The River Between Us

The year is 1861. Civil war is imminent and Tilly Pruitt's brother, Noah, is eager to go and fight on the side of the North. With her father long gone, Tilly, her sister, and their mother struggle to make ends meet and hold the dwindling Pruitt family together. Then one night a mysterious girl arrives on a steamboat bound for St. Louis. Delphine is unlike anyone the small river town has even seen. Mrs. Pruitt agrees to take Delphine and her dark, silent traveling companion in as boarders. No one in town knows what to make of the two strangers, and so the rumors fly. Is Delphine's companion a slave? Could they be spies for the South? Are the Pruitts traitors? A masterful tale of mystery and war, and a breathtaking portrait of the lifelong impact one person can have on another.

Richard Peck is the celebrated author of over thirty novels. He is the recipient of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in children's literature. A Long Way from Chicago is a Newbery Honor Book, and A Year Down Yonder, its sequel, is a Newbery Medal winner. In 2002, Richard Peck was awarded a National Humanities Medal by the President and First Lady Laura Bush.