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Title details for Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson - Available

Chains

#1 in series

by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bahni Turpin
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?
As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.
From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.
National Book Award Finalist
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

  • Creators

  • Series

    Seeds of America

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 4, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593340509
      • File size: 273220 KB
      • Duration: 09:29:12

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 780
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Anderson's powerful historical novel takes place in the Colonies just as the War for Independence is beginning. Isabel and her 5-year-old sister, Ruth, had been promised their freedom in their mistress's will, but a greedy nephew sells them, and they're moved from Rhode Island to a Tory house in New York. Although Madisun Leigh's voice sounds somewhat older than one expects for 13-year-old Isabel, her narration is riveting. In a production that wisely uses only the human voice, Isabel becomes a compelling character, struggling to achieve for herself and her sister the same freedom the "rebels" are fighting for. Deservedly short-listed for the National Book Award, this is a tour de force. The publisher missed an opportunity to include the author's interview that set the historical context in print. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 1, 2008
      Pursuing similar themes as M.T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing
      , this gripping novel offers readers a startlingly provocative view of the Revolutionary War. Isabel Finch, the narrator, and her five-year-old sister, Ruth, are to be freed from slavery upon the death of their mistress in Rhode Island, but the mistress's unscrupulous heir easily persuades the local pastor to dispense with reading the will. Before long Isabel and Ruth are in New York City, the property of a Loyalist couple, whose abusiveness inspires Isabel to a dangerous course: she steals into the Patriot army camp to trade a crucial Loyalist secret in exchange for passage to Rhode Island for herself and Ruth. But not only does the Patriot colonel fail to honor his promise, he personally hands her over to her Loyalist mistress when she runs away, to face disastrous consequences. Anderson (Speak
      ; Fever 1793
      ) packs so much detail into her evocation of wartime New York City that readers will see the turmoil and confusion of the times, and her solidly researched exploration of British and Patriot treatment of slaves during a war for freedom is nuanced and evenhanded, presented in service of a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot. Ages 10–up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:780
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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