im looking for a book i read in high school

A Separate Peace by John Knowles copyright ybarra-cgm

ybarra-cgm.com

Set in an all male and very exclusive high school academy (Devon), this boarding school drama takes place in late 1942 and early 1943. Though populated with a rich assortment of characters, the book revolves predominantly around only two, Gene and Phineas (Finny). Attending a summer session at Devon, Gene and Finny form the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, and the two charter members seal their friendship by leaping from a tree into a river. The tree, the origin of the cornerstone event that anchors the novel, is "tremendous, an irate steely black steeple beside the river." In this tree, while attempting the dangerous leap into deep water on two separate occasions, both Gene and Finny will lose their balance. In one instance, a steady hand shoots out to save the other friend. In the other, no hand is forthcoming, and the friend plunges downward towards an injury that will permanently alter the life course of both boys. This fall is the polar axis upon which John Knowles, author of one of the most unusual of all books written about wars, be they personal or political, allows his tale to revolve.

ybarra-cgm.com