Across Five Aprils

Research real-life families whose members fought on opposing sides during the Civil War. How do their situations parallel the Creightons’ experiences? Did any of those families experience reconciliation? Why or why not?

In Chapter 4, Shad calls Matthew tyrannical for not allowing him to marry Jenny, and his arguments sound similar to the South’s arguments about the North. How is this moment thematic in the larger context of the story?

How are women portrayed in the novel, and how do the family’s gender dynamics reflect the values of the time?

How does the Burdow family’s relationship with the rest of the community reflect the conflict between the South and North?

Historical fiction is often relevant to the time in which the author is writing. How do the themes of Across Five Aprils relate to the 1960s, when Hunt was writing the book?

Do Bill’s arguments leading to his decision to join the Confederacy have any merit to them? In what ways might the North have been seen as unethical despite its opposition to slavery?

How are some of the political conflicts in this novel still present in modern-day America? Choose two arguments that characters have about the North and South and discuss how those arguments have evolved or been resolved in the present day.

Compare and contrast Across Five Aprils to another YA novel about the American Civil War, such as The River Between Us (2003) or Come Juneteenth (2007). In what ways are the novels similar and/or different? Consider themes, setting, characters, and point of view.