Books like Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson


When the Revolutionary War erupts, thirteen‑year‑old Isabel Owens and her sister Ruth are seized by the ruthless Locktons of New York City, offered a grim promise: their freedom upon death. In a city that refuses to honor the ideals of liberty, Isabel finds an unlikely ally in Curzon, a slave connected to the Patriot cause. Reluctantly engaging in espionage against her owners, Isabel learns that loyalty can be a purchase—one that may buy the freedom she and Ruth desperately seek. Set against the vivid backdrop of wartime New York, the novel follows Isabel’s courageous struggle for physical and spiritual emancipation.
First publish date: 2008
Genre: History/Modern History
Authors: Laurie Halse Anderson
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.0 (4 community ratings)

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

How are these books recommended?

The books recommended for Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.


Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.

Books similar to Chains (24 similar books)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by 6139842|Mark Twain book cover

📘 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
 by Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s classic novel follows the first-person narration of Huckleberry "Huck" Finn as he journeyes down the Mississippi River in 19th‑century America, exploring adventure, friendship and the era’s social issues.

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.8 (198 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Number the Stars by 6539882|Lois Lowry book cover

📘 Number the Stars
 by Lois Lowry

In 1943 Copenhagen, ten‑year‑old Annemarie Johansen helps her Jewish friend Ellen Rosen escape Nazi persecution, learning courage and resilience while navigating war‑time hardships.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 (96 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by 7101850|Mildred D. Taylor book cover

📘 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

A powerful story of a Black family's battle for dignity, family, and land in Depression‑era Mississippi, seen through the eyes of eight‑year‑old Cassie Logan.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 (29 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The war that Saved my Life by 6747693|Kimberly Brubaker Bradley book cover

📘 The war that Saved my Life

A nine‑year‑old girl named Ada escapes her abusive home amid World War II, joining her brother in London’s evacuation; she learns to ride a pony, reads, and finds a new family with Susan Smith while watching for German spies.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 (24 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 by 6219170|Christopher Paul Curtis book cover

📘 The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963

An African‑American family from Flint, Michigan, heads south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, where the ordinary rhythms of their lives are disrupted by the events of the summer of 1963.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 (17 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Uncle Tom's Cabin by 6545662|Harriet Beecher Stowe book cover

📘 Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic expose the brutal reality of American slavery, following the devout slave Tom as he faces injustice and moral dilemmas—an influential work that stirred Northern anti‑slavery sentiment before the Civil War.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 (16 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Between Shades of Gray by 11147927|Ruta Sepetys book cover

📘 Between Shades of Gray

In 1941 Lithuania, fifteen‑year‑old Lina and her family are deported by the Soviets to a Siberian labor camp; through art and resilience they endure brutal conditions and strive to survive the long journey ahead.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 (14 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Salt to the Sea by 11147927|Ruta Sepetys book cover

📘 Salt to the Sea

In World War II, four refugees—descendants of a Royalist, a German Jesuit, a Jewish family, and a Polish munitions factory worker—board the doomed MV Wilhelm Gustloff in a desperate bid for survival.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 (13 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Incidents in the life of a slave girl by 6937931|Harriet A. Jacobs book cover

📘 Incidents in the life of a slave girl

Harriet Jacobs' autobiographical narrative recounts her escape from slavery in North Carolina, her concealment in a hidden garret for seven years, and her eventual reunion with her children in the North.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 (8 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Code Name Verity by 12072490|Elizabeth Wein book cover

📘 Code Name Verity

A 1943 British fighter pilot crash-lands in Nazi‑occupied France and recounts her daring escape, espionage, and friendship to a young French woman while concealing her true mission.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 (7 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Copper sun by 6584831|Sharon M. Draper book cover

📘 Copper sun

Two fifteen‑year‑old girls—a slave and an indentured servant—escape a South Carolina plantation, journeying toward Fort Moses in Florida, a Spanish refuge for escaped slaves.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 (5 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Sarah's Key by 6976853|Tatiana de Rosnay book cover

📘 Sarah's Key

When a ten‑year‑old Sarah is seized in the 1942 Vel' d'Hiv’ roundup, her friend Julia, a journalist two decades later, discovers that the past still haunts their families and forces her to confront her own identity in post‑war France.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 (4 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Changes for Addy by 7165214|Connie Rose Porter book cover

📘 Changes for Addy

After the Civil War ends in 1865, Addy yearns for family reunification and freedom in Philadelphia, while facing both promised joy and inevitable sorrow in the new postwar world.

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.8 (4 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
When my name was Keoko by 7114016|Linda Sue Park book cover

📘 When my name was Keoko

A Korean brother and sister navigate the growing oppression of the Japanese occupation during World War II, confronting threats to their culture while embodying courage and family loyalty.

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.7 (3 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Happy birthday, Addy! by 7165214|Connie Rose Porter book cover

📘 Happy birthday, Addy!

Addy, a young girl of African American heritage, discovers friendship and the power of a birthday in 1865 Philadelphia, facing racial prejudice.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 (2 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
They came in chains by 8327450|Milton Meltzer book cover

📘 They came in chains

A comprehensive look at the African slave trade and the broader history of slavery from the 15th to the 19th centuries, examining its origins, expansion, and eventual decline.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Door of No Return by 8068150|Sarah Mussi book cover

📘 The Door of No Return

After his grandfather is murdered, 13‑year‑old Zac is placed with foster parents and a care home. He clings to his grandfather’s quest to find a 200‑year‑old ransom in Ghana that could free his ancestor from slavery.

★★★★★★★★★★ 1.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Elijah of Buxton by 6219170|Christopher Paul Curtis book cover

📘 Elijah of Buxton

A courageous boy named Elijah embarks on a perilous journey to help a former slave buy his family free, facing violence, betrayal, and the harsh realities of the past.

★★★★★★★★★★ 1.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Secret to Freedom by 6783162|Marcia K. Vaughan book cover

📘 Secret to Freedom

A touching tale of a young slave girl, Great Aunt Lucy, who learns the secret quilt code to guide herself, her brother Albert, and other enslaved people toward freedom on the Underground Railroad.

★★★★★★★★★★ 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
47 by 7462710|Walter Mosley book cover

📘 47

A young slave boy named 47 in the World War II‑era plantation of Georgia is haunted by oppression, but a mysterious runaway slave named Tall John sparks a fight for liberty—a compelling blend of history and speculative magic.

★★★★★★★★★★ 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Forge by 7698795|Laurie Halse Anderson book cover

📘 Forge

A sixteen‑year‑old African American boy flees slavery, fights in the Continental Army at Valley Forge, and must confront the reality of freedom and captivity again.

★★★★★★★★★★ 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Taking Liberty by 6370463|Ann Rinaldi book cover

📘 Taking Liberty

Anne Rinaldi’s historical novel follows Oney Judge, lifelong servant and slave of Martha Washington, as she confronts her bondage and contemplates escape to actual freedom.

★★★★★★★★★★ 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The escape of Oney Judge by 6706593|Emily Arnold McCully book cover

📘 The escape of Oney Judge

A courageous young black woman, Oney Judge, breaks free from slavery in George and Martha Washington’s household and charts a daring path to liberty as a free woman.

★★★★★★★★★★ 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Juneteenth for Mazie by 8757812|Floyd Cooper book cover

📘 Juneteenth for Mazie

In *Juneteenth for Mazie*, a young girl learns that true freedom means more than staying up late; her father shares the historic celebration of Juneteenth and the legacy of her ancestors in Texas.

★★★★★★★★★★ 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0

Some Other Similar Books

Fever 1793 by Laurence Y. Ryan

Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!

Please login to submit books!