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    Across Five Aprils
    Across Five Aprils
    Across Five Aprils
    Audiobook6 hours

    Across Five Aprils

    Written by Irene Hunt

    Narrated by Tom Stechschulte

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Southern Illinois is a place of mixed emotions as the American Civil War erupts. For the Creightons, the war lures two sons to the Union army and one to the Confederacy, leaving 10-year-old Jethro to care for the family farm. As the war rages, Jethro does whatever he can to learn about the fates of his brothers, while the Creighton family faces its own danger. Some townspeople can't forgive the Creightons for having a rebel son-and they're willing to use violence to make their feelings known. In a state torn by conflicting loyalties, Jethro is forced to grow up quickly to preserve his family and their home. Across Five Aprils is a powerful classic from Newbery Medal-winning author Irene Hunt. Tom Stechschulte's homespun narration brings out the spirit and courage of a boy who shoulders a tremendous load--and becomes a young man in the process.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 30, 2013
    ISBN9781470355425
    Across Five Aprils

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    Reviews for Across Five Aprils

    4/5

    71 ratings22 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This story is told by the youngest son of the family. His other brothers are serving in the Civil War. Although it is a good enough story, it becomes very slow in places and bogged down with minute details of battles and names of places and rivers that it made me lose my train of thought. I skipped large portions of the book.
    • 4/5
      Great story told from the persepective of the youngest child of a farming family in Illinois. Jethro becomes a man while his older brothers go off to fight in the Civil War and their father suffers a heart attack. Stick with it the story and you will become a lover of the story.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. It's a juvenile fiction that was an "assignment" for a bookclub that I am in. At first, I thought I wouldn't like the writing style, since it is written exactly the way that the characters would say it. However, I soon started to find this endearing. I thought the entire subject matter of the civil war and brother against brother was told in a knowledgable, and not too brutal way. If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is a good one to add to your list, no matter what your age!
    • 4/5
      My ds rates this book five stars!
      I loved the way this book was written. The author did a good job in capturing the regional dialect and giving life to each of the characters.
      I felt sorry for the man who's son was a drunken loser and killed a local girl. And I was happy when he helped the brother of this deceased girl.
      Jethro is 9 when news of the shot fired at Fort Sumter reaches him and his family. Some of his brothers and cousins are fired up to join the fight on the Union side. But his book smart brother goes against the grain and joins the Confederate side.
      There's ill will from the ruffians in the county about families that have sons who join the fed side of the war.
      Jethro is 13 by the time the war is coming to an end, with a long road ahead for the family to come together, as well as the country.
    • 1/5
      I didn't like this book at all. It was boring. Everyone that also read it that I know said that they agreed with me. I often found myself having to reread pages at a time because I got lost in my own thoughts. That's how boring it was.
    • 3/5
      Genre: Historical FictionMedia: (cover) water colorReview: This is a good example of historical fiction. It accurately portrays the era of the Civil War. It is a believable story and the characters give the story a realistic quality.
    • 4/5
      I remembered enjoying this book when I read it as a kid, and now I live a county away from where it was set. How cool is that! It's a rich look at life on Southeastern Illinois farm during the Civil War. Young Jethro is forced to grow-up too soon and wrestle with questions adults don't have clear answers for.
    • 3/5
      I was not as thrilled with this book as I was supposed to be, apparently. Don't get me wrong, the storyline was great, as was the representation of how the Civil War affected a normal American family. But the narrative was often interrupted by a page of detail about battle locations and names that was not only disconnected in the writing style, but made it more difficult to follow. I've actually thought about going through the book and marking all of the war commentary so that I can reread the book without it.
    • 4/5
      This was not a book that was easy to continue in Audio form. It's almost too leisurely. But I'm glad I stayed with it. The range and complexity of opinions about war matters is especially well done. Lots to think about here. It would be a good discussion starter about wars in general.
    • 5/5
      "Across Five Aprils" is a coming-of-age story of a young man during the five years of the Civil War. However, it is more than that: it delves into the thoughts of his family and their small southern Illinois community. We see those who are torn by their beliefs of what is 'right' or fair, and those who'd rather vilify and condemn.I've read one other book by the author, Irene Hunt, which I also could not put down: her characters are three dimensional, real, people you have known or know of, and she never writes down to her audience.I highly recommend this book, not just for the story, nor the glimpses of the War Between the States, but for the illumination of people, just like you or me, struggling with the day to day and year to year trials that we all face at one time or another in our lives.
    • 4/5
      A quiet little book tracing the changes brought to an Illinois farm boy and his family throughout the Civil War. Nicely written, with a good mix of narrative and historical summary.
    • 4/5
      A well written historical fiction novel about the Civil War, the issues that divided our nation, the everyday struggles and conflicts the average family faced during the war, and the complications President Lincoln had in terms of winning the war. This is a wonderful young adolescent book that teaches history at the same time. Some young readers may need some help with background information to fully understand the writer's purpose.
    • 3/5
      It does put some things in perspective, but that doesn't mean it's a good book.I neither enjoyed nor hated this book. It's basically just boring. There were a few very interesting parts, but as a whole, it's just boring. Don't hate it, don't love it.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book when I was in middle school. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to pick it up since. It is a classic and I appreciate the way it portrays the American Civil War.
    • 4/5
      Really interesting to reread this. It's a very informative read, and effective pov. It could use with a more modern perspective -- it touches on slavery but does not fully confront it.
    • 4/5
      Been some time since I read this, but I remember that in spite if my reluctance to read yet another book on the Civil War, I became engrossed in the story. Irene Hunt is a masterful storyteller, seamlessly weaving history into story.
    • 5/5
      A perfect little gem of a book, Across Five Aprils captures the spirit of a close-knit family through the years of the American Civil War. This farming family located in southern Illinois dreads the news that war has broken out. With four boys eligible to fight they know this war is going to have a strong effect upon them. Immediately two of the boys, fired up by thoughts of adventure leave and join. The two older brothers decide to stay home long enough to get that year’s crop in. One brother then leaves for the northern army while the other, after wrestling with his conscience, leaves for the south.As told though the eyes of the youngest boy, Jethro, the only remaining son left at home, we follow this family through the terrible ups and downs of this war. Looked upon with suspicion by many in the community for having a son who joined the Confederates, they endure insults and learn to live with fear. Only nine at the start of the book, Jethro learns to take on the tasks of a man, while still retaining much of the innocence and wonder of a child.A classic coming-of-age story set during the Civil War, this is a beautifully written, heart-warming story. Although classed as a YA, I think this book would appeal to anyone with an interest in history, as the author has obviously done a huge amount of research on the Civil War. Based on her own family records, she captures the essence of family life in the 1860’s wonderfully.
    • 5/5
      The narrator is superb, the Southern Illinois accent true to the way the people I know from there speak. The story is compelling.

