Reader Reviews Write your own review. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous international, national, and state awards. She has been nominated three times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Link to Laurie Halse Anderson's Website. A daring first novel—both buoyant comedy and devastating satire by the author of Say You're One of Them. Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes! Your guide to exceptional books. BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info and giveaways by email. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Young Adult. Write a Review. About this book Summary. While Isabel is expected to mirror the loyalties of her new enslavers, a new friend named Curzon convinces her to spy for the Patriots, hoping that by giving their aid it will grant them their freedom. Isabel is able to gain valuable intel from her Loyalist enslavers and smuggle it to the Patriots, including information about a plot to assassinate General George Washington!
After Madam Lockton cruelly sells Ruth, Isabel seeks aid from Colonel Regan hoping he will reward her for her valuable service, but he refuses to help her and sends Isabel back to the Locktons. Isabel faces grave consequences for her actions. General George Washington faced his first major defeat as he was forced to retreat.
Many prisoners were taken captive, including Curzon. Isabel continues to aid the Patriots and secretly brings food to the prisoners and Curzon. When Madam Lockton discovers this, she punishes Isabel so gravely that Isabel knows it is time to muster the courage to escape. Against all odds, Isabel steals a pass, breaks Curzon out of prison, and rows them both across the Hudson to New Jersey.
While Isabel has escaped her enslavers, she has not found freedom just yet. Video Laurie talks about her inspiration. Colonial Tea Recipes and Tips. Inspiration for Chains. Activities and Projects. Besides the narrative, I enjoyed all the rich details presented of the markets and the people, the atmospheric portrait of a divided city, the meeting place at the well where slaves and servants stood in line for water and fellowship, the parades, the Continental and British Armies, the boarding houses, the Hessians, the foods and smells, as well as the hardships, the Tories, the secrets, the prison…..
Nothing feels out of place and you are right there in the streets of NY in the hustle and bustle. This one will definitely stay with me.
I read this as a read-aloud and will have fond memories of it. My audience of 13 year olds was captivated too with this living history read. Listed are my status updates while reading, as you can see, I really enjoyed it.
A provocative and inspiring read I can tell already! It has Tories, loyalists and spies Wonderfully written! Isabel is such a strong and brave girl.
Such a great story. Tories, spies, secret plots Perfect mixture of history and fiction. Experience life at the time of the Declaration of Independence through this rich novel with some beautiful characters. I think it a must read.
No boring textbook here to transport you into this time period. This book has sat on my shelf for literally a decade. I've never had the urge to pick it up but always had this nagging feeling that I should read it someday.
Now I'm reading it and I'm just Am I a terrible person? I couldn't get through Speak either and Wintergirls was a two-star read for me. Oh well. I'm glad it's finally off my to-read shelf. View all 3 comments. Nov 19, Jeanette Ms. Feisty rated it it was amazing Recommended to Jeanette Ms. Feisty by: Kristine B. Shelves: historical-fiction , america , young-adult-books , five-star-fiction , all-fiction.
Just a thoroughly enjoyable read. Young adults are the target audience, but the only way you can tell is that there is perhaps a narrower focus than you might find in an adult book. Thirteen-year-old Isabel tells her story from her limited situation, but brings in important events taking place in the larger arena at the start of our Revolutionary War.
This is a very well-told, well-researched story that just flows so nicely. There's a lot of skillful descriptive writing that made me put down the Just a thoroughly enjoyable read.
There's a lot of skillful descriptive writing that made me put down the book and get a picture of the scene in my mind. And hey, I even learned some more things I didn't know about the American Revolution. I really appreciated the fact that the author didn't go for the cheap emotional hook. You can feel the sadness and loss and betrayal, but she doesn't overdo it. Isabel is a strong, intelligent, resourceful girl who doesn't let the despair keep her down. Dec 20, Jamie rated it liked it Shelves: , historical.
