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Library book. I read this 50+ years ago and I wanted to see how it felt now. I appreciated it much more this time around. The writing is beautiful. Devon reminds me of the Catholic girls‘ college I attended for 1 yr in Minnesota. Another parallel is WW2‘s presence in this book and Vietnam‘s in my story. Next up Peace Breaks Out by same author

#OutstandingOctoberReadathon Day 6
#RushAThon Day 19
#SeriesLove2023

So hard to pick a #FavoriteBannedBook but there you have it.

This almost look like a banned book shelf, but nope; these are books that were assigned reading in school (except for The Communist Manifesto, I read that last year).

#MarchMagic

Currently reading.

I thought I loved this book for so many years but it was just meh. Gene is about the most annoying, whiny, fake jerk I've encountered! It feels like Nick Carraway could have been his older self somewhere along the way. Nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be and I really don't know why this was required reading in high school! Lol... Extra points because John Knowles was from Long Island.

Ending this year quarantined but with an old friend. ❤

May you all have a wonderful end to this year, may you know you're loved and appreciated, may your light shine brighter than ever in 2022, may you have good health and a positive outlook to carry you through your dark days. 💓💓

Thank you to this wonderful community and Happy New Year!!

A Separate Peace centers on a complicated friendship between two adolescent boys. Gene and Finny are roommates at the northeastern Devon School, where they become thick as thieves despite their very different personalities. But as the shy, unathletic Gene grows jealous of Finny‘s easy confidence, he‘s driven to do something unforgivable — after which their lives will ever be the same.

My son is reading this book for Freshman English so I thought I'd read it too. It is a pretty good book. Honesty and forgiveness are two big takeaways from this book.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
I had to read this in high school, it's been over 30 years. It was one of the few required books that I enjoyed, and I still do. Another review mentioned this gives off Dead Poets Society vibes. I agree.

It took a long time for me to understand the point of this novel. The dialogue is excruciatingly redundant and unimportant throughout. Had it been another hundred pages, I would've bailed. It's not really about the war, or about friendships like I had hoped. It's really about selfishness, paranoia, and the dark & dirty depths to which we are all capable of sinking, in the right circumstances. 5/10

#OppositeDay #War This one has been on my bookshelf for a long time, but I've never read it.
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs

#treeoncover #windsofmarch

I read this in 1968

I am tagging along with @Branwen and listing one book each day this week to commemorate #bannedbooksweek . I‘m using the www.ALA.org list of Banned & Challenged Classics as my guide.

A Separate Peace is most challenged due to “objectionable” language. Isn‘t anyone aware of how teens speak? I doubt there‘s anything they‘ve not already used or heard in the book. I actually read this as a freshman in HS for English and don‘t recall being shocked!

3⭐️ This is Dead Poets Society with the backdrop of WWII. It‘s quite a depressing read, and I feel sad for both Gene and Finny. Growing up is hard, and it‘s much harder when there‘s an unfortunate event turning your world upside down.

I don‘t know why I keep getting coming-of-age novels this year😆; it can be my reading theme for 2020!

#3books #ivereread

#3books I should have read but haven‘t. I need to tackle this challenge!

I didn‘t expect much from this book, but it took my breath away. My heart breaks for Gene and Finny. The personal, insular boy‘s‘ tragedy with the backdrop of the WWII world tragedy makes this book truly memorable.

I. Ought this is an Ollie‘s book haul. I quickly learned that it was a classic and often required school read. It was a coming-of-age during World War II tale. The story focuses on two boys at a boarding High School. Like many teenagers, these boys act confident while feeling insecure, yet they do not seem to be aware that everyone else is behaving the exact same way. Life lessons are learned here...tough ones.

Anytime my kids are assigned a novel for school that I‘ve never read, I like to read it too. There is definitely an outdated feel to this one, but I liked the themes it explored.

#tree
#bloomingbibliophile
@OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

First read in high school, this book has stayed with me. Pax. #peace #bloomingbibliophiles @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

I picked this up last month at my library sale. A coming of age story of two boys set during WW2 at a boarding school. There they are finishing school and contemplating enlistment while developing a friendship based on mostly on bullying. There are tragic consequences after an incident on summer night before their senior year.The writing was beautiful but the plot kind of put me to sleep. #readingmytbrcase #libraryclosed #alreadycleanedmyhouse

A separate peach
Jane Austen
American Psycho
Alkaline Trio
Ashes of Eden by Breaking Benjamin

#manicmonday #LetterA

It‘s been decades since I read this book and the only thing I could remember was Phineas setting a sports record to which Gene was the only witness. There really is something interesting in this 1958 story about 1940s boarding school boys coming of age when a world war is their reality.

#ReadTheUSA2020 New Hampshire

I RARELY read a book twice, but this is such a great one! Finny is one of my all-time favorite characters. I regret not naming one of my sons after him. 😕

First published in 1959, we were assigned the book in 1969 as HS seniors. This was a delightful change from Dickens, Shakespeare and the like.

