Chains of Freedom by Jess Mountifield
Series: N/A
Source: Author
Release Date: June 6, 2012
Kaihaitu has been trained for leadership since she was a small child but nothing quite prepared her for the arrival of the British Redcoats. When they build their new fort right by the Maori fishing grounds and refuse to allow access to the Maori people there are very few options for Kai to take.
With her father dead and other villagers sick she has to make a choice between her heart and her head.
I really struggled to finish this book. The writing style was quite simplistic and the book could have used a lot more editing. The dialogue was very bland and one of the biggest problems I had with the dialogue was that there was no emotion to it. There was nothing investing me to the story line or the characters.
I would have liked a little more history on the disputes between the tribe and redcoats. I found there wasn't enough world building, which probably one of the reason I wasn't very attached to any of the characters or their plight.
The writing style mostly tried to tell us how the characters feel and didn't show it through dialogue or the characters actions. Perhaps, more dialogue between the characters would aid in this.
I found the tribe leader, Kaihaitu, to be quite naive and annoying throughout the novel. Even though she was taught English when the redcoats first arrived, I felt like there would be more communication issues then the book presented. I find it very unbelievable that she would go onto a pirate ship alone and that her tribe would let her. You would think she would have brought at least one guard!
The last quarter of the novel was much better than the rest. The action and the story line finally picked up. One thing I must say is that Kaihaitu was at least smart enough to negotiate a decent deal with the pirates.
