Chains

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

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.