The River Between Us is a complex novel with more than one story being told.  At the beginning, Howard Hutchings and his father are traveling to visit Howard’s grandparents, great-aunt and great-uncle in Grand Tower, Illinois.  When Howard sees this part of his family he wonders “how many layers you’d have to scrape away until you came to the time when these old people were young.  If they ever were.”  At this point in the narration, only at the onset of the story, Grandma Tilly takes over the narration of the story of the lives of herself and the other seemingly distant relatives of Howard’s.  The time in the novel switches from 1916 to 1861, in the middle of the Civil War to a divided time and place in the country. 

 

The River Between Us focuses primarily on young Tilly, age 16, and what happens in her life when two mysterious strangers came north from New Orleans on the Mississippi River and entered Tilly’s life and the life or her family.  Delphine Duval is glamorous, mysterious and sure of herself.  When she and Calinda, her traveling companion who readers late find out is Delphine’s sister,  arrive in Grand Tower, Illinois because it is too dangerous to continue to St. Louis, Tilly’s mother takes the two on in her house.  Tilly is taken into the mystery and wonder of Delphine, in all of her fine clothing and French accent.  When Tilly’s twin brother Noah joins the Union army and falls ill far from home, Tilly and Delphine travel to find him and bring him home.  Tilly and Delphine’s trip is a turning point in the story and the realities of war are woven into the story with complex accuracy and acute detail in the plot.  The relationships between the characters are the most telling, with Delphine becoming more of a sister than a mysterious foreigner and Tilly awakening to the world beyond Grand Tower.  When the story of Tilly is concluded, Howard Hutchings resumes his narration of the original visit to his grandparent’s house.  Peck’s power and resonance as a storyteller is not to be underestimated – there is still one final surprise for the reader that brings together the past with the present day. 

 

Peck's gift as a writer is in his characters.  The reader doesn't just become acquainted with Tilly or Delphine - we come to know them, to love them, to hope for them.  During such a hard time in our nation's history, Peck conveys the danger and experience through deeply conveyed and developed characters.  The reader experiences things as Tilly does - we are unsure what to expect or what the future holds.  But Tilly goes on bravely - taking her cues from the wiser (though younger) Delphine.

 

Peck is a master at creating realistic and authentic settings.  The River Between Us not only brings the harsh realities of war to life, but it puts a face on war with the character of Noah and the tragedy of Mrs. Pruitt losing a husband and a son to war.  Though Noah didn’t die, Tilly’s mother died of her own grief.   Delphine and Calinda give yet another face to the war and to race relations during the time.  Many people thought Delphine was a spy and Calinda was her slave.  Yet the two sisters were just trying to survive as any other people would during the time.  Not only are the settings in each novel integral to the novel, but the novel couldn’t exist without the setting.  It is the historical context that makes each character who they are during that time in history.  The historical context makes the story yet it makes the story even more about each character because the novels are really about the people and how they handle the historical events in their lives.  After all, they weren’t history at the time – it was just life.  Peck said, “The point is historical novels are not about wars. They’re about people and relationships” (Rochman 2004).

 

The River Between Us.  New York: Dial Books, 2003.  ISBN 0803727356

 

Rochman, Hazel.  "Talking with Richard Peck." Book Links 14, no. 1 (2004): 44, http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&Authtype=cookie,ip,url,uid&db=aph&an=14388437, accessed 31 October 2004