By Laurie Halse Anderson
The introduction to a trilogy about the birth of a nation. Chains is an in your face tale about the harsh realities of slavery. In this book you meet Isabel and her young sister as they are being sold after their owner has died. Their mother has passed away a year earlier and Isabel feels that she is responsible for Ruth who is small and "touched". They are purchased by a Tory and his wife that are moving back to New York. At the docks they are met with resistance and a search that almost uncovers their secret.
The first day in New York, Isabel is told to go fetch the water from the Tea Well. Since she is new to the city she is escorted by Curzon another enslaved individual. As they walk to the well, Curzon tries to encourage Isabel to help the Patriots by spying on the loyalist couple, her owners, the Locktons. Although, Isabel is not content in her current situation, she refuses to do anything that may endanger her or Ruth's lives. As the siblings settle into the busy city life, tensions mount as rumors of a possible English attack rise. Isabel is serving Master Lockton and his loyalist friends when they talk about bribing Patriots close to Washington, and feels that this may be a way to get freedom for her and her sister.
Everything that Isabel does is in an effort to get freedom and save her sister. She endures hardship and beatings, a false arrest and detainment, a branding at the hands of her masters. After the branding of the letter I onto her face she is recognizable by everyone. So when she starts helping the patriots prisoners, including, Curzon she incites the wrath of Ms. Lockton. She is strictly forbidden to help the patriots, yet Isabel contrives to be their saving grace and continues to bring food to the unfortunate lads. Is she able to gain her freedom, can she save Curzon and find her sister?
I found this book very entertaining if a little bit hard to read easily. I am giving this book a 3.5 stars out of 5. It is a literary work of art just a bit difficult to read, just because of the amount of detail and back story that is required in a tale of this scope. This is a great way to deepen the understanding and knowledge of the American Revolution and the plight of African Americans through out history. This is definitely a story worth reading and a tale that needs to be told and remembered.
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