Across Five Aprils is a Civil War novel, but the focus is not so much on the war. It is on the family relationships of the Creighton family. The war is seen through this family. The first family relationship that changes is Jethro's with the rest of his family. Jethro Creighton in the beginning of the book is a nine years old. He lives on a farm in. Illinois with his mom, dad, sister, and four older brothers. All of his brothers are all close to their 20s. On April, 1861 war is about to happen between two parts of the country, the North and the South. President Abraham Lincoln doesn't know which side to support and doesn't want to start this war. People are getting angry at him and tensions between the two sides are boiling.
