Parent reviews for Chains: The Seeds of America Trilogy, Book 1

My 5th grader reads out loud to me after school so we can work on her homework together. I had to stop her several times as my stomach turned and my eyes teared, until I actually had to excuse myself to keep from getting ill during several descriptions in the book of physical abuse, as the story is written very vividly. I do not know if it is appropriate for every 5th grader and wish I had know the content of this book prior to the class starting it together. As a family, we try to limit exposure to violent movies, books and music....so to us, this is a very unsettling book that is REQUIRED as part of a common-core reading program and I would not, on my own, find this appropriate for children under the minimum age of 14.

It is sad and very gruesome. I read it myself and I do not approve. The language is bad and the plot is just horrible. Many gruesome things happened like the main character getting branded on the cheek with a red hot iron book

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!

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.