This is a moving Revolutionary War historical fiction series that would work effectively in an upper elementary through 8th grade classroom to counter predominantly white historical accounts of the US Revolutionary War.
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, book 1, Seeds of America series
Forge takes place pre-and during the Revolutionary War, and is told through the point-of-view of young 13-year-old Isabel, a Black slave who is cheated of her freedom when her owner dies and her owner's heir ignores the will that sets Isabel and her younger sister Ruth free -- and sells them to British loyalists instead.
From that point forward, Isabel's decisions whether to support the Rebels or the Loyalists is a matter of which will set Isabel and Ruth free.
By the end, the hard answer is: neither. Isabel is cheated, over and over, cruelly separated from her little sister whom she believes sold to hard sugar cane labor in the Caribbean islands, and branded on her cheek with an "I" for Insolence.
Through it all, she makes and keeps -- by rescuing -- a friend, Curzon, also a Black slave, and rowing to their journey toward freedom (they aren't free, not yet). I won't spoil all the twists and turns along the way, and the author sets it up nicely for the sequel.
Teaching Note: These are older texts, so there are plenty of resources available to teach them.
The publisher offers questions for all three books in a Discussion Guide that includes several of Halse's books.
The author offers a bunch of great resources on her website, including Teaching guides for all three books, timeline / map, video, recipes and bibliography for additional exploration, and vocabulary for Forge.
A simple Google search revealed about a dozen more resources, totally free, for teaching these novels. There are a lot of resources available for low cost at Teachers-pay-Teachers as well.
Forge, by Laurie Halse Anderson, book 2, Seeds of America series
This story takes up where Chains left off, but is told from Curzon's POV, not Isabel's. The two split after running free. Curzon thinks he knows what's best for Isabel, which does not involve going south to Charleston to find Ruth, but she outsmarts him and steals all his money and runs away from him first.
Curzon begins as a cart driver, driving goods to the American army, and ends up enlisting and fighting for the American rebel army under George Washington at Valley Forge. He saves a white soldier's life and makes allies among some of the white soldiers while bearing the brunt of discrimination and physical attacks from others.
His former owner, Bellamy, recognizes him, tricks him into coming back to his estate, renegs on his promise to free Curzon for his service in the Army, and instead re-enslaves Curzon.
Then Curzon discovers Isabel is Bellamy's slave, as well, and Bellamy lets her out to other white owners for her sewing skills.
It takes time for Curzon to convince Isabel he's learned what he did wrong the first time, not trusting her and making decisions for her. But he fights for her heart, as best he can and even though he's only 14 and barely starting to shave. When she's on the cusp of running to freedom with another slave on loan to Bellamy's household, Gideon, Curzon show her Gideon doesn't necessarily have her or Ruth's best interests at heart. And he now does.
I won't spoil how it ends and I can't wait to read the next, Ashes.
Teacher's Note
This is an excellent historical fiction addition to any middle school classroom or home shelf. It's one of the few series of books that features the American Revolution. The author does an excellent job of documenting where she pulls the real events, characters and details from in a note in the back of the book, and there are numerous free teaching resources for it offered by the author on her website. They include free curriculum and reading guides, a classroom activity guide and correlation to Common Core standards. There's also an excellent link to a lesson plan, Feeding the Continental Army: Winter 1775-76 from George Washington's Mount Vernon.
There are also plenty of pay-for-teaching-resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Ashes, by Laurie Halse Anderson, book 3, Seeds of America series
This is the finale in the trilogy, and it's uplifting and heart-wrenching at the same time. Isabel and Curzon push through the battle lines to find Ruth, Isabel's little sister. They stick to the woods, scouting farms and fields to figure out if they're occupied by friend or foe or just folk willing to look the other way if they reveal themselves. They're about to make the final push into the city where they suspect Ruth was taken when they stumble onto her and the wonderful slave couple who took her in when she was little and raised her.
The only problem: Ruth refuses to acknowledge Isabel, and Isabel, of course, blames herself for not looking harder and sooner for her little sister. But there's no time for the long, careful introduction Ruth needs to get used to Isabel and accept her into her life and heart again. The civil war comes knocking, and they have to flee -- with a friend of Ruth's, Aberdeen, a young man who's sweet on her and also a Royalist sympathizer.
Ruth walks around barefoot, as she is wont to do, and develops a life-threatening infection Isabel must nurse her through. The two women accept each other into their hearts after that, although the change happens slowly.
Curzon's ties to the Continental Army prove advantageous for them, and he rejoins, claiming Isabel as his wife. It ensures her a job, cooking and washing the soldiers' dirty laundry, and rations for her and Ruth.
But it's unclear which side, the Americans or the British, will be best for freed Blacks and runaway slaves like Curzon and Isabel. Aberdeen throws his lot in with the British, and tries to take Ruth with him.
Isabel later makes a gruesome discovery about what the British did to the Blacks who joined their ranks when the tide turns. Curzon, in the meantime, is digging trenches for the cannons to bombard the British and his very life is at stake.
I won't spoil how it ends, a both happy and profoundly sad ending, knowing the characters' faith in America's potential for them and their children is misplaced for close to 250 years afterward.
