Answer:
Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Chains is the first book in the Seeds of America trilogy. The story follows thirteen-year-old Isabel, an African-American slave fighting for her and her younger sister’s freedom during the American Revolutionary War. The novel takes place mainly in New York City in 1776 into 1777, at a time when slavery was legal and common in the colonies.
Though the novel is fictional, parts of the story are inspired by and depict actual events that occurred during the early stages of the war. For example, Anderson includes references to George Washington’s failed assassination plan and the hanging of one of the conspirators, the capture of Fort Washington, and Thomas Paine’s popular pamphlet Common Sense
Anderson also includes quotes from important historic documents such as private letters, newspapers, the Common Sense pamphlet, the Declaration of Independence of the United States, and spoken opinions from various world leaders at the beginning of each chapter. These openings give a perspective on what Isabel might face in each chapter