Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

This book is really good! At times it can be a little bit slow moving. There are parts where I got kind of bored, but overall I really thought that it was an intriguing book that was different than any book I have read before.

This book is written from the point of view of a young boy named Reuben Land. Reuben has an older brother, Davy, and a younger sister, Swede. Reuben's father, Jeremiah, is a man of God and always puts his trust in God first. Throughout Reuben's life, he has realized that miracles often seem to occur while Jeremiah is around. During one such event, Reuben believed that he saw Jeremiah walking on nothing but air.

Davy and Jeremiah are forced to confront two boys that are Davy's age who attempted to molest Davy's girlfriend and kidnapped Swede. Eventually, the two boys break into the Land's house in the middle of the night, where Davy shoots and kills both boys. Davy is brought into jail and then court, but soon escapes from both places and goes missing. Because of this, Jeremiah is devastated and the Land family soon decides to go looking for Davy.

Meanwhile, there is police investigator on Davy's trail who also follows the Land family in attempts to locate Davy. As the Land family travels across the country, Swede writes a story with characters that represent certain characters in her actual life. Swede struggles with writing this story, as it seems she does not want to end the story the wrong way, for fear of her family, and Davy's story ending the wrong way.

As time goes on, Reuben is forced to choose between his loyalty to his brother and to what would be thought of as the right thing to do. Reuben is confronted with new people, new ideas, and lots of fear as he faces some of the hardest decisions he has ever encountered. As the story concludes, Reuben is forced to mature through certain events and eventually he begins to understand things about his brother and the life he has chosen that he could not see before.

This book shows a unique view on differentiating between right and wrong and keeps you entertained along the way. It is definitely a book I would recommend for an compelling read.