- Follow the adventures of three 12-year-old boys, one a recently emancipated slave, as they seek to restore their friendship during the early Reconstruction days in Marietta, Georgia, and then answer the question of why freedom for the formerly enslaved is so costly. - 

• Historical fiction that resonates deeply with contemporary issues.
• Offers young readers a window into a pivotal time in American History.
• Resources for middle-grade teachers. 

“I’se me…I’se a person…can’t nobody own me…” 12-year-old Albert, a recently emancipated slave, tells his friend, Sam, in this historical-fiction book. Albert, Sam Benedict, and Sam’s school friend, Will Cobb, are caught in the chaos, desperation, and bitterness of white southern Georgia during the Reconstruction period in the South. The three boys face challenging experiences when reestablishing a friendship they had before the war.  While Will and his family face the devastation and bitterness from their losses, Albert and his family find hope when the Freedmen’s Bureau holds a hearing.  Attempts to attend school together and then facing the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan create chaos in all their lives. The story is based on oral histories handed down from the author’s Benedict relatives about their lives in Georgia during and after the Civil War.

This story reminds readers of the struggles Black Americans have faced during the four-hundred years since the slave trade began, how far we’ve come as a nation, and how prejudice and racism still haunt Americans. Since this story captures the good, bad, and ugly during that period of America’s history, the challenge for teachers will be to courageously engage young people in the lives of each of the characters. 

Activities in the Afterword are designed to challenge young people to make a difference in their own lives and encourage them to form Sam clubs to practice treating other kids like they themselves want to be treated.

REVIEWS:

“While the vocabulary and pacing of this book make it age-appropriate reading for youth audiences, the depth of issues it raises about life for both black and white citizens of the South in this period gave it purchase for thoughtful adults as well. The white community is torn by a struggle between a spirit of Christian acceptance of their new black peers, and a venomous racism of long standing on the other. Lines are drawn. For the black community, the footing is treacherous. By law, they are emancipated with full citizenship and voting rights, but the threat of violence against the full exercise of those rights is omnipresent. Albert wishes to learn and grow, but discovers he must be very careful. Sam struggles to help him while hoping to remain loyal to his community. The tensions provoked lead to some dangerous moments and exciting plot twists. I recommend this book to youth and full adults. There is much to learn from the experiences of Sam, Albert, Will, and their diverse Cobb County community at the beginning of Reconstruction. There are even strong resonances of their struggles in our own time today. It would be good to think about how their story is deeply woven into today’s headlines. As William Faulkner has warned us, ‘The past is never dead. It is not even past.’”—Peter Scott

“..a compelling work of historical fiction concerning an unpleasant chapter in our nation’s past, that of Reconstruction in the South. It is also a chapter that is largely ignored in the curriculum for middle school-aged students. Costly Freedom fills that void. The main characters are young Sam, wise and sensitive beyond his years, who has returned to Georgia with his parents and siblings from their forced move to the North, Albert, his close Black friend and former slave, and Will, a bitter young man who vents his anger on all who are near, but particularly on the dark-skinned.  These three and their families are thrown into the maelstrom of Reconstruction – the stymied attempts of well-meaning adults to reintroduce schools and to introduce integrated education, the starvation of both races after fields were laid to waste, the widespread fear resulting from the KKK, and the rampant violence of its hooded criminals - “costly freedom” indeed. Terry Webb artfully develops these characters and weaves their stories into an absorbing plot, one that will decidedly hold the attention of young readers. Additionally, Webb ends her short work with a very informative “Chronological History of Slavery and Racism in America”, along with a number of searching questions, designed to stimulate dialogue in the classroom. I highly recommend “Costly Freedom” for inclusion in the middle school curriculum.“—Ann Ratcliffe, English teacher

Author: Terry Webb
Page Count: 120
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Publish Date: February 23, 2026
Imprint: Loch Ness Books
Genre: Historical Fiction

FICTION / Historical / Civil War Era
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Prejudice & Racism
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Historical / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)
FICTION / Small Town & Rural