Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
oh. my. GOODNESS. as many people have said, i was forced to read this book for class in 6th grade. I could NOT stand it. I remember skimming through it becuase there was nothing that held any interest at ALL!!! this book was just....i cant find words to describe how terribly boring and terrible and boring this book was. I guess if you are a civil war fanatic, you might like it, but if you are not, spare yourself. do not waste precious hours of your life reading this book.
thats all i gotta say...
thats all i gotta say...
The five Aprils in the title refer to the five Aprils over the course of the American Civil War. The main character is Jethro, a young boy whose family lives in Southern Illinois and who grows up observing and listening to the split in his family over the Civil War. Some members side with the Confederacy and others the Union. This book is not a gory wartime story. Rather it's a character study of what war does to the individual and the family. If you're looking for a book to personalize or humanize the tragedies of the Civil War, this novel is worth the read. I finished the book with a new appreciation for what both sides were fighting for.
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
It was good, but very sad.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I enjoyed this book just as much as I did when I first read it aloud to my children a little over 25 years ago. Historical fiction has always been one of my favorite genres and this book is one of the finest examples of that genre. The gut wrenching heartache that occurs again and again throughout the duration of the Civil War is captured so well in this story. It tells of one family in Illinois and how they are almost torn apart by that tragic war. I appreciated that the author based it her own family history and used actual letters to convey the drama involved. The author does use improper English (rural uneducated??) as the family members converse and that does make it a bit hard to understand. So along with that potential difficulty and intense subject matter I'd recommend a reader should be 11 or 12 years old before reading this book.
emotional
sad
I don’t have a lot to say about this book but I’ll say what I do have.
This book made me cry. Especially the ending. It’s just so raw and real. The story of a 9 yr old boy as he grows up over the 4 year span of the civil war. He has a brother on each side of the war, and not only does it make it harder for his family (they’re loyal to the north) but because one of their boys is a Reb, some of the townspeople hate (hate=burning down their barn and more) their family.
And than when everything was starting to look up, the ending happened. And that’s where I cried. It made their pain from that war feel so real to me. Read it.
Highly recommend this book! Short summary of my review that’s already short…
This book made me cry. Read it.
This book made me cry. Especially the ending. It’s just so raw and real. The story of a 9 yr old boy as he grows up over the 4 year span of the civil war. He has a brother on each side of the war, and not only does it make it harder for his family (they’re loyal to the north) but because one of their boys is a Reb, some of the townspeople hate (hate=burning down their barn and more) their family.
And than when everything was starting to look up, the ending happened. And that’s where I cried. It made their pain from that war feel so real to me. Read it.
Highly recommend this book! Short summary of my review that’s already short…
This book made me cry. Read it.
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
My middle schooler found this slow and boring but that's because he wanted more of the front line and battles. I though it great.
This story is about those left back at home during the Civil war. It details the hardships, suspicions, anger, fear, hope, community, love, and endless waiting that people lived with as they continued to farm and work. It's a perspective of the war that is very human.
This story is about those left back at home during the Civil war. It details the hardships, suspicions, anger, fear, hope, community, love, and endless waiting that people lived with as they continued to farm and work. It's a perspective of the war that is very human.