Peck, Richard. The river between us.

Penguin Putnam, Dial. 164p. c2003. 0-8037-2735-6. $16.99. JS*

This latest historical novel by Peck will win critical acclaim and also appeal to YA readers, even high school readers. It is set during the Civil War in a little town along the Mississippi River, where a family lives slightly apart from their neighbors. Tilly is surprised when her mother takes in two strange young women, Delphine and Calinda, journeying up the river from New Orleans as the war begins. Delphine is enchanting and Tilly is surprised to learn they are about the same age--15. Tilly's older brother Noah is definitely fascinated. And Calinda understands Tilly's strange little sister, who sees visions--mostly visions of horror to come. The horror, of course, is the war. Noah joins the Northern army, and after a terrible battle nearby. Tilly and Delphine go to find him wounded in the ghastly hospital tents and eventually save his life, with the help of a young Army doctor. Peck tells the story by peeling off layers, saving the best surprise for the end, which I won't give away here. His mechanism is introducing the family history through the eyes of a boy living in 1916, whose father, a doctor, takes the boy to visit his elderly relatives--Tilly, Noah, Delphine, and Dr. Hutchings--before he himself goes off to Europe to take care of the wounded in another Great War. The narrative voice shifts to Tilly at 15, who relates the events of 1861, before returning in the final chapter to the boy in 1916 once again.

Peck has achieved the highest awards for his work in children's literature, and this novel is among his best work for YAs.