      My DH walked in right at the end and I was sitting on the couch crying. He asked what the matter was, and I said, "They've killed the President." He knows me fairly well, so he asked which President. I allowed as to how it was Lincoln. He left me in peace for the remainder of the book.

      It's a masterpiece, plain and simple. Told through letters and seen through the eyes of Jethro who is 9 when the war begins, it's got a homespun tone and a piercing insight. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      This story is told by the youngest son of the family. His other brothers are serving in the Civil War. Although it is a good enough story, it becomes very slow in places and bogged down with minute details of battles and names of places and rivers that it made me lose my train of thought. I skipped large portions of the book.
    • 4/5
      This book is far deeper, far more intense, far...more...than I anticipated. Because the stories come from the author's grandfather, this story has an authenticity that makes it stick into your mind and conscious. This book will stay with me for a long time. Highly Recommend.
    • 3/5
      This story is told by the youngest son of the family. His other brothers are serving in the Civil War. Although it is a good enough story, it becomes very slow in places and bogged down with minute details of battles and names of places and rivers that it made me lose my train of thought. I skipped large portions of the book.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book. Rinaldi is one of my favorite authors. She has a simple, but beautiful writing style; one simply becomes a character in the book, not just, a bystander. Across Five Aprils is a moving story that draws the reader in, causing he or she to feel the joys and sorrows of the characters. This will always be one of my favorite books.