Chains

I absolutely loved this novel! The historical fiction tells the life of a young girl named Isabel. It takes place from the years 1776-1777, when the United States was in the process of trying to become liberated from the King. In the beginning of the novel, Isabel and her little sister Ruth are supposed to be freed as slaves because their master had passed away. Instead they are bought and become slaves to a terrible and miserable couple. They are sent to New York and their life is changed instantly. Isabel and Ruth work day in and day out for the Locktons, a Loyalist family. Isabel meets a slave named Curzon who promises to help her get her freedom and tells her to be a spy on the couple she works for. The wife sells Ruth and leaves Isabel in despair. Isabel gets in trouble with the law for yelling and trying to run away from her masters and gets branded with an I on her cheek. As the story progresses, Isabel continues to work for the Locktons and Lady Seymour, the husband’s old aunt, who loves Isabel. Isabel continues to get in trouble with her masters and finally decides that she can no longer live the way she is living, especially since Lady Seymour was dying. She had found out that Ruth was in Charleston and had not been sold, like the Madam had told her. The night of the Queen’s ball, that celebrated her birthday, Isabel decides to make a run for it. She took food, her few belongings, a map, and money from Lady Seymour and heads to the jail where Curzon is. Isabel tells Curzon to fake being dead and tells the guards that she is going to bury him. Once out, they head for the river and begin to row towards New Jersey. When they both awake, they find themselves on the bank of New Jersey. They had made it and Isabel was on her way to Charleston to find her sister.

This was one of those books that you could not put down. I constantly wanted to keep reading it as the story progressed. What I loved about this book was how real it felt. I could picture the story in my mind and Isabel’s character was so realistic. This novel will definitely be used in my class. When I was in school, we always had to read books that were either too hard to understand or talked way over my head. But this novel told Isabel’s story and what it was truly like to be a slave. I feel that the students could really connect to Isabel because of their closeness in age. This book could be used in a social studies unit because it also explains the American Revolutionary War. It explains the constant conflict between the Loyalists and the Rebels. The book had dates, which made it seem more realistic. It even included July 4^th, our independence day, and what might have happened and what Isabel could have seen. I also really like how at the beginning of every chapter of the book it included quotes from newspaper articles, letters, or advertisements from this time period. There were even quotes included from major pieces of writing at this time like Common Sense from Thomas Paine and excerpts from letters written by Washington, Franklin, and Adams. All of this combined, provides the students with a better understanding of these crucial historical events. These quotes could be used to provoke the students to explore these other writings. In the back of the book, there is great information provided about the book and discussion questions that would really get the students thinking. I also would want to read the students the sneak peak of the next book in this series possibly giving them the motivation to continue reading books by this author. This historical fiction novel would give my students a way to connect to this time period and I will be for sure using this in my own classroom one day. 

Chains

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Year Published: 2010