return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
Follow Us: 
    Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains: Book summary and reviews of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains

Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Published in USA Oct 2008,
320 pages.

Age range: Young Adult

Publication information


Critics' Opinion: 
Readers' Rating: 
About BookBrowse Rankings
Share: 
Buy This Book

Chains Summary

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.

Chains Reviews

"Starred Review. Pursuing similar themes as M.T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing, this gripping novel offers readers a startlingly provocative view of the Revolutionary War." - Publishers Weekly.

"Starred Review. While waiting, they can enjoy M.T. Anderson's The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves, another superb take on the subject." - Kirkus Reviews.

The information about Chains shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.

Chains Reader Reviews

Write your own review

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Pzreich
Chains review
I think that this book deserves 11 points out of 10. Though i am not a historical fiction, Chains really stands out to me. i can relate to most characters, especially Isabella. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. Thank you for this book, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Bookwriter
Fabulous!
I have no idea what you other bozos are talking about. This is the best most inspiring book ever... You guys lost your mind :P Get a Life

Rated 1 of 5 of 5 by Unknown
My Point of View
I think this book is the most boring book I have ever lay my eyes on. I have to read this book for a class project, but I rather fail the class instead of torturing myself with this boring book.I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK !!!!

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by KJ
Chains
I hated this book. I thought is awful. I did not enjoy it, but I had to read it for a school project. I did not like it because it was historical fiction. i dislike historical fiction books.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Bookworrms
gooood
This is a great book and taught me a lot about myself and people around that time period. It is unlike most historical fiction books which put me to sleep! I finished it in a day because I couldn't put it down. Please read this book, you will become Isabel as you do.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by reader 101
chains
This is a great book. I had to read it for la and loved it I will recommend it to any one that loves a good book. I cannot wait to read the next book

...5 more reader reviews

Laurie Halse Anderson Author Biography

Laurie Halse (rhymes with "waltz") Anderson pretended she was a polar bear when she walked to school through the snow of Syracuse, New York. As a little girl, she would pound away at her father's old typewriter for hours, writing newspaper columns, stories, and letters. She loved watching her father write poetry and reading the funnies on the floor of his office. Laurie fell in love with words when her second-grade teacher taught her how to write haiku. Her favorite book is the dictionary, which is a good thing because she is a terrible speller. She tried to read every book in her school library, a heavenly place. She loves librarians!

One of her favorite books was Heidi. This led to curiosity about foreign cultures. As a senior in high school, she was an American Field...

... Full Biography

Other books by Laurie Halse Anderson at BookBrowse

Wintergirls jacket

Twisted jacket

Speak jacket

Forge jacket

Fever 1793 jacket

more...

Recently Published Historical Fiction

more...


Become a Member
Click Here
Editor's Choice
  •  May 18 
  •  May 16 
  •  May 15 
The Woman Upstairs
Claire Messud

The Woman Upstairs Jacket

The riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and betrayed by passion and desire for a world beyond her own.
How to Create the Perfect Wife
Wendy Moore

How to Create the Perfect Wife Jacket

Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Happier Endings
Erica Brown

Happier Endings Jacket

A wise and affirming meditation on living fully and preparing for death, written by a highly regarded spiritual teacher.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Jewish Young Adult Books That Are Not About The Holocaust
Books to Give This Mother's Day
A Short History of Chechnya
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
Recent Reader Reviews
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight... read more
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on... read more
The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Half the Sky
Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn
2. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
William Kamkwamba
3. Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo
4. Eagle Strike
Anthony Horowitz
5. Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn
More...
Book Club Recommendations
The Gods of Gotham
by Lyndsay Faye
Paperback (Mar/13)
Forgotten Country
by Catherine Chung
Paperback (Mar/13)
Philida
by André Brink
Paperback (Feb/13)
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
Hardback (Jun/12)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
The Sisterhood
by Helen Bryan
Four Stars            (Apr/13)
The Laws of Gravity
by Liz Rosenberg
4.5 Stars            (May/13)
A Dual Inheritance
by Joanna Hershon
Four Stars            (May/13)
More...
  Latest BookBrowse News
U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing (May 16 2013)
In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Do you mainly read newly published or older books?
Mainly newer books
Mainly older books
A mix of new and old books
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters
Bring Up the Bodies

Online Book Club
More about
Five Days
Join the discussion!


Win This Book!
The Pigeon Pie Mystery


Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"I I M B T Give T T R"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Menna van Praag
Erica Brown
Helga Weiss
Kate Morton
frame bottom
HOME Book Submissions | Advertising | Library Subscriptions | Reviewing for BookBrowse | Contact Us