lovelym14's review against another edition
4.0
I wish textbooks were written like this. can't wait to read the next one.
hiltzmoore's review against another edition
4.0
This was really well done and definitely didn't coddle the target young readers with unrealistic happy endings. Sets up the rest of the trilogy nicely.
karimorton33's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. While it was hard to read at times, I enjoyed Isabel's character a lot.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
5.0
I think the author did a fantastic job with the main character. She is strong, but she is not perfect. She is smart, but again, she makes mistakes sometimes. Her pain is realistic and so incredibly sad, but she continues to fight. I had to care about what happens to her. I don't always gravitate to historical fiction and in fact had avoided reading this for quite some time, but I am glad I finally did it.
internationalkris's review against another edition
4.0
Chains is the first book in Laurie Halse Anderson's "Seeds of America" series though it works quite well as a stand-alone read too. The story begins in New England in the late 1700s when slavery was still legal through all of the English colonies though it was losing favor. Isabel and her little sister have been promised their freedom by their owner but after her death her nephew quickly disposes of the paperwork and sells them to a husband and wife who live in New York city and who are loyal to the English king. Isabel is a very industrious and clever character but for the most part she is trapped by societal rules for African Americans. Still one path of resistance presents itself - she can become a spy for the American revolutionaries. Isabel's life makes an excellent lens to explore both slavery and the early years on the American revolution.
jcarsrud's review against another edition
4.0
I must start book 2 ASAP to see what happens to Isabel! I loved the quotes from the time period at the beginning of each chapter to set the tone. What a fascinating time period!
lindasdarby's review against another edition
4.0
This is Leah's favorite book and she has been beggin me to read it for ages. It is a wonderful book. Completely heartbreaking, beautifully written with an amazing protagonist. As I read the book I again pondered how in the world anyone ever thought it was okay to treat others so brutally because of the color of their skin. This is a young adult book but I would recommend it to anyone. I am glad Leah has read it at such a young age so that she can learn how important it is to treat others kindly and look beyond outside appearances and also so that she can learn from the past. Slavery is horrible beyond words and this book is very good at describing not only what it is like to be a slave but how trapped you felt if you were a slave. It is hard to read because you feel so sad for the slaves and also so appalled by everyone else. I can't wait to read the next book.
bak8382's review against another edition
4.0
Chains sets itself apart from other historical fiction concerning slavery as it focuses on the slaves kept in the northern states during the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The story is told from the perspective of Isabel, a young slave who was supposed to be freed at the death of her master, but was instead sold, along with her sister, and taken to New York City. There she toils for a Tory family while secretly and reluctantly helping the Patriots. When her cruel master sells her sister Isabel has had enough and fights back.
Full of historical details and well-developed characters Halse Anderson shows that neither England nor America is entirely blameless in the conflict, and she highlights the hypocrisy of the many Patriots who kept slaves.
Full of historical details and well-developed characters Halse Anderson shows that neither England nor America is entirely blameless in the conflict, and she highlights the hypocrisy of the many Patriots who kept slaves.
halschrieve's review against another edition
5.0
As someone who often walks around New York and Brooklyn and tries to figure out the history of the places I have lived, this book is a vivid, exciting, stomach-churning plunge into the Manhattan of the late eighteenth century: actively colonial, a misshapen outpost of an increasingly imperial Britain, filthy and plague-ridden, and populated with multiple groups of wealthy white supremacists —Rebel and Loyalist—whose blatantly horrific behaviors threaten the lives of enslaved people and the white poor alike.
Isabel’s struggle for freedom is intense and unrelenting, she is smart and brave, her principles are steadfast, and her love for others consistent even as she is the subject of horrible brutality. This work feels like a dystopian science fiction novel because of the level of monstrosity, but this was our America too, and still is for millions of trafficked or undocumented laborers made to endure horrible conditions. The way the story comes to life is so much more vital than in other historical fiction for children I have read (like the Dear America series) particularly because Isabel has such a grasp on her situation and is such an active agent and is able to weigh all the possibilities of escape at every turn and is by any account who we all wish we could be in the face of danger, oppression and violence.
This novel makes it easier for readers to imagine the personal choices and agency of black people enslaved in America and the ways they contributed, invisibly, to victories and defeats in the Revolution and in political maneuvers throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It also renders visible the routine brutality that slavery encompasses , even when slaveholders were well-meaning or gentle-seeming people, and makes it unavoidable. This book should be prescribed for anyone who loves the musical “Hamilton”.
It is important to note that the strengths of this book are not just from the historical and research dimension. The narrative also succeeds in making the reader love Isabel —showing a principled, decent protagonist who grows more intelligent and angry as she is wronged but who is able to use her energy to help the people around her and herself and who we never doubt will eventually prevail against her circumstances. Isabel’s scars, from pox and from violence, render her stronger, and her concerns are focused on the practical circumstances of how to protect the people she loves. We are with her every step of the way as she forges a moral high ground in a land full of people who would prefer to look the other way when people do wrong.
This book is the most irresistibly compelling and relatable YA historical fiction work set during the American Revolution that I have ever read and is one of the best YA novels I have really ever read period.
Isabel’s struggle for freedom is intense and unrelenting, she is smart and brave, her principles are steadfast, and her love for others consistent even as she is the subject of horrible brutality. This work feels like a dystopian science fiction novel because of the level of monstrosity, but this was our America too, and still is for millions of trafficked or undocumented laborers made to endure horrible conditions. The way the story comes to life is so much more vital than in other historical fiction for children I have read (like the Dear America series) particularly because Isabel has such a grasp on her situation and is such an active agent and is able to weigh all the possibilities of escape at every turn and is by any account who we all wish we could be in the face of danger, oppression and violence.
This novel makes it easier for readers to imagine the personal choices and agency of black people enslaved in America and the ways they contributed, invisibly, to victories and defeats in the Revolution and in political maneuvers throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It also renders visible the routine brutality that slavery encompasses , even when slaveholders were well-meaning or gentle-seeming people, and makes it unavoidable. This book should be prescribed for anyone who loves the musical “Hamilton”.
It is important to note that the strengths of this book are not just from the historical and research dimension. The narrative also succeeds in making the reader love Isabel —showing a principled, decent protagonist who grows more intelligent and angry as she is wronged but who is able to use her energy to help the people around her and herself and who we never doubt will eventually prevail against her circumstances. Isabel’s scars, from pox and from violence, render her stronger, and her concerns are focused on the practical circumstances of how to protect the people she loves. We are with her every step of the way as she forges a moral high ground in a land full of people who would prefer to look the other way when people do wrong.
This book is the most irresistibly compelling and relatable YA historical fiction work set during the American Revolution that I have ever read and is one of the best YA novels I have really ever read period.