Laurie Halse Anderson is, deservedly, celebrated in the States for her historical fiction written for a teen audience. 'Fever 1793' is an extraordinary and enlightening read, and the 'Seeds of America' series, unsurprisingly, has won accolades and awards across the board. It's unusual in that it gives a valuable insight into the lives of slaves in cities - in this case, in New York in the run up to the War of Independence (or American Revolution). This, the first in the series, 'Chains', tells the story of Isabel and Ruth, sisters whose owner has died, and who are sold to the fastest and highest bidders, and taken to New York to begin a new life of drudgery and thralldom. Isabel does not start out a fighter - she is, essentially, a lost little girl, grieving for her mother and trying her best to care for her little sister. It is as she grows, experiencing oppression, cruelty and injustice, that a fire within her starts to burn - a longing for freedom, and for a chance to see her sister again. This gentler approach, unlike many other books about slavery where the protagonist burns with the fight against injustice from the very beginning, means that the novel feels like a slower read to start with, but the effect is powerful - our affection and heart for Isabel grows with her own awakening sense of self, and by the end of the book we are invested, willing her to find a way out of her oppression, and standing amazed at the resilience and character she has shown under immense pressure. As a role model for teens, she is extraordinary, making the hardest of choices in the most challenging of situations, and always battling to work out what the right thing to do is despite being constantly treated as if she is worthless.

There is so much to learn in this series about the American Revolution, as well as its effect on the slave trade at the time - we study barely any American history in this country, and so these stories are invaluable in remedying that lack.

As well as this historical educational value of the novel, the reader learns about humanity. A whole and realistic range of human responses to the chaos of the war is laid bare. Isabel's friendship with Curzon, slave to Bellingham, a patriot, grows through the book, and the reader senses that in the sequels their relationship will deepen - but their faithfulness to oneanother through challenges and setbacks is pure friendship at this stage, and so well drawn, navigating forgiveness, gentleness, and sacrifice in its ups and downs. We see cruelty and prejudice, selfishness and greed in this story too, chiefly in the Locktons, Isabel's loyalist owners. Their aunt Lady Seymour embodies a more nuanced take on the human condition; she does not hold with child slavery, but nevertheless does not take action herself, until the very end of the story, to free Isabel. It's one of those stories that leaves you wondering what your own responses would have been to the immorality, confusion, and chaos in which the characters find themselves.

This book leaves you grasping for the next in the series, keen to learn more about the next stages of the revolution, but even more eager - and this is the power of historical fiction at work - to read on to follow the story of Isabel and Curzon in their quest to find Ruth...and freedom. With a burgeoning romance, a high stakes war, and injustice and the fight for freedom at its core, this is a standout series for teens - highly recommended, especially for KS3 students studying slavery.