Across Five Aprils unfolds on the Creighton family's farm in rural southern Illinois during the American Civil War. Jethro, the youngest Creighton, is just shy of ten years old when the narrative begins. As the war breaks out and his older brothers enlist as soldiers, Jethro takes on the farm's responsibilities. After his father suffers a debilitating heart attack, Jethro must handle nearly all the heavy labor. Although the war does not directly impact this tranquil region, the Creightons' barn is torched because one of their sons fights for the Confederacy. Union Army deserters hiding near the farm compel Jethro to confront a significant moral dilemma.

The novel's events progress with the changing seasons as a backdrop. The arrival of spring each April is especially significant to the motif of changing seasons. Hunt evokes Walt Whitman's renowned poem about Abraham Lincoln's death in April 1865, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," writing, "A south breeze brought the scent of lilacs and sweet fennel to his nostrils and set all the frosty-green leaves of a silver poplar tree trembling."

The Creighton farm is depicted with realistic detail and affection, modeled after the farm where Hunt spent her early years. The nearby town of Newton is also portrayed with authenticity. While not critical to the storyline, descriptions of the Newton restaurant and other local businesses add richness and interest to the tale.

Across Five Aprils is a masterfully crafted work of fiction. The story tracks the progression of the Civil War, starting in April 1861 with the attack on Fort Sumter and extending to the "saddest and most cruel April of the five," marked by Lincoln's assassination in 1865. Set on the Creighton farm and its nearby surroundings in southern Illinois, the narrative primarily focuses on Jethro's moral and emotional growth, with the distant battles depicted through letters from absent characters.

Although the narrative is in the third person, Hunt employs a limited omniscient perspective, revealing all events through Jethro's viewpoint. This technique showcases the subtle changes in Jethro's character as he matures from a child into a reflective young man.

Hunt's exceptional use of language and symbolism deserves recognition. The author incorporates some of Whitman's symbols from "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and introduces new ones, using seasonal changes as indicators of her characters' emotions. A notable passage appears at the novel's conclusion:

Daily the color of April grew brighter. The apple and peach orchards were in bloom again, and the redbud was almost ready to burst. The little leaves on the silver poplars quivered in green and silver lights with every passing breeze, and Jenny's favorite lilacs bloomed in great thick clusters, deep purple and as fragrant as any beautiful thing on earth.

Then suddenly, because there were no longer any eyes to perceive it, the color was gone, and the fifth April had become, like her four older sisters, a time of grief and desolation.

This fifth April marks both Lincoln's assassination and Tom Creighton's death at the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing. Hunt underscores the contrast between the season's beauty and the atrocity of the events. As Dan Lawrence, the bearer of the bad news about Tom, recounts, "I never seed a part of the country that looked purtier, with the peach tree in bloom and the air so soft and lazy....You wouldn't ha believed...that trouble was a-brewing fer all of us."

Across Five Aprils exhibits features of an epistolary novel—a novel composed entirely of letters. Much of the narrative unfolds through letters written by characters other than Jethro. This approach enables readers to re-evaluate the letter writers, who are initially introduced through Jethro's perspective. Through these letters, readers, like Jethro, receive personal accounts of the war's progress while maintaining a certain distance from the events. Consequently, Jenny's experiences in Washington, as depicted in her letters home, lack the immediacy of Jethro's narrow escape from harm when attacked or his encounter with Eb in the woods.

Hunt delves into numerous social issues pertinent to the American Civil War, tackling them with sensitivity and impartiality. At the novel's outset, young Jethro and his brothers eagerly anticipate the war, envisioning "loud brass music and shining horses, men riding like kings." While they are aware that men will die, they picture the fallen as "shadowy men from distant parts who would die for the pages of future history books." They soon come to understand that war offers no glory, a theme Hunt emphasizes throughout the narrative. The reality of war hits home when Tom perishes in battle.

. . . . Jethro had experienced all the heartaches of a family, a state, a nation, in the agony of a war . . .

The family also learns that war can bring out the worst in people. When Bill joins the Confederate Army, neighboring Union supporters attempt to harm Jethro by spooking his horses as he rides to town. The Creightons refuse to condemn Bill for following his conscience, despite disagreeing with his stance on the war. Later, ruffians arrive at the Creighton farmhouse to deliver a bundle of switches with a note: "There's trubel for fokes that stands up fer their reb lovin' sons." This "trubel" culminates in the burning of the Creighton barn, a particularly cruel act given Matthew Creighton's poor health.

Hunt presents the legitimate grievances of both the North and the South in a balanced way. Wilse Graham, a relative from Kentucky visiting the Creightons, highlights that slavery is not the war's sole issue. High tariffs prevent the South from achieving the same prosperity enjoyed by the North. Wilse's defense of slavery, based on its historical existence, is weak, and insightful readers will easily see through it. Although Northerners hold the morally correct position on slavery, Wilse points out the hypocritical attitudes of many of them. He asks how Northerners would react if all Southern slaves were suddenly freed and moved North: "Would they say 'we'll see that you get good-payin' work...that you're well housed and clothed...we want you to come to our churches and yore children...to our schools'?"

The theme of taking responsibility for one's moral choices is explored in depth. Jethro faces a moral quandary when he discovers that his cousin Eb has deserted. He encounters Eb in the woods shortly after federal registrars, searching for Eb, have bullied and threatened the Creighton family. While Jethro understands his patriotic duty, he also shows a rare empathy for the forces that led Eb to desert. Feeling the need to confide in someone but unsure whom to trust, Jethro decides to write to President Lincoln, who, like Jethro, has plowed the fields of Illinois. Lincoln's reply stands out as one of the book's most significant moments.

Above all, Across Five Aprils highlights the senselessness of war. The Civil War resolves nothing that couldn't have been addressed through peaceful methods. It pits brother against brother and draws out the darkest aspects of human nature. Even the onset of peace provides little optimism. Ross Milton depicts the physical and spiritual devastation, noting that the nation must still grapple with "the hate that burns in old scars, and the thirst for revenge that has distorted men."

Carlson, G. Robert. Books and the Teen-Age Reader. New York: Harper and Row, 1971. Offers valuable guidance for teachers and parents, with a brief mention of Across Five Aprils and other novels by Hunt.

Churchill, Winston. The Crisis. 1901. Reprint. New York: Macmillan, 1929. A romantic and action-packed novel about the Civil War by an American author who was a bestseller in his era. Although intended for adults, it is also appropriate for mature young readers.

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. 1895. Reprint. New York: Bantam, 1986. A classic novel suitable for mature young readers, detailing a young Union soldier's internal battle with fear during combat.

Larrick, Nancy. A Parent's Guide to Children's Reading. 4th ed. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975. Initially published by the National Book Committee, this comprehensive guide briefly mentions Across Five Aprils and includes an annotated list of Civil War stories categorized by age suitability.

"Review." Best Sellers (June 15, 1964): 129. Highlights the adept character development in Across Five Aprils.

Sheehan, Ethna. "Review." America (June 20, 1964): 850. Primarily provides a synopsis of the novel with some positive commentary.