Across Five Aprils

This Newbery Honor book written by Irene Hunt is a historical fiction novel written during the time of the Civil War. It is excellent. I would recommend this book for ages 9 and older (having said that, I'm not sure I would have a 9 or 10 year old read it on their own, it might be a good read-together book just so that things could be discussed). Although any book about war is going to have some dark details, I think this book does a great job of dealing with the heavy issues surrounding the war and yet does not go into the gory details of battles. This is written from the point of view of a boy who is 9 years old at the beginning of the war and follows the hardships and growth that he experiences as he comes of age during this difficult time. It is set in Southern Illinois which setting promotes views from both the South and the North to be explored. I enjoyed how real the characters in the book were to me as I read it. I could feel the pain and the confusion of Jethro as he struggled with the issues at home while his brothers were off fighting. The historical details also seemed to be rather accurate and the author writes in the back of the book that most of the family events are true stories that were related to her by her grandfather. One of the things that really stands out for me is the sense of how far away from the rest of the world people were during the 1860's. With today's technology, we really do take for granted how difficult it was for families back then when it was months before they might hear news of their family members who were off in the war. Ultimately, I appreciate the authors reverance for an event that has affected Americans so deeply and took the lives of so many who fought for what they believed was right, in a time when it was difficult to tell which side was right or which was wrong.