When Curzon and Isabel meet again, they have both been captured and must devise a plan of escape once again. He reveals many details of the conditions endured by the soldiers during the winter of 1777-1778, including the limited food supply, lack of adequate shelter, and tattered clothing. After an argument with Isabel about where they should go next, the 15-year-old battles the British at Saratoga and winters in Valley Forge with the Patriots.

Gr 6-10-This sequel to Chains (S & S, 2008) opens with Curzon, an enslaved teen who was freed from prison by Isabel, recalling his escape and anticipating the future. Anderson seamlessly weaves her fictitious characters into history in a cohesive, well-researched narrative about the Revolutionar Unfortunate circumstances bring Curzon and Isabel back together, and it is the struggle to mend their friendship and continue their quest for freedom that drives the latter half of the novel. His experiences as a young runaway slave during the American Revolution differ greatly from Isabel's though he lives in fear of discovery, he befriends a white soldier boy named Eben and even gains a sense of patriotism and camaraderie serving alongside other soldiers encamped for the winter at Valley Forge. Only fifteen, he enlists in the Continental Army in late 1777. 11/08) ended with slave girl Isabel escaping from 1776 New York with fellow slave Curzon, who takes over the narration in this sequel. Intermediate, Middle School Atheneum 297 pp.Ĭhains (rev. Once again, though, Anderson's detailed story creates a cinematic sense of history Curzon isn't as fully realized here as Isabel was in Chains, resulting in a less-cohesive and -compelling whole. He finds necessary food and shelter as a private with the Continental army, and through Curzon's eyes, Anderson re-creates pivotal historical scenes, including the desperate conditions at Valley Forge. After a narrowly successful escape from Manhattan, former slaves Isabel and Curzon separate, and Curzon is once again on the run. This time, though, her central character is male, and the heartbreaking drama shifts from Chains' domestic town houses to graphically described bloody battlefields. (9781416961444).Īnderson follows her searing, multi-award-winning novel Chains (2008) with this well-researched sequel, also set during the Revolutionary War and narrated by a young African American.

Forge laurie halse anderson