Chains (2008)

Isabel and her sister Ruth were supposed to be freed upon the death of their master, instead they are sold to the Locktons, a wealthy loyalist couple living in New York City. Isabel is renamed (sal), branded, and worked to the bone. Separated from her sister, Isabel goes numb. She meets another slave, Curzon, who tries to get her to help the patriot cause.
A powerful story about the desire for freedom and a chapter of early American history. ( )

The historical documents at the beginning of each chapter are an informative and highly interesting way to more deeply understand this important time period in our history. They provide a variety of voices and perspectives which really help bring this story to life. Much of the story is told from the point of view of Isabel, the young slave girl who spies for the Patriots in order to secure her freedom. I try to read this book with my eighth graders during the time that students are learning about the Revolutionary War in their social studies class. ( )

Strong heroines are Anderson's subject. Isabel is a slave working for a Loyalist family during the Revolutionary War in New York. She tries to figure out how to get her freedom while playing both sides of the war. Some Patriots (revolutionaries) enlist her help as a spy. She tries to barter her access to enemy information with getting help to escape or at least find her sister who is sold out from under her.

The history of the war and the early Republic's views on slavery are well portrayed here, and Isabel is a winning character, one whose actions will take her into a sequel. ( )

How many times can one person be betrayed? Within the pages of Chains, Isabel finds out. It is 1776 and the American people have begun their long fight for freedom just as Isabel begins the fight for hers - for Isabel is a slave. Meant to be freed on the death of her Rhode Island owner, Isabel and her epileptic younger sister Ruth are instead unscrupulously sold by their previous owner's nephew to Loyalists, the Locktons from New York. At first, Isabel thinks they'll be able to get by with the Locktons by working hard, but soon her nightmare begins as she learns Mrs. Lockton is both petty and vicious. When Ruth's epilepsy is revealed to a horrified Mrs. Lockton, Isabel knows that she must find a way to freedom before Ruth is sold away from her. But who can Isabel turn to when those who fight for freedom uphold slavery? A sequel is in the works and fans of historical fiction won't want to wait to find out what happens next to Isabel in this look at the American Revolution from a brand new point of view.

Anderson includes a question and answer section at the back to address the historical aspects of her novel, particularly the plight of slaves and prisoners during the war. She does a fantastic job of capturing Isabel's spurts of hopelessness and her slow recovery - set back everytime yet another avenue of escape fails her. The characters are so rounded that they just jump off the pages - everyone is realistically flawed in ways that match their motivations. This would be great as a book discussion title or as a supplement to lessons on the American Revolution. ( )

3.5 stars

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )