Chains [Paperback]

 

 

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Laurie Halse Anderson tells the amazing story of a slave girl during the American Revolution.

Isabel is actually supposed to be free, since that's what her deceased owner willed, but a greedy nephew takes it upon himself to keep Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth, enslaved for his own profit. With no parents, and no one to care about their fate, the girls are shipped off to New York to live with new owners.

Aside from Isabel's plight, this book also follows the progress of the war from the standpoint of both loyalists and rebels. Readers have glimpses of the wealthy, the working class, the soldiers, and the slaves -- all while their eyes are riveted to the story of one lonely girl.

Anderson develops a realistic setting and offers up details that serve to enrich this tale and keep readers interested. From a trip to the stocks to a hanging, we see the gruesome, and from heroic acts to cowardice, we see people at their most extreme.

Anderson allows enough filtering and distance for comfortable reading, but expect no holds barred from this accurate author. The times were not pretty, despite the burgeoning of a new America. The writer neither exaggerates nor shields. She simply tells her tale, and it is most definitely one worth reading.

Reviewed by: Julie M. Prince

The book opens in Spring 1776 at the scene of the funeral of Miss Mary Finch, the elderly owner of Isabel, a young teenage slave girl, her little sister Ruth and also of their mother, who had died of smallpox not long ago. Despite protests that herself and Ruth were freed in Miss Finch's will, her abrupt and unkindly nephew Robert refuses to acknowledge the existence of the will and wants to get rid of the girls as fast as he can to the high test bidder. Soon Isabel and Ruth find themselves sold to the cruel and wealthy Lockton family ,who are English loyalists, and shipped away to New York with the sea separating Rhode Island where they Mum is buried and the only place that they could get near to calling a home. With only each other left, Isabel vows to take care of Ruth, who is a simple but obedient and hard working girl Mrs Lockton, whom Isabel refers to as Madam in the book, treats Isabel very badly, making her work hard from dawn to dusk at her every whim and feeding her very little. Although it may seem that 'Madam' is trying to break Isabel's spirits she is determined to cling onto hope.
Soon after her arrival at the Lockton house, she becomes friends with a young slave boy called Curzon who opens her eyes to what is happening in the American fight for independence war and how the Patriots or 'rebels' as they were called were trying to gain freedom from the British that occupied New York. Owned by a Patriot leader, Curzon knows of the suspicion that has fallen on Mr Lockton and how Isabel could obtain valuable information from Mr Lockton as black slaves are thought of as invisible.

This short extract, which served as an alternative 'blurb' on the back of the book sums up Isabel's feelings about it:
'You want me to be a spy?" I asked. "Are you funny in the head? Do you know what they would do to me?"

Although confused at what she should do, Isabel eventually agrees to help as she believes it may help to gain her freedom, at great risk of dire consequences if she is found out by one of the Locktons.
After this, Isabel is on a dangerous journey and there are many questions that cannot be answered and she wonders whether she often wonders if she is doing the right thing or what side of the war she should trust. However, throughout all the many troubles that she has to face, her strength of spirit carries her through.

Chains was a book that was incredibly detailed and did not gloss over any part of the plot quickly but was very pacy and I couldn't stop reading even if though I didn't want it to end.
For me, the history of the American Revolutionary War was fresh and new, making it all the more interesting. I especially liked the way that the issue of slavery and the war were combined together as I have read books about slavery on plantations but found this book had more dimension and room for a dynamic plot, which Chains definitely has.
The many themes that cropped up in the book made me stop and think about the, such as racial tension and the invisibility of slaves and the horrors of the way that they were treated.
It also made you think about who were the 'good' and 'bad' side in the war and if there really was one as I know that many Americans grow up thinking that the British were the 'bad' side. However, the book makes you ask the questions: How would you feel if you were a slave and the British offered you freedom? Would you trust them even though the Patriots are the ones fighting for liberty, freedom and Independence?

Laurie Halse Anderson includes a wonderful appendix with questions and answers that include these historical topics amongst others. I found it very helpful, particularly with distinguishing fact from fiction in the book as many of the things that Isabel experiences could have actually happened at the time to a young slave girl.
At the top of each chapter were little extracts from sources like newspapers, letters or books written at the time, which I loved because they made the book more quirky and their content and the dated font helped to set the historical scene each time I opened the book to read more.
The chapters were just the right size, reasonably short but packing in enough emotion, excitement, plot twists and description to satisfy. I found that they were great when trying to get myself to put the book down to go to sleep!

Chains is the first book I have read by Laurie Halse Anderson and I loved it! Her writing style was very engaging as it was written from the point of view of Isabel, which meant that the emotion of her life as a slave really shined through the writing throughout the book. I also liked the way that at the end of chapters/paragraphs there was often a sentence in italics written as though Isabel is talking to herself.
I really recommend it to everyone- you will fall in love with the engaging and page turning story of Isabel's story of courage and strength when she is surrounded by betrayal and cruelty in her life.

Wow! This is the best book I have read in a long time. It was so gripping I read it in a day and with me being a slow reader, thats no mean feat! I couldn't put this book down, even made the family tea with it in my hands!

This is a fictional story about a slave girl called Isabel but it is set in New York during the fractious times when the republicans wanted to sever ties with the British. The last few pages of the book are dedicated to certain topics arising in the story, factual accounts which I found really interesting.

Not only did I enjoy a thoroughly good read but I learnt quite alot about the history of the Americas and through Andersons writing I could imagine what life would have been like for slaves and servants at that time.

I enjoyed it so much I have just ordered the sequel "Forge" and cannot wait for that to arrive!

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book with a bit of history thrown in.
Loved reading this book, the story is soo wonderful, I Could not wait to find out what happens next. Read more

Published 10 months ago by DGoulston

5.0 out of 5 stars chains
Chains is the story of a slave girl called Isabel. She and her sister Ruth, who is prone to fits, have been sold to the Lockton family, who we will soon find out are very cruel... Read more

Published 20 months ago by doomwaffle2000

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