One thing I love about Laurie’s books is her ability to bring her characters and settings to life. You don’t just read their story, you live it. When I read her books I often feel like the boy in the movie “The Neverending Story”. He is seeing the story unfold as he reads it. The story is alive.
Isabel is a slave during the Revolutionary War. She is only thirteen so I know my middles school students will be able to relate that way. Through Isabel we see the hardships, pain and evil inflicted on slaves. She set her story in the north which is the opposite of where we usually associate slavery. It was well researched and though out. It is not for those who want a quick. Light read. This book takes the reader into depths of slavery. I think all American History teachers should have a copy in their classrooms. ( )

Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com

Laurie Halse Anderson tells the amazing story of a slave girl during the American Revolution.

Isabel is actually supposed to be free, since that's what her deceased owner willed, but a greedy nephew takes it upon himself to keep Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth, enslaved for his own profit. With no parents, and no one to care about their fate, the girls are shipped off to New York to live with new owners.

Aside from Isabel's plight, this book also follows the progress of the war from the standpoint of both loyalists and rebels. Readers have glimpses of the wealthy, the working class, the soldiers, and the slaves -- all while their eyes are riveted to the story of one lonely girl.

Anderson develops a realistic setting and offers up details that serve to enrich this tale and keep readers interested. From a trip to the stocks to a hanging, we see the gruesome, and from heroic acts to cowardice, we see people at their most extreme.

Anderson allows enough filtering and distance for comfortable reading, but expect no holds barred from this accurate author. The times were not pretty, despite the burgeoning of a new America. The writer neither exaggerates nor shields. She simply tells her tale, and it is most definitely one worth reading. ( )

This is one of the best books I've read in the last year. There is a lot of historical fiction for kids and young adults out there that show an overly simplistic, black-and-white view of history -- this is *not* one of those books. The author does an amazing job of developing incredibly real characters, who are living real lives amidst the nitty-gritty of real history. I can't wait for the sequel to come! ( )

Chains was my first introduction to Laurie Halse Anderson, and I am beginning to understand why she is the current darling of the Young Adult world. This book tells the story of Isabel, an orphaned slave girl living during the Revolutionary War. She and her younger sister, Ruth, are denied the freedom promised to them by their recently deceased owner and find themselves moving to New York City with their new cruel masters.

Isabel’s struggle between accepting her fate and looking for opportunities to gain their freedom is heartrending. Against the background of war, her quest for personal freedom is particularly poignant. In an city filled with talk of liberty and rights, no one appears to care about how those ideals apply to the many slaves serving on both sides of the conflict.

I loved Isabel’s dogged determination and her fierce love for her helpless sister. I was cheering for them from page one, and took great delight in the intelligence and cunning Isabel displayed. The audiobook version was great, although the narrator had a difficult time with male characters – they all sounded angry, even when they weren’t.

Anderson has announced that two more books will follow Chains. The next, Forge, is being released in 2010 and I am definitely looking forward to it!

http://decklededges.wordpress.com/200... ( )

The character of Isabel is so strong that you become part of the book as you read through the pages. This is a deep look into the realities and inhumanity of slavery, as seen from the eyes of a very human young black woman. ( )