The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain is a lyrical science fiction parable whose strength is in the development of its titular metaphors through its characters and worldbuilding.

The book follows an unnamed boy released from physical labor in the hold of a starship into the care of a woman professor, as part of an uplift university program. We get to see her world through his eyes, as he copes with unwanted changes to his life and as she learns to trust him. It turns out that she too her own set of different chains.

There's a lot of details I really enjoyed: names as a class distinguisher, interrogation of university politics, some horrifying about-face character and worldbuilding reveals, and also just the strength of the chain metaphor to show that what binds us also connects us.