Rating: 
(9 reviews)
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Product Description
If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?
As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight…for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.
From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.
5 Comments
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I scooped up Anderson’s newest novel, Chains, when our school librarian received it as an ARC a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in a book by Anderson, and this one is no exception. Set during the Revolutionary War, we meet Isabel, an 11 year old (I think) slave who has hopes that she and her younger sister Ruth will be set free as promised upon the death of their mistress. Instead, the mistress’s scurrilous nephew not only refuses to free the sisters, he almost immediately sells them to a thoroughly disagreeable woman from New York City. Thus Isabel and her “simple” sister find themselves at the mercy of a mean Loyalist; orphaned and far from home, Isabel plots how to escape while dodging her mistress’s hand and insults. Added to her circumstances is Isabel’s worry over her little sister’s “fits”, and this worry is not unfounded; when the mistress discovers Ruth in a spasm, she becomes convinced that the child is possessed by the devil and sells her away from Isabel.n
Isabel is a strong character for one so young; she knows her own mind, and secretly educated, she is able to realize what is going on around her in the Loyalist household. Isabel must decide if she’s going to use the information she learns to aid the Patriots or the British; uppermost in her mind at all times is what will happen to she and her sister if she is caught. While I was horrified at how Isabel was treated, I was also humbled by her courage and through Anderson’s gift of words, able to see her soul of survival even when Isabel herself was having trouble doing so. n
Anderson has a way of pulling you into the mind of her characters, and whether historical or modern, you can sense the tension and emotions as the plot unfolds. Though I wondered at times whether Isabel would have thought or done some of the things she did, I felt that Anderson did a very credible job of building suspense and recreating the world of the American Revolution. As usual, Anderson has given us another page turner, and I can easily see many teachers of American history looking for this book as a supplement to their classes. Well written and well executed, Chains brings us the daily life of one small girl who makes a huge difference in a time when she shouldn’t have been able to. Recommended!
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For ages 10+ this is an intense account of slavery in pre-Independence times of the USA. Too often we think that slavery only got bad in the 19th century or that it was limited to southern plantations. That is not the truth. Nor is it the truth that every slave owner was evil or every slave an innocent suffering. Laurie Halse Anderson does an excellent job of showing the complexities of slavery in the life of one young slave (her age is never given), her mentally handicapped 5 year old sister, and those they must interact with to survive the challenge of war. If you are not familiar with the true nature of slavery you will find this book disturbing. The question and answer section at the end of the book answers a lot of questions you may have about this period in American history.
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This is not the first book I’ve read depicting the life of slaves or free African Americans during the Revolutionary War. As a fifth grade teacher, I’ve used Phoebe the Spy, Samuel’s Choice, and War Comes to Willy Freemanin my class many times.n
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Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson outshines them all.n
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It’s not hard to put my finger on exactly why that is. Anderson has found the perfect combination of an empathetic heroine, an impassioned theme, engaging writing, and a historically accurate setting. There is never a sense of being “preached at,” which is often the downfall of juvenile fiction - the feeling that the author is hitting you over the head with her message because, being a child, you aren’t smart enough to get it otherwise. On the contrary, Anderson’s plot unfolds with natural and unstoppable force, following the course of history as it steamrolls over one valiant girl named Isabel Finch.n
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Freedom - something we so take for granted now - is always just beyond Isabel’s reach. She and her younger sister should have been freed by the will of their late mistress, but there is no justice for slaves. Our first glimpse of the appalling lack of conscience in this era is revealed by the indifference of an otherwise kindly minister, who knows that Isabel has been freed by the missing will, but will not inconvenience himself to assist her. Sold into slavery to a Tory couple from New York City, Isabel toils with tasks that would exhaust an adult, tries to stay out of trouble, all the while pondering a way to seek the freedom promised to her.n
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Rumors and promises abound. The American rebels grant favors to slaves who spy for them. The British will free slaves who join their army. Everyone has advice for Isabel, but freedom remains elusive, and her heart is broken by a cruel and devastating betrayal. Her daily and personal battles unfold against the illuminated backdrop of a city in the grip of war - the reading of the Declaration of Independence, the downfall of King George’s statue, the Battle of Long Island, the fate of American prisoners in Bridewell prison. Even the mundane details of life in the 18th century become vivid through Isabel’s eyes - from what’s on the menu (cold, sliced tongue and turtle soup) to what’s on a lady’s face (fake eyebrows made from mouse fur.) However, it is Isabel’s story - her spirit and her undying hope that will ultimately make Anderson’s work a classic in this genre.n
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In CHAINS, Laurie Halse Anderson’s narrative sings with such eloquence that readers will instantly know that they are enjoying a true writer’s writer when they turn its pages. So convincing is her circa-1776 historical novel that you’ll wonder how she could be the same author who penned such convincing modern-day teen texts as SPEAK and TWISTED.n
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The title, of course, works on both a literal and a figurative level as 13-year-old black slave, Isabel, and her little sister, Ruth, try to survive a sadistic Tory owner by the name of Mrs. Lockton. Young readers will quickly learn the depths that slavery could take as they watch Madam Lockton perpetrate all manner of cruelties, verbal and physical, on the children. Still, though Isabel’s body be chained, she refuses to let her soul be manacled. This is the story of a human spirit, then, an indomitable one that learns the hard way how to fight back (even when it involves NOT fighting back). Readers will be won over instantly by the powerful characterization of this young girl and will take comfort in the knowledge that a sequel (FORGE) is planned.n
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If the book has one minor weakness, it is in the relative lack of an expansive plot. Rather, this is Isabel’s book, a psychological study wherein we are trapped as she is in the Lockton household in New York and its immediate environs. Nevertheless, most readers (adults and children) will easily be carried by drama of Isabel’s determination and character. Black slaves at the time of the Revolutionary War had as few rights as they did in the time of the Civil War. The book, along with the helpful “Question and Answer” of Anderson at the end, will prove an invaluable education, both academically and morally. Highly recommended for all ages.
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Chains is a wonderful book. I read it in a little over a day. The book is intended for youth but adults will find much to enjoy about the book. The story begins with a 13 year old girl named Isabel and a 5 year old named Ruth near the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The girls are sold to a woman in NYC who is cruel and a loyalist for the British. Ruth knows the British are offering freedom to slaves, but it turns out only “some” slaves, not all. She is treated badly by her mistress and must bear the trials of occupation by the British forces in NYC and try to figure out where her loyalty lies. Does it lie with her sister Ruth? Does it lie with a male slave who fights with the Rebels? Does it lie with the British who may or may not free her someday. Isabel also has concerns that she may not live out her mistress’s cruelties which brings the question of running away into the mix. I couldn’t get enough of the story and thank god there is a sequel.
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