The stories of the four teenage children of prominent abolitionists before and during the U.S. 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

George learned from his father, William Lloyd Garrison, that his life was supposed to be dedicated to abolition. Lewis’s father, Frederick Douglass, believed that freedom had to be fought for. Charlotte Forten’s prominent Philadelphia family gave her great expectations about what it meant to be a Forten—to be politically active, socially minded, and proud of being Black. Lucy McKim knew as the daughter of an anti-slavery leader her upbringing was unconventional. Since childhood, they had all been committed to the anti-slavery cause, and yet, as young adults in the years leading up to and during the Civil War, they realized they could not just do as their parents and relatives had done. They needed to make their own names, away from the often over-protective or disapproving shadows of the famous adults in their lives, and push the boundaries of their activism.

Kristina R. Gaddy crafts a surprisingly contemporary braided coming-of-age narrative, supported by meticulous research and featuring dozens of primary documents. This is a true story of how a torch of resistance is passed and how a new generation makes its mark.