Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

18 reviews

angievansprang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a feat. You will have so much reckoning with your own thoughts on what the true essence of humanity is and whether any of us are truly deserving of high cruelty. The anecdotes sprinkled throughout in footnotes that detail true statistics on our current prison industrial complex remind you that this book is not a work of pure fiction. Incredibly written and enthralling. Should be required reading for all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Classism

Minor: Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Rape

tinyplanet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Torture, Murder, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Blood

Minor: Antisemitism, Infidelity, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Classism, Cursing, Homophobia, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcohol, Death of parent, Deportation, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

lycheejelly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Medical trauma

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A devastating diatribe against the US prison system, this book uses violence to show the misery of the incarcerated. It’s shocking and eye-opening and one of the hardest books I’ve read this year. The suffering is almost unrelenting, the rare delicious meal or soft bed breaking up the monotony of the characters’s wretched existence. 

The character development is focused on the now - very little attention is given to the lives the people had before they entered the killing-as-entertainment program. We learn just enough to know that these are not the same people who earlier committed murder, rape, and arson. The irony is that they’re now being told to kill, and to do it in a spectacular manner to make the games masters and the promoters as rich as possible. 

As pointed out in an interview Mari gives, there’s no good solution to the problem of incarcerating so many people. But clearly the current situation isn’t working and there needs to be change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence

meganpbell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This searing, gut punch of a speculative novel imagines a future America where prisoners fight to the death for entertainment. The research on our current carceral state, as well as abolition, that Adjei-Brenyah incorporated throughout the story is impressive and eye-opening. I do think the structure, cutting between multiple POVs, detracted from the emotional force of the main story of two top women gladiators in love fighting for freedom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Rape, and Suicide

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Grief

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

A very difficult book to rate. There was so much packed into this but overall it lacked focus. The author is a talented writer but, for me, this was messy and chaotic. There were way too many characters and names to follow and the changing POVs just added to the confusion. I enjoyed the addition of the factual footnotes, but the intermixing of fiction footnotes watered down the effect and distracted from the main novel. I can appreciate what the author was attempting and I think that there is much value in turning a magnifying lens to the American carceral system, but this needed more fine tuning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, Blood, Torture, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, Rape, Racism, Death of parent, Transphobia, and Sexism

anthologee's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Self harm, Mental illness, Gun violence, Confinement, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Racism, Hate crime, Rape, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, Gore, Genocide, Cursing, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, and Colonisation

olivia_vosper's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Torture, Suicide, Self harm, Death, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer and Transphobia

alexijai98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I can’t say I enjoyed this book, because enjoyed isn’t the right word. But I couldn’t put it down. It broke my heart and made me laugh and made me cry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, Death, Racism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

krysley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Death, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny