Topping the 2011 list is Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains. Anderson won the Caudill in 2003 for Fever 1793 and I don't think the kids who chose that book to win will be disappointed in this one in the least. The setting is the Revolutionary War, New York City. Our heroine is Isabel, a young slave girl. Her problem? Her master willed that Isabel and her sister Ruth were to be set free upon her death. What happens instead? A mean-spirited nephew chooses to sell them. And sell them far away from home so that they cannot be legally helped. The sisters are sold to wealthy Loyalists. Isabel is put to work assisting in the kitchen, cleaning the house, serving guests, and walking the mile to retrieve water from the well.Young Ruth is chosen by "Madam" to be a living doll and companion. She is dressed well and expected to be seen and not heard.
Isabel is a strong-willed, vocal girl who has been taught to read. Quiet Ruth suffers from an illness that causes seizures, which is misconstrued as her being possessed by demon spirits. It is not long before the girls discover their new masters to be very cruel. With this knowledge, Isabel determines to find a way to save herself and her sister. The first opportunity comes in the form of another slave, Curzon, who serves the rebel/Patriot army. He promises help in exchange for information about the Loyalists. It's a hard decision for Isabel. It's a dangerous job that she has been asked to do. If she gets caught, she could go to jail or worse and she wouldn't be able to help her sister.
This book is very well-researched and written and most certainly NOT one-sided. No one really knows who the good or bad guys are. If the rebels win, slavery will continue, but maybe they will help Isabel for her assistance. The English have already outlawed slavery. If the British Army wins, will they free the slaves? If she helps them, will they help her and and her sister? Master beats Madam and Madam beats Isabel, but Master's Aunt shows Isabel great kindness within the bounds she's allowed. The Aunt laments not buying Isabel when she had the chance. Kindness is paid with kindness in this relationship.
As confused and downtrodden as Isabel is, she makes remarkable choices on behalf of her sister and the people who have showed her kindness. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to help Curzon when he is held prisoner by the King's Army. She brings him food and delivers messages and even cleans the prison in an opportunity to save him. She gets herself cornered, beaten and eventually branded in an attempt save her sister. And still she continues in the hope that someday she will get her freedom. It is a brutal and emotional book. The scenes are not pretty and sometimes they are hard to read, but the book is about survival. It might just jumpstart some of today's children who are struggling to survive mere boredom. I am glad to say that there is a sequel, Forge, do to be published October of this year.
The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award is an annual award given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by students in grades 4 through 8 in participating Illinois schools. The award is named in honor of Rebecca Caudill who lived and wrote in Urbana, Illinois, for nearly 50 years. The award is given in recognition of her literary talent and the universal appeal of her books which have touched the hearts of many children and young adults. It's purpose it to encourage children and young adults to read for personal satisfaction; to develop a statewide awareness of outstanding literature for children and young people and to promote a desire for literacy; and to encourage cooperation among Illinois agencies providing educational and library service to young people.
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