 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Chains
- By Laurie Halse Anderson
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Powerful depiction of slavery in 1776 New York.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a realistic depiction of life as a young slave in a war-torn city, and it pulls no punches about the price of freedom in revolutionary times. The main character must survive tremendous cruelties, including being badly beaten. Parents concerned about the book's violence should know that it's not gratuitous but used to accurately show the main character's plight and daily life. Although Isabel is a victim of torments that pass understanding, she remains unbowed.
What's the story?
Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth, were promised that they would be freed at their mistress' death. Instead, her nephew nephew sells them to a wealthy Loyalist and his sadistic wife. At the Locktons' home in New York, the girls are made to work nonstop while the British and Americans fight over the city. When a young slave on the American side asks Isabel to become a spy, she agrees on his assurance that they'll help free her. But the Americans are ultimately no more interested her freedom than the British.
Is it any good?
This grim, brutally realistic depiction will move and educate readers. Isabel is a strong, relatable character, and through her story, kids will get a sense of the incredible physical and emotional hardships of slavery ("I have no map for this life," Isabel says) -- as well as a strong understanding of the the Revolutionary War.
This National Book Award finalist will leave a deep impression on its readers, who will likely want to follow Isabel's story into its second installment, Forge.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the book's violence. These depictions may be painful to read, but do they add realism and power to Isabel's story? How is reading about violence different than seeing it in a movie or video game?
This book is going to have a sequel. What do you think will happen to Isabel next? Why do you think the next book is called Forge?
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AGE
Must be a relly good reader to get through this book
My avid 6th grade reader could not "get into" this book. It's a hard read mostly because the language that the author used is Revolution War period based. I read the book through myself and really enjoyed it. The violence mentioned is real, but not raw.
The message it portrays is one of reality for a slave girl at the onslaught of the war. Good message of inward and outward strength in the face of real adversity.
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AGE
great book! I finished it in a day!
wow, I've never read a 300 page book in like aday before! Nor have I ever read so long striaght just like that! Chains is a great book, full of action, and hardly anything bad. the CSM review makes it sound a lot more brutal than it really is. I mean the violence is easy to miss, even a cover-to-cover reader like me can skip through it easily, its so subtle. Anyways, its a great book I highly recomend it! And believe me, it's not the kind of book you can put down once you pick it up.
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AGE
vilont but educational
This is a good read but vilont. The vilonce includes beating, death, whipping, starvashion, and talk of lose. But as well as being to vilont for young readers it does have some educational value about slavery.
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AGE
Amazing!
Well, I can't even find words to describe this story. Although it does include beatings, whippings, and punching women in the face, all just in the Lockton Residence itself, it is a great, heart-touching book. It introduces readers into the horrors of slavery, just like Uncle Tom's Cabin. It also has a fantasatic story line. You share the hardships of Isabel being branded, beaten with a riding crop, smacked and beaten, locked in a potato bin and Mrs. Lockton, excuse my language, being a Try it out yourself, I know you'll love it!
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Kid, 11 years old
April 28, 2011
AGE
Great book but to intense for smaller kids
Great book- my teacher reccomended it, she also said it was intense- i was littarly crying by the end of it.....
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AGE
Love it!
I LOVED this book! I got it last Christmas when I was 10, read it, and loved it! I'm still searching for the sequel, Forge.
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| Author: | Laurie Halse Anderson |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | October 1, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 316 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 10 - 10 |
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