Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson | Review

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Published By: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 300
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Buy This Book: B&N






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.

MY THOUGHTS:

       This book received many awards for a reason. The amount of emotion within this one novel is unbelievable. Anderson made it seem as though you were inside the head of Isabel, thinking what she was thinking and feeling what she was feeling.
   

       It was just months before America declared its independence when Isabel and Ruth's mother died. Although in her will it stated that Isabel and Ruth would be set free when she passed, a man came to sell the sisters to the first reasonable master. After being sold to the Locktons, these two sisters had their work cut out for them. The Locktons were a loyalist household, which meant that they supported the king. Isabel met a boy named Curzon along the way, whose master was a rebel and she fed them information she heard from Master Locktons about plans to kill George Washington. 
   

      As the struggles became more difficult, Isabel had to deal with emotional and physical pain. Madam Locktons ended up selling Ruth to another master because she believed Ruth was possessed by the devil. Also, after trying to run away, Isabel was branded with a letter I on the side of her face. This book takes you inside the daily struggle slaves went through back in the 1700s. The bravery of a single female slave played a big part in leading to America gaining its freedom.