I chose to read this book because I am always on the lookout for good historical fiction. I liked the way it brought the opening scene of the Civil War to life. I also liked the glimpse of everyday life in the South at that time. However, there were a number of things that jarred me out of the story and did not seem authentic to the time. Also, there was a lot of language that we don’t use in our house, especially “daggum.” So, sadly, I won’t be giving this book to my children to read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

This was an exciting book. It gave my son the Confederate perspective of the Civil War. It showed what some of the slaves may have been thinking, with one of the main characters as a slave. He wanted the south to win because he liked the south. However, he always wanted the north to win because that would bring about the end of slavery.
To be noted: There is a scene where someone is naked from the waist down living in a ghetto.
My son would recommend this to 12 and up.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving us the chance to preview this book.

Charleston, South Carolina was an exciting place in April 1861. It was a bustling port city and melting pot of many cultures and walks of life, and many different political views. But that’s all grown-up stuff. What matters to 11-year-old Samson Collier and his three friends is that the Confederates have fired on Fort Sumter out in the harbor, so school is cancelled until further notice!

The “Fearless Four,” as the friends call themselves, find out that a spy got word to the garrison of the planned bombardment. The friends decide to try to unmask the spy. Their quest takes them all over the city, into a shanty town favored by local outlaws, and even to Ft. Sumter itself. Samson also has to protect a beautiful horse from being requisitioned by the cavalry. There is just enough danger and suspense to keep a middle-grade reader turning pages. The Fearless Four friends represent a cross-section of antebellum Charleston (male, female, black, white) so they are each able to bring their different perspectives and spying talents to the team.

As a historical period, the American Civil War is so full of danger, gallantry, tragedy, big personalities and remarkable contradictions that it is ripe for more adventure fiction like this. The author took pains to handle the injustice of slavery in an honest but sensitive manner that was appropriate for a middle-grade reader. The presence of a free black friend in the Fearless Four gives a vista on the experiences and insights of black Charlestonians of the era. All in all, this was a fun read. A minor quibble was that the narration goes in and out of a Huck Finn-type country dialect, but this inconsistency did not detract from the overall effect. I hope to see these characters in further adventures! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book.

I thought the book was very well written and I found it engaging enough to continue. However ultimately it just wasn’t for me. I think there is a readership for this story, though, and I hope that it’s successful enough to see a second installment.

Samson and his three best friends live in Charleston when the first shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter. Too young to really understand what slavery and the coming war are all about, the Fearless Four try to do what they can to help out their community.

Samson, and his friends, one of whom is the son of a freedman and another a daughter of a prominent family, uncover a plot to betray the south to the northern army.

The Fearless Four are all so sincere that you can't help but root for them and enjoy their rather lighthearted (for war time) adventures around the Lowcountry. Even though this book is for a much younger audience, I enjoyed the fresh, rather innocent take on the start of the civil war and life in the antebellum south.