Chains: Seeds of America

Chains: Seeds of America
By Laurie Halse Anderson
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008, Youth Historical Fiction, 316 p.
Isabel was born as a slave, but she wasn't supposed to remain one. She and her little sister, Ruth, were supposed to be freed upon the death of their elderly owner, Miss Finch; but Miss Finch's nephew sells them anyway. Her new owners, the Lockton's, take Isabel and Ruth to New York. New York in 1776 is heating up with tension between the Loyalists and Rebels and Isabel soon learns that her owners are not only Loyalists, - Mrs. Lockton is cruel. As her situation worsens Isabel tries to find a way for her and Ruth to escape. Both the Loyalists and the Rebels are offering freedom to slaves who join their cause. Isabel is willing to help either side if it means freedom, the question is, who will help her?
Anderson's novel is not only engaging, it also illustrates the difficult lives of slaves and the complex, unfair, and cruel obstructions that ruled their lives. Isabel's plight highlights all the legal and illegal practices that made slavery the evil that it was. It also illustrates the difficultly of slaves choosing sides in the American Revolution, who was truly their enemy and who would truly offer them freedom? Reader's will be pulled into her life and find themselves rooting for her success and angered on her behalf. This book is a fantastic work of historical fiction for teens and well as adults. Be warned it is the first of a trilogy, so you will have to read all of them to find out how Isabel's story ends.