A Separate Peace

Rating:
Summary: Not a good book to force kids to read.
Review: This has to be one of the most depresing books I have ever read. Basically nothing good happens the entire time and the main character has some serious head problems.. While this book might provide an interesting look into the thought patterns of an adolescent male, I do not see why it is hailed as a classic by our literary society.

The best thing I found about the book was that it was short. If I had been forced into spending much more time on this piece, I do not think I would have finished it. If high school teachers want to influence kids to enjoy reading, there are much better books than this one (Ender's Game, The Belgariad, to name a couple). I think a major reason that lots of young people are convinced that they hate reading is because they were forced into reading "intellectual" books like this one in school. A bad practice I say.

Rating:
Summary: Not the timeless novel it's touted to be...
Review: I finished up A Separate Peace last night, and I've come to the conclusion that I did not enjoy that novel. In the beginning, I was enjoying A Separate Peace, but by the end, John Knowles tried to make the book too moving and tried to make it too much of a political book. The book lost its charm when the war became its primary focus, and unfortunately, it lost too much of its charm. Or maybe my generation cannot identify with the looming fear of being drafted and war such as in WWII, or even more recently, Vietnam. My generation does not have that defining moment that gives the precedence for a political novel. All we have is the war on terror, which really isn't anything special in terms of war. One part of the novel that I really have problems with is the scene where Gene and Brinker are talking to Brinker's. The scene just seems pasted in just to get a point across about the differences in thought between adults and teens. The scene is more like an afterthought that Knowles just had to put in--like a Hollywood movie. The book tries to hard.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: "A Separate Peace" has a great plot. I had to read this for school, and I though that it was going to be horrible, but it was actually very good. I sympathized with the characters.

Rating:
Summary: think while you read
Review: this is the kind of book where you have to reread a couple of times to fully understand everything that goes on. it's all about a student who pushes his friend and roommate off a tree and by the end of the book he pushes his friend off a flight of stairs. the best part of the book is when a minor character, leper, goes insane because of the emotional stress he obtains from going the military, he almost gets an honerable discharge or something like that. knowles dosn't describe his charecters that well, either. he only tells us their accomplishments , and their personalities. nothing about their facial features or anything along those lines. this is one of the worst books that i have ever read. and i had to read it, it was maditory summer reading.

Rating:
Summary: A really good book
Review: This book is the best book I have ever had to read for school. Most books for school are boring but this one is real and I could relate to it.

Rating:
Summary: A haunting book of betrayal
Review: I read this book as a sophomore, and I must say that I don't like it at all. It's said to be up with "Catcher in the Rye," which I enjoyed and read several times, but I must say that I don't agree with the comparison. The symbolism in the book is great, but the storyline is aweful and depressing. Gene begins to hate his friend (I think his name was "finny") because he feels that everything turns out for the best in Finny's life, and Finny must do things on purpose to make his life miserable. An example of this is when Gene and Finny spent the night at a beach, having fun, and they were late for class the next day. Another example is when Finny asks goofy questions while Gene is studying for a test. This is occurring during World War II, by the way. Gene somehow gets it in his mind that Finny is a conniving, horrible person who plans to make Gene's life miserable to make himself appear better, but the truth is, Finny is just a funny, sweet, lovable guy who does not try to hurt ANYONE. Gene is so jealous that one day, while he, finny and some other friends are jumping off a tree into water, Gene wiggles the branch of the tree so that Finny falls off, crippling himself. Finny used to be an awesome athlete, but no longer! I just find the book to be cruel and upsetting.

Rating:
Summary: a separate peace
Review: in my view I hated this book with every fiber of my existance. but no Im seriouse this book was awful the book is dry no action no romance not even a good thrill. at its best it gets a 2 but that would be pushing it so unless your looking for a good nap don't read it.

Rating:
Summary: A separate Peace
Review: The interesting book about a friendship between two teenage boys was written by John Knowles. Rivalry arises between the friends and emotions take over. This book left me in suspense on what the outcome would be. A turn at the end comes unexpectedly.

Rating:
Summary: TIRED OF THESE...KID'S WRITTINGS
Review: When you look at a novel you don't attempt to look at the piece from the writer's point of view, you're supposed to find yourself in the writing. Some little flaw the character has, may be something you have, and there you find your connection. I read through some of the reviews and am appalled by some of these people who claim to love reading, but don't know how to even begin to structure a sentence. Let alone add any sort of punctuation, for shame. In one review, the author stated "I mean, I love to read," but immediately followed this with abbreviations such as "j/k" and "lol." Let me assure you, either you or your english teacher needs a good smack with a dictionary. Maybe then some sort of intelligence will spring loose from the roach motel your minds have become. Don't think that I'm some belittling adult either, I am a seventeed year old, like, hopefully, many of you. So, I find it shocking that one could delve so superficially into an endless sea of depth that is "A Separate Peace." There is more than the occasional "brilliant" metaphor, the whole story itself and of itself is a walking, breathing metaphor. It picked up on a paper trail long abandoned by Salinger, who is a genius in his own right. Maybe you nineth and tenth graders should seriously dig a little deeper than surface level on the things you read. Find something more than between the lines; find between the pages. Find between the chapters! Just find something, anything that will make you realize the book for yourselves. So ends my review (Which is more a review on the reviews) of the novel (not "book," how dullard is the word book when addressing a novel) "A Separate Peace."

Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: Many other people have all ready posted story summaries and their thoughts on this book, so I won't bother. I finished it about half an hour ago, and only in these last few moments have I stopped crying. I'm one of those kids who had to read it for English class. It's a beautifully tragic story, and is something that will follow me for a long time to come. Forgiving my lack of eloquency, please take my recomendation: It's a book you should read.