A Goodreads user asked Laurie Halse Anderson:

Which is the one book that has influenced you more than any other, in terms of who you are, how you live and what you think?

Laurie Halse Anderson Wow - what an amazing question! I think Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. There are a number of flaws in it, notably Wilder's profound racism towards Native Americans and African Americans. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't notice these things when I was nine years old. Back then, it was just a fascinating book that sparked my interest in American history.

Re-reading it as an adult, I saw the ugly, casual racism for what it was. That helped me reexamine everything I thought I knew about American history. I started reading books and studying the work of historians who wrote about the development of the United States as seen from the perspective of people of color.

All of this helped lead me to write my trilogy about the American Revolution: CHAINS, FORGE and ASHES (this last installment is almost done.)

I am proud to be an American. I'm even prouder to be an American who is trying to help my countrymen understand our history so that we might truly fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence; that this will one day (soon!) become a land where everyone is treated equally.

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