Book Series · 3 Books

Seeds of America Books

In order from Chains to Ashes.

Laurie Halse Anderson's Revolutionary War trilogy follows Isabel and Curzon as they survive enslavement, search for family, and fight for a freedom the new nation does not extend to them.

Reviewed by the Bookroo Editors Updated August 12, 2026

Reading order

How to Read the Seeds of America Trilogy

Read Chains, Forge, and Ashes in numbered order. The viewpoint shifts between Isabel and Curzon, but their stories overlap and build toward the same conclusion, so publication order is also the intended reading order.

Sources: Simon & Schuster's official trilogy page.

For parents

What Parents Should Know

The trilogy gives young readers a serious view of the American Revolution through enslaved Black teenagers. It includes racist language and dehumanization, beatings and other abuse, hunger, imprisonment, war violence, injuries, disease, and deaths.

The difficult material is presented for middle-grade and teen readers in a story centered on courage, literacy, friendship, and the gap between revolutionary ideals and lived freedom. Families may want to discuss the historical context alongside the novels.

Where the story begins

First Book in the Series

Sale price

$858

Book #1 · Chapter Book · Ages 12–16 · 2008

Chains

By Laurie Halse Anderson

A young girl fights for freedom amidst the Revolutionary War's chaos.

316 pages· 75,381 words· Est. 7 hour read

$8.99Save 5%

Paperback

Summary: In the throes of the Revolutionary War, thirteen-year-old Isabel faces a harrowing choice. Promised freedom, she and her sister Ruth are instead trapped by a cruel couple in New York. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with Patriot connections, he urges her to spy on her owners. Reluctant but desperate, Isabel's resolve is tested when tragedy strikes Ruth. Will Isabel risk everything for a chance at freedom, or remain shackled by fear? As the nation battles for independence, Isabel's personal revolution begins, where loyalty and liberty hang in the balance.

In reading order