Caveat: I don't like historical fiction, generally. Have I said that before? Anyway this book is a perfect example of why. I felt like the story was structured around the research, rather than rising organically from something. I felt like there were cool historical facts she wanted to impart, and she structured the story around the facts.
The chapter headings, which are primary source quotes from history, only exaggerated this fact. And even with short chapters, which I usually love, it took me Caveat: I don't like historical fiction, generally. And even with short chapters, which I usually love, it took me ages to read this. It just felt too much like something a teacher would assign as a curricular tie, rather than a story in and of itself. View 2 comments. Jan 06, Kaye rated it really liked it Shelves: youngadult.
When their former owner dies, two girls should be free. The heir, however, decides to sell them to a cruel Loyalist couple in New York. There, Isobel the older and responsible sister struggles to protect her younger epileptic sister.
This book does a good job of explaining the confusion surrounding slavery during the American Revolution, and ties historical events to a character that we grow to care about. Dec 15, Linda Hart rated it it was amazing.
It is and the Colonies are fighting for freedom from England. In New York a 13 year old girl, Isabel, is looking forward to her own freedom from slavery.
She has witnessed her loved elderly owner sign a release from slavery for herself and her younger sister Ruth upon the lady's death. Buy when her owner dies, a distant nephew and the lady's only heir states the promised release from slavery does not exist, and claims the girls as his property. Isabel and her sister are sold at auction whe It is and the Colonies are fighting for freedom from England. Isabel and her sister are sold at auction when she meets Curzon, an older boy with ties to the Patriots.
He tries to convince her to spy upon her new Loyalist owners. But she is unsympathetic and declares she will aid either Patriot or Loyalist as long as they can help her to break through her own chains. Isabel becomes spy for the Patriots after they promised her freedom. She becomes disenchanted with them when it becomes clear they only want freedom for white people. When she learns the Royalists offer freedom to slaves who escape and join the army she switches sides to help them.
Her friend Curzon is captured and cruelly treated in a Royalist Prison and she is reluctantly drawn back into the Patriot cause against the Crown, carrying messages from prison to captured officers and back. The historical context isn't simplified, the Patriot cause isn't glorified, and the characters on both sides are flawed, complex, and rich.
A masterful use of period turns of phrase and vocabulary along with a touch of dialect give Isabel a narrative voice that conveys a convincing picture of her times.
Each chapter begins with a quote from a primary source of that time period, which could spark discussion around blending multiple texts, author's craft moves, and integrating non-fiction sources. Extremely well-written with wonderful metaphors and similes, impeccably researched, exciting, and heart-clenching, this is a fabulous read and a definite contender for the Newbery Award.
Nov 12, Donalyn rated it it was amazing Shelves: ya-historical-fiction. During the Revolutionary War, while Patriots fought for freedom from British tyranny, the enslavement of African captives continued on both sides. Laurie Halse Anderson provides another perspective on the war, told through the experiences of Isabel, a black slave in a Tory household, who is used as a pawn to spy for the rebels, who promise to help her gain her freedom. I thought this book provided a new lens for looking at the Revolutionary War and slavery and I look forward to passing this boo During the Revolutionary War, while Patriots fought for freedom from British tyranny, the enslavement of African captives continued on both sides.
I thought this book provided a new lens for looking at the Revolutionary War and slavery and I look forward to passing this book to my sixth grade students. This book is similar in to Anderson's other great historical fiction book, Fever Once I got into this story it was very compelling.
Her owners are Tories, and Isabel's own allegiances are tied to whoever will give her freedom. There were a lot of action and events that kept me captivated. The audiobook narration was top notch. Chains is the first in the Seeds of America trilogy.
Written for younger readers, it brings this period in history to lif Once I got into this story it was very compelling. Written for younger readers, it brings this period in history to life through via a character who is exceedingly brave and resourceful Jul 21, Sarah rated it it was amazing Shelves: let-s-talk-about-war , historical-fiction , as-it-began , let-s-hear-it-for-the-girl , let-s-talk-about-race , empire-state-of-mind. Old Mary Finch just died, and in her will she freed her two slaves.
