Chains

Chains
By Laurie Halse Anderson

1. At first, I read the book because it was required. I didn’t like it at first. Farther into the book it got better. I am not a big historical fiction reader. I usually read fantasy fiction books. I look for books that are more popular most of the time.

2. The ratio of history to fiction is 1:2. I would say this because the history forms the background but the fiction is more important in the whole story. This is true because the main character is fictional. In fact, most of the action in the story is fictional. The book is based around the Revolutionary War which is historical. The characters, except for the main character, are historical as well. However, the main character is trying to break away from history; to write her own history. It really doesn’t matter which elements are true or not in the story. The story could take place in a different time frame.

3. In the book, it is most important what happens to the characters in the story. The dome of color (fiction) in the black and white area (historical) represents the fictional aspect of the book. It is the fiction that makes you want to read it. It won a Scott O’Dell award for historical fiction.

4. I didn’t know that there were people who wanted to assassinate George Washington. I also didn’t know that there were people who wanted to support King George the Third during the Revolution. I want to know more about the back story of this book. In other words, I want to know more about all of the circumstances that took place, during the revolutionary war, than the book provides.

5. If I were the main character I would have acted differently. She actually alerted the congress about the plan to assassinate George Washington. I am not a big risk taker so I probably would not have let the congress know what was going on. There would have been a risk of hanging and torture for me if I had put myself in this situation. So if I was in the story instead of the main character it would be a much less exciting book.

6. I would write a book about my school life revolving around some particular historical events, such as, the Iraq War and the assassination of Ben Ladin. I would be the main character in the book. I would be a character who gets all of the troops out of Iraq and back to their families. Due to a radioactive solar panel explosion, I would become a super hero who could harness the suns rays. I would then use this power for good in the world. I would have a weakness towards lead. I think it would be an interesting book.