316 p.
IL: Grades 7-9
RL: 5+
Laurie Halse Anderson does it again! Chains is set in Colonial America in 1776. Young Isabel is a slave girl whose master, Miss Finch, has recently died. While mourning her master’s death, Isabel’s attention is really focused on freedom. You see, Finch has told Isabel that her will states that upon her death Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth- who she describes as simple- will be freed. Unfortunately, Finch’s nephew has other ideas and the lawyer who drafted the will has left the area on business.
The girls are sold the the highest bidders- The Lockton’s who are Loyalists. The are taken from Rhode Island to New York where Isabel soon finds that her mistress is a very cruel lady. At the urging of a slave with Patriot ties Isabel soon begins to spy hoping that this will lead to her freedom. She soon finds that the road to freedom doesn’t lie with either the Patriots or the Loyalists and that she must seek it herself if she hopes to save herself and Ruth.
This book is painful to read at times as Anderson does not attempt to shield the reader from the brutalities of slavery. However, this story of hope and perseverance is one worth reading. I’m looking forward to Forge and the other installments in this series.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. (2008). Chains. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.
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