Chains-Anderson

Many of you are already fans of Laurie Halse Anderson. She has written Speak and Fever 1793. In the book Chains, she tells a very powerful story of a young slave girl named Isabel. This historical fiction account takes place during the Revolutionary War. Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth are orphans and their latest owner has just died. They are taken by their owner's nephew and sold in a tavern to the highest bidder. That degrading event takes Isabel and Ruth from their home in Rhode Island to New York City where they are to work for a couple who are very loyal to the King. They have money and wealth like Isabel has never seen but her mistress is one of the meanest, most demanding people you could ever imagine.
While many of the characters in the story are fiction, the humiliation, cruelty, and danger that Isabel endures is not. Her life means nothing to the soldiers who use her as a spy and messenger between the Loyalist and Patriots. The story is very emotional and moving. I was happy to see that Isabel's story will be continued in another book. If you have been reading any of Angel Johnson's books I recommend picking up this story.

Skullduggery Pleasant-Landy

Stephanie Edgely was unaware of just how much her life was going to change as she sat in the lawyer's office that day. Her uncle had passed away and she was there to hear the reading of his will, not that she expected to gain anything, but because she had been requested to attend. Stephanie was curious about a stranger in the room who must of been a friend of her uncle's because he certainly wasn't family. As it turns out Stephanie inherits her uncle's house and that is where her troubles begin. On the first night she decides to stay there alone someone breaks in and threatens to harm her. During her struggle to get away she hears the front door explode open and the stranger from the lawyer's office comes in and sends the intruder running. The stranger, as she later finds out, is Skullduggery Pleasant, a well dressed, living-dead, wizard-detective who knows a little something about the intruder's reason for being at the house.

As it turns out there is a war brewing between to opposing forces and the evil "Faceless Ones" are gaining strength which would be very bad for Stephanie, Skullduggery, and the rest of the world. The intruder stated that he was after a key so now Stephanie and Skullduggery had a mystery to solve. They need to find the key and figure out how it was going to be used by the evil forces.

I enjoyed the humor in the story and was caught up in the adventure from the beginning. I like the pace of the story and look forward to the next book in this series. I can't wait to hear your opinions of this book!

Mrs. G