ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
BIOGRAPHIES
Gaddy, Kristina R.

A Most Perilous World: The True Story of the Young Abolitionists and Their Crusade Against Slavery

352 pp. | Dutton | June, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780593855522 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593855539 $11.99
(2) YA 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.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

RELATED 

BIOGRAPHIES

Saving American Beach
by King, Heidi Tyline
BIOGRAPHIES

Violet and Daisy
by Miller, Sarah
BIOGRAPHIES

Notes from a Young Black Chef
by , Onwuachi, Kwame & Stein, Joshua David
BIOGRAPHIES

Dr. Fauci
by Messner, Kate
BIOGRAPHIES

Indelible Ann
by Browne, Meghan P.
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?