Book Pick: Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Chains

Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Chains,depicts the tale of Isabel and her baby sister, Ruth, two young slave girls living in early America. 


The story begins just a few months before the country gains its independence from Britain, but the struggle for liberty and justice is very different for the girls than it is for the rebel Patriots. After losing the documentation proving their freedom from their previous, and now deceased, mistress, Isabel and Ruth are sold to a Tory couple in New York City, a society engulfed by conflict between Patriot and Loyalist parties. In this new land, Isabel must care for her sister and strive to reach the freedom and liberty that so many other fellow Americans, slave and free, seek.

I can say many things that amaze me about this novel, but having read several of Anderson’s books, one thing that continues to astound me is the way she embodies her characters. She is an actress with her words, digging deep into the thoughts and emotions of each person she creates. If you pick up another one of Anderson’s books (and I strongly encourage you do so), it would be near impossible to recognize each piece as a Laurie Halse Anderson, for they all match the mood and dialect of the character, not the author. For any person looking to read a novel that reads like a play, movie, or TV show, rather than a simple narrative, I would highly recommendChains. Giving the reader a strong sense of history as well as a rich storyline, this book also reminds us that we all have our own personal chains to break and makes us question how far we’ll go to set ourselves free.