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. It's a riveting story that shows racism everywhere and young people facing war, not sure what side to be on or why. (Booklist, starred review) Peck reaches new depth with this Civil War-era novel. . . (Publishers Weekly, starred review) A rich tale full of magic, mystery, and surprise. (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) Historical fiction fans should enter this at the top of the must-read list. (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review) The harsh realities of war are brutally related in a complex, always surprising plot that resonates on multiple levels. (he Horn Book, starred review) This unusual Civil War novel really boosts Peck's credentials as America's best living author for young adults. (The Washington Post) Unforgettable characters and handsome prose make this book one you won't want to miss. (Children's Literature) RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35 novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for  A Year Down Yonder , a Newbery Honor for  A Long Way from Chicago , the Scott O’Dell Award for  The River Between Us , the Edgar Allen Poe Award for  Are You in the House Alone? , a  Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor for  The Best Man , and the Christopher Medal for  The Teacher’s Funeral . He was the first children’s author ever to have been awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book Award Finalist.   THE SEARCH FOR NOAH “Where is he?” Delphine demanded to know, gazing about for anything resembling a hospital. “There are six regimental hospitals,” Dr. Hutchings said. “Those three tents are one of them.” “We go there.” Delphine hiked her shortened skirts. “Oh no, Miss Duval.” The doctor put out a hand to bar her way—never a good idea. “No women—ladies—are allowed in the hospital tents. It’s entirely for your own good. The men are in their underwear, and there are no blankets and . . .” Dr. Hutchings was getting right down to the end of his rope. Delphine had drawn up to her almost five feet without the heeled slippers. She glanced back at me, and her veiled eyes sparked their dark fire. “This girl’s brother is in that tent. Is it so?” Dr. Hutchings admitted it was. “You are not an officer to command me. And me, I am not a soldier.” She pointed herself out with a gloved finger. “And if I was, I wouldn’t be soldiering on this side. Get the quilt,” she said to me. The doctor was this close to wringing his hands. “Truly, Miss Pruitt,” he said as we bore down on the tent flap, “I can’t permit—” But it would have taken five or six men his size to keep us out. I wanted my brother. BOOKS BY RICHARD PECK Amanda/Miranda Are You in the House Alone? The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp Dreamland Lake Fair Weather Father Figure The Ghost Belonged to Me Ghosts I Have Been Invitations to the World A Long Way from Chicago Lost in Cyberspace Past Perfect, Present Tense The River Between Us Strays Like Us The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts A Year Down Yonder RICHARD PECK THE RIVER BETWEEN US Table of Contents The Model T Ford Touring Car 1916 Chapter One To me, the best part was that we’d make the trip by car. When I say car, I mean a Ford, of course, a Model T touring car, and they don’t make them like that anymore. In those days it was a big thing to drive a car out of town, let alone a hundred miles each way of Southern Illinois dirt road. I thought the journey itself was going to be the adventure. My dad made house calls in the Ford. He was a very well-thought-of doctor in the St. Louis of that time. A tall man with black curly hair parted in the middle and steel-rimmed spectacles gripping the bridge of his nose. He wore high celluloid collars, and I never saw him without a necktie. I thought he carried all the wisdom of the world in the black bag that traveled to house calls with him on the front seat of the Ford. With the same silent skill that he used to set a bone, he could patch a tire. Apparently, my dad had been young once, but I couldn’t picture it. Even at the age of fifteen I knew but little about who he was and where he’d come from. And so I knew but little a