A most perilous world : the true story of the young abolitionists and their crusade against slavery / Kristina R. Gaddy.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The stories of the four teenage children of prominent abolitionists before and during the Civil War combine to form a surprisingly familiar tapestry of struggle, disappointment, and ultimately hope.

"Impeccable research and incredible details bring the stories of these four young people to life as they come of age in the years leading up to and during the Civil War."--Kip Wilson, award-winning author of White Rose

Flowers in the Gutter author Kristina R. Gaddy tells the story of America's tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War and of the war itself from the viewpoints of four children of famous abolitionists, including those of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Gaddy crafts a surprisingly contemporary coming-of-age narrative, supported by meticulous research and featuring dozens of primary documents. Each of these four young people--two white, two Black--was strongly committed to the anti-slavery cause but felt just as keenly a need to make their own names, away from the often over-protective or disapproving shadows of the famous adults in their lives. This is a true story of how a torch of resistance is passed and how a new generation makes its mark.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (1)
• Prologue: Lucy McKim (5)
• Part 1 1854-1856 // Freedom and Bondage (9)
• Part 2 1857-1859 // An Unknown Darkness (57)
• Part 3 1859-1861 // Glimmers of Light (101)
• Part 4 1861-1862 // The Rockets' Red Flare (143)
• Part 5 1863-1865 // Sad Songs Made Happy (195)
• Part 6 After (283)
• Acknowledgments (313)
• Bibliography (315)
• Notes (320)
• Photo Credits (333)
• Index (334)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Gaddy (Well of Spoons, for adults) views the fight against slavery in the U.S. during the Civil War era from the perspectives of four mid- to late-19th-century teens determined to build upon their abolitionist parents' work. Lewis Douglass, son of activist Frederick Douglass, worked for his father's newspaper in Rochester before enlisting in the 1st Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers, the first Black military regiment in the U.S. In Boston, George Garrison, son of the Liberator newspaper editor William Lloyd Garrison, resisted following his father's career, traveling West to help bolster anti-slavery efforts: "George wanted to learn by doing, not by reading books." Charlotte Forten, whose family founded the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, left Pennsylvania to teach Black children in the South. And advocate Miller McKim's daughter Lucy eagerly dedicated herself to anti-slavery activism while opposing her family's expectation that she also become a wife and mother. Initial chapters detail the figures' childhoods, imagined in somewhat plodding prose. Still, immersive newspaper clippings, excerpts from historical documents, and subjects' diary pages--particularly Forten's, which extensively detail her teaching experiences--recount the figures' lives from 1854 to 1872, making for an absorbing portrait of young adults trying to do good in a divided nation. Ages 14--up. (June)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up--Gaddy follows the friendships, romances, ambitions, and insecurities of four teenage children of famous abolitionists who grew up steeped in their families' fervent values and lifestyles, becoming staunch abolitionists themselves. Gaddy's documentary-style use of newspaper clippings, personal letters, and alternating third-person narration relates the lives of George Garrison (son of William Lloyd Garrison), Lewis Douglass (son of Frederick Douglass), Lucy McKim (daughter of Miller McKim), and Charlotte Forten (granddaughter of James Forten) from the early 1850s through the Civil War. The story of each is unique, but the abolitionist circle was small, so their lives intertwine. Both Lewis and George were not content to help run their fathers' newspapers, bristled under their family's wishes, and went off to fight for the Union during the war. Charlotte was a dedicated educator of African Americans, had poor health, and married into the prominent Grimke family. Lucy studied and taught music, published the first collection of songs by the enslaved, and married Wendall Garrison, George's brother. Gaddy's meticulous research is well documented with an extensive bibliography and detailed source notes (index not seen). Hand this to history buffs, historical fiction fans, and teens who enjoy coming-of-age stories. This is also a good choice for reluctant readers assigned to read a book with primary sources. Readers will feel like they are visiting old friends as the pages fly by in this captivating narrative nonfiction that pulls at the heartstrings. VERDICT An intriguing offering that shines a light into a lesser-known aspect of the American abolitionist movement. Highly recommended.--Karen T. Bilton

Booklist Review

While Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and other notable abolitionists made it their mission to free enslaved Black Americans, what were their teenage children, raised in these very specific households, doing? Gaddy explores the lives of four young abolitionists, two Black (Lewis Douglass and Charlotte Forten) and two white (George Garrison and Lucy McKim), before and during the Civil War. Within chronologically arranged sections, short, intertwined chapters--fueled by extensive research, quotes from journals, letters, and other primary sources--alternate perspectives among the four young adults. Through their experiences, readers learn more nuanced history, such as how the Kansas--Nebraska Act led to violence and further divided the North and the South, Abraham Lincoln's delayed abolition of slavery, and racial discrimination of Black soldiers within the Union army. Equally enlightening are the ways these young people received information at the time and interpreted the Constitution, as well as how their views aligned with or differed from their influential parents. At the heart of this narrative nonfiction are also the accounts of typical young adults who aspired to forge their own paths, find romance, realize their dreams, and change the world. Numerous interspersed primary source documents provide greater context to their stories. Gaddy's thought-provoking take on what abolition means today concludes this distinct, well-researched view of American history.

Horn Book Review

Gaddy introduces readers to four young family members of prominent abolitionists and the contributions they made in their own right. Lewis Douglass, son of Frederick Douglass, often helped those escaping enslavement (along with his siblings). George Garrison, son of William Lloyd Garrison, helped his father with his newspaper, the Liberator. Charlotte Forten was the granddaughter of a free Black man who gave Garrison (who was white) money to begin the Liberator and was the niece of Harriet and Margaretta Forten, who started the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. Lucy McKim, daughter of Miller McKim, white president of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, taught newly freed Black children in South Carolina (as did Charlotte) and later compiled the book Slave Songs of the United States. Lewis and George both fought with the Black regiments formed in Massachusetts. With focus alternating among the four, and occasionally overlapping, the book begins in 1854 and carries readers through the Civil War and its aftermath. Letters, newspaper articles, and journal entries add depth to this extensively researched narrative. The engaging and illuminating text, with some interspersed period artifacts and illustrations, sheds new light on the fight to end slavery in the United States, with an emphasis on the role of young people, which will likely be of special interest to its intended audience. Nicholl Denice MontgomeryJuly/August 2025 p.113 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Traces the impact on four young people of their well-known abolitionist families. Abolitionists were outspoken and unrelenting in their efforts, and their kids were deeply affected by growing up "in high-achieving families with expectations of dedicating their own lives to the unpopular and often dangerous anti-slavery cause." Gaddy explores the response of four teens to their families' work. Lucy McKim, daughter of Miller McKim, the white president of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, observed the arrival of the formerly enslaved people her father assisted on their journeys to freedom. Lewis Douglass, son of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, had similar experiences, which were complicated by his father's own escape from bondage. George Garrison, son of William Lloyd Garrison, the passionate white founder of the newspaper theLiberator, shared his father's goals but disagreed about the best methods of achieving them. In Philadelphia, Charlotte Forten came from a long line of free Black Americans who supported their community and antislavery causes, but she attended school in Massachusetts due to segregation laws at home. Each teen sought and found their own way to carry on the legacy that formed them. This fascinating, well-researched work looks at young people who were not only coming of age in tumultuous times but whose communities were important forces shaping these events. The rich use of primary sources provides a compelling immediacy that will draw readers in. Engaging and original narrative nonfiction offering insights into how historical lives resonate today. (bibliography, notes, index)(Nonfiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.