#readinhighschool
#gratefulreads

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620

I went through several of the books I‘ve read with the lowest average ratings on Goodreads. You can find out what they are and how I feel about them here: https://youtu.be/Fg4PMRKTZac

A Separate Peace has one of the lowest average ratings on my Goodreads list of books that I‘ve read. Have you read it? Did you love it, like it, or hate it?

Keep a lookout tomorrow for my new video on my BookTube channel, abookishbutterfly. I‘ll take a look at the lowest rated books on my Goodreads list and let you know if I agree with those ratings!

Thanks for the tag, @monkeygirlsmama !

1. Other than planning a swap with @Cinfhen (about which I‘m muppet-arming)? Probably the fact that I started building the website for my flower business. It‘ll take some time, but it looks good so far!

2. I rarely reread.

3. Fighting Irish of Notre Dame always and forever. 🍀

4. Tagged. Such good memories.

@Soubhiville @Librariana

#SongsOfSummer Day 2: I would always associate this book with #BoysOfSummer. Phineas and Gene. Best of friends. Phineas, or Finny as he is called, is an all-around athlete, devilishly handsome, playful with borderline irreverence that remains unerringly charming. Gene is a geek, blessed with a sharp mouth and quick wit – rightfully called Finny‘s wingman. Then of course, there was the accident. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-6fk

#BannedBooks #MayMadness Hard to believe I had not gotten to this classic of prep school life .Beautiful writing.Gene and Phineas are friends ,roommates but so different.Gene academic and introverted,Finny athletic and outgoing .A rivalry develops,Gene is envious of what Finny has,how he is, events unfurl that will change their lives forever.

#BannedBooks #TuesdayTBR On #MountTBR Way to long! I I am in a few challenges I need to keep up with but I want to read this one this week. #MayMadness

”When I thought about it my head felt a little dizzy and my stomach began to tingle. It had, in one word, #glamour, absolute schoolboy glamour. When I looked down at that stop watch and realized a split second before I permitted my face to show it or my voice to announce it that Finny had broken a school #record, I had experienced a feeling that also can be described in one word—shock.” #QuotsyApr19 #TwoForOne

Revisiting a favorite.
#NewHampshire

I am so thankful for this wonderful #Litsy community! 💕This week‘s #jb and #LitsyLove mail has been so uplifting and beautiful. Thank you @Kdgordon88 for the lovely note, book (which I have been wanting to read for so long) and bookmark (Claude Monet is my absolute favourite!). Thank you also to @CareBear @BookwormAHN @Morr_Books @iread2much @TheBookHippie @robinb @WeeziesBooks @Stacypatrice 💕

Great writing, lots of hidden meanings I‘m not great at with novels but I did enjoy the story and the lessons.

This was interesting. I don't know how I managed to avoid reading it in school. 💖📚

#bookclub

Pretty good classic! I'm always attempting to add in a recommended classic novel once in a while and this one was a good read. I was surprised to find out that there were 2 movies based on it. I think it will be be fun to watch both versions!

Thanks for the #bookitforward @wanderinglynn - these got here safely yesterday 😊

#jb

This book turned me into a lifelong bookworm! Is it still taught in schools I wonder? If not, it should be! 📚🐛🤓#everlasting #friendship #loyalty

Finished on the plane to Taiwan. This was such a wallop of a little story. It broke my heart. I did survive to eat tea eggs. It is set in New England during WWII and tells the story of adolescent male friendships. It reminded me of the Kite Runner.

Eh, I know it‘s kind of a classic, but I just had a hard time relating to the characters. It was soooo slow at the beginning. I didn‘t see the ending coming, but it wasn‘t enough for this to be a “pick”.

#abookyoureadinhighschool #tuesdaytidbits @SilversReviews
Autumn 1969

A thoughtful and beautifully crafted coming of age novel! Love it!

“It wasn't the cider which made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, and separate peace.”
#bannedbooksweek
#PBSgreatamericanread

@Jennick2004 Jenny, I love every single thing! I can‘t wait to read the books and use all the goodies. Especially love the bookmark and tote bag. Thank you making my first swap so amazing! And thanks to @JoeStalksBeck for hosting. #myfavoritebookswap

A coming of age story about best pals Gene + Finney, two boys that live at a New Hampshire boys boarding school during WWll, both overachiever‘s.. one in athletics, the other book smart.
An accident happens to Finney caused by Gene‘s extreme jealousy over him resulting in a broken leg. The truth later gets revealed, and in those final moments takes a life. A great story about friendship + regret. 3.5 ☆

Finished #MakeMeReadIt ✔️

I keep re-borrowing this novel from the library. I love it. Gene and Finny are both intriguing and well-crafted characters. The process of uncovering the seemingly idyllic façade of Devon, however, is a very heart-wrenching one which compels us to ask ourselves the over-arching question of what does it mean to be a good friend? And what is it about war that causes it to destroy people and innocence?

"The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait."
~ Umberto Eco
Happy Book Lovers Day!