace by John Knowles

A Separate Peace

by John Knowles

One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools, this is the story of a friendship between two 16-year-old boys in an American boarding school - one a natural athlete and the other a scholar. Their different temperaments cause tensions that lead to tragedy.

Reviewed by jamiereadthis on

2 of 5 stars

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This feels very much of its time. The kind of morally prescriptive mindset that prevailed when my parents were young, and thus prevailed when I was young, full of great life lessons— have fun and you’ll die! It’s an anxiety I’m still trying to excise from myself. So yeah, I would’ve hated it in 8th grade, and I’m not much more kind to it now. There are better boarding school books that handle coming-of-age, that’s for sure.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 26 February, 2020: Finished reading
  • 26 February, 2020: Reviewed