Reviews

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

debbielew's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

rachaelb27's review against another edition

4.0

I had to read this for school, so I immediately assumed that it wouldn't be a good book and I'd have to suffer through the quarter we would spend reading it. I was wrong:) although I had to take notes on it and do projects, I enjoyed this book, and I actually think that the projects helped me enjoy it even more. This was a good book-I liked the characters and the descriptions if everything were very good. Bottom line is- although I had to read it for school, I liked it.

steviebells's review

4.0

i can really see why this book is loved by a lot of people. i think the things you can learn about the civil war and america at that time is really important. i also thought it was very wholesome with some of the family dynamics, like with jethro and jenny. if you didn’t like this book the first time around, i’d say read it in a few years again and you can really understand the significance and meaning of the story. it goes way beyond just a story plot or writing or characters. it’s a learning experience. but of course i know a lot of people don’t like older/classic-ish books, which is fine and they might not like this book :)

nairam1173's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

No disrespect to Irene Hunt or her grandfather, but this book seems to be trying to be three things: a novel, a family history, and a comprehensive list of Civil War battles and generals. It's succeeding at none of these. The second thing is what I was most interested in, the third what it felt the book was full of, and the attempts at the first are tedious at best.

The fictionalization and outside-in view of the characters feels remote and mostly disconnected. Moments of high emotion were cut off to go back to telling me about the general shape of the war at large. Elements of some characters were developed only to never be returned to, again, in favor of the need to explain the Larger Story.

It's disappointing because there are a lot of interesting elements in play, but they never get the time to actually DO anything, and characters don't get the chance to be fully realized. 

This book could introduce some of the tension of the Civil War in the context of a particular family to a young audience, but I don't think it works well as a story, which will make it a tough sell for anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism and War

kcsu's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful story portraying the complexities that war brings, especially for the young who grow up in its midst. I’ve wanted to read this book for years, and I’m so glad I finally have. I think for one to really appreciate it, you need a basic understanding of the battles and major figures of the Civil War; without that knowledge it may be more of a drudge to read as other readers have mentioned. For me, it was perfect and will be a book I recommend to others who are interested in the topic. This would be an excellent narrative for teachers to read aloud with their students in conjunction with an in-depth study of the Civil War.

storiesandsours's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

e_ramirez_ortega's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

3.0

I think the dialect gets distracting for far too long.

azajacks's review against another edition

4.0

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jljaina's review against another edition

4.0

This is one of the best novels I have read for the time period. I liked how it is told from young Jethro's perspective. So you get an innocent view of a 9 year old boy, on the verge of manhood of the times. It is also more family-centric. More on how it affects him, his sister, brothers, cousin, etc. There is tragedy, loss family divides as each must decide whom they support. We get a lot of the facts of the war as well but it is more on how it might have felt for the families waiting back home. Very impacting read! I really liked him and Jenny. I wish I could have gotten a better feel of some of his brothers though.

librarybrods's review against another edition

4.0

I will be completely honest and say that I expected very little from this book. It's old. It's beat up (in fact I read it in part to see if it was maybe too old for my kids so I would have an excuse to take it off my library shelves). It doesn't look entertaining. I was interested in the time period the book is set in (Civil War) because of the book The Lincolns (by Candace Fleming - which was fascinating). This book was great. I loved knowing lots of the battles and general's names from The Lincolns. I loved the historical fiction part, following one family through the hard times that war brought on. I will say that this is a perfect example of don't judge a book by its cover (or because it was written before you were born). A great historical fiction read - with solid Civil War setting.