Review of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

I have been a fan of Laurie Halse Anderson ever since I read her first novel, Speak. I had never read a book which so perfectly captured modern teenagers’ sarcasm and angst. When I picked up her novel, Chains, a 2010-2011 Truman Reader Award Nominee, I had my concerns about how well an author who used 21^st century teen slang could transition to a historical fiction account of a young slave girl during the American Revolution. I expected a lovable, yet semi-believable heroine dropped into a watered-down version of this time in history.  I underestimated this author’s writing chops.

Anderson proves to be a writing chameleon in Chains, melding her marvelous prose into a 1700s setting as convincingly as she creates her modern-day settings. Anderson didn’t just throw in some 18^th century jargon here and there to earn the label of “historical fiction.” By telling the story from the perspective of Isabel, she captured the historical diction in the thirteen-year-old slave’s every thought. Impeccably researched without feeling like a history textbook, she throws the reader into a brutally realistic nation in the grips of war. Chains keeps the reader captivated from page one when orphaned siblings Isabel and Ruth, expecting to be freed as promised upon the death their owner, are instead sold to an affluent and cruel New York couple. My heart broke as their new owner, Mrs. Lockton, treated their physical and emotional abuse as a sport. Anderson does not shy away from showing the brutal ways slaves were treated as some young adult novels may; she shows the truth in a tactful way that no one—child or adult—can take lightly.

I couldn’t read this book without thinking of all the teaching opportunities it held. Each chapter began with an excerpt from an authentic newspaper article, speech, or book from the time period, each foreshadowing what was to happen in the chapter and making the book hard to put down. Chains also made this reader who isn’t a big fan of history want to go out and learn more about the American Revolution. I found myself questioning the role of slavery during the Revolutionary War. When I think slavery, I think Civil War. Anderson teaches the reader that a staggering number of Americans owned slaves during this time that they were fighting for “freedom for all people.” Slaves actually fought for both sides of the war, often promised their freedom for doing so.  It was a harsh reality that neither the British nor the Americans were interested in freeing the slaves for any reason other than helping their side win the war. Can you imagine all the classroom discussions this book would evoke?

Even though it sits on the Young Adult shelf, Chains is a book for any age. It is not just a story about the American Revolution or slavery; it is a book about basic human rights and the difference between right and wrong. Readers will not feel detached from this main character by centuries or skin color; they will simply feel pain for a fellow human being who has lost her family and been deprived of her God-given rights. Chains is one of those books that I will never forget, and it deserves every award it will surely receive.

Coming soon to the library... Forge, the sequel to Chains.