Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
This book is about the civil war, told from the viewpoint of Jethro, a young boy. The passage of time is often hard too follow; as the title implies, it covers five Aprils. Jethro lives on a farm in Egypt(southern Illinois). He is the youngest of twelve children, so we get to hear about the war from the many ways that his brothers, brother-in-law, and future brother-in-law experience it. Jethro's favorite brother Bill joins the confederate army; his other relatives join the union army. His family gets a lot of flak from having a member in the confederate army.
One brother deserts from the union army. Right after a federal official comes asking about the brother, Jethro sees him hiding out. His brother is weak, and needs Jethro to help him. Jethro is confused, so he writes to President Lincoln, who tells him that he has passed a law saying that a deserter can rejoin the army without any penalty, and so Jethro's brother rejoins the army. Jethro's sister Jenny is in love with Shadrach, who has joined the union army. When Shadrach is injured, Jenny joins him and marries him. Another one of Jethro's brother's, Tom, dies. The book ends with the war. This book is geared towards youger readers, although they may have trouble with the dialect used.