The Locktons finds the thirteen colonies in the throes of revolution, but in this rural part of Rhode Island, the war has had little effect. What side should she take in a war where neither side wants to set her free? Setting Anderson brings the colonies to life in all their wide-ranging grossness—the captured soldiers in the dungeons, living and dead unsorted, are chained in their filth and prone to the worst diseases, while upper-class ladies glue mouse fur to their eyebrows and drunken Hessians blow their noses on tablecloths.
On the plus side, a lot of their food sounds wholesome and yummy. She also evokes well the smallness of the city then. When Isabel has a day off, she plans to walk across the entire town, and guesses it will only take the better part of the afternoon. Believe it or not, kids, there was a time, long ago, when you could actually see the stars in New York!
The book is permeated with dread—the micro-struggle of Isabel, switching sides in the hopes of getting herself and her sister free, mirrors the macro-struggle of New York as it gets tossed like a football between the British and Continental Armies. Plot Isabel quickly makes the acquaintance of Curzon, slave to a Patriot who lives near the Locktons. So sincerely that he convinces Isabel to spy on the Locktons and their Loyalist compadres.
Isabel discovers several juicy bits of information, including a plot to assassinate General Washington. But she soon learns that the average Patriot only cares about liberty for white Americans. The British, meanwhile, promise to emancipate every runaway slave who helps them—provided the slave ran away from a Patriot household.
The Patriots whom she risked everything to help do nothing for her now. She catches a terrible fever in jail, which goes untreated until she is taken to the house of Lady Seymour, Mr. Lady Seymour is a kind and gentle woman, but so very traditional that it never occurs to her to help Isabel escape instead of returning her to her sadistic owners.
Officers are lodged comfortably enough, but common soldiers including Curzon are held in the bowels of the city jail, where they stay in the foulest conditions, dying of disease, malnutrition, and cold.
Isabel starts visiting the jail to help Curzon, but soon finds herself delivering messages between the miserable prisoners and their captain, lodged in a much nicer prison. Back at the Lockton house, Mr. Lockton flees the city in fear of a Patriot surge, leaving his wife behind to waste money on ball gowns and heap more cruelties on Isabel.
At the tender age of thirteen, she is a rock of strength. She has fine-honed problem-solving skills and sass to spare, and is unintimidated by any physical obstacle. Yet she is also firmly grounded in her time period. She believes firmly both in Jesus and in the African ancestors.
Forge coming soon. He starts out as a note of brevity view spoiler [, and then his luck changes. His suffering in the city jail is heartrending. Everyone around this woman falls victim to her spleen.
Her husband deserves it, but the other poor souls do not. Sweet Lady Seymour is exemplary of a lot of white people at this time. She gives Isabel a place to recover from her horrifying ordeal, honors her debt to Isabel when the latter saves her from a house fire, and provides her with new clothes and shoes free of charge.
She even wants to buy Isabel from her nephew. Content Advisory for Parents, Teachers, Librarians, and Sensitive Kids Violence: Isabel is often hit or punched by Madam Lockton view spoiler [, who also instigates the horrifying branding at the crux of the novel and locks her in a potato crate. Sex: Nothing. Language : A number of epithets from the time period are used, most of which have fallen out of usage.
Only one is recognizable—a different spelling of the N word. Drugs and Booze : Madam often gets drunk, which sometimes makes her violent and sometimes makes her sleepy. Isabel once has to wait on some rowdy, plastered Hessians whose antics include blowing their noses on the tablecloth.
Conclusion Chains is a remarkable achievement. Laurie Halse Anderson successfully immerses the reader in the world, language and customs of the eighteenth century while keeping her novel of espionage, justice, and daring as taut and thrilling and fast-paced as any James Patterson offering. Substance and style are in perfect harmony. She also presents a nuanced view of the Revolutionary War from a perspective we tend to forget about.
Slavery did not appear by dark magic a few years before the Civil War; it was a cancer our country had even before it was born.
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