Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

5 reviews

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

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

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Blood, Racial slurs, Sexism, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Physical abuse, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Rape, Torture, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

Descriptions calling this book Hunger Games meets Gladiator are not wrong. I got those Hunger Games vibes from the very beginning, except instead of teenagers, we're following those whom society has deemed criminals, as nearly every aspect of their lives is recorded for public consumption and they are pitted against each other in violent battles to the death for a chance to win freedom.

This book is meant for discussion, with conversations about race, privilege, class, incarceration, and so much more abounding. I also enjoyed how many different POVs we got—it really fleshed out this world and raised the stakes for our main characters, I think.

That being said, I listened to this on audio and, while the audio narration itself was phenomenal, it would often take me a while to understand what POV I was listening to and I got confused by the jumping around. I think I would've preferred to have a copy of the physical book while listening to the audio. Something to keep in my mind if you decide to read this! I do love a good multiple-POV story, but this one does have too many to count—though I do think they each added to the world and this story!

Anyways, I loved our main characters Thurwar and Staxxx. I wanted more from the ending but at the same time, the ending fit so perfectly with what this story was trying to convey. But still. I'm not over it.

Thank you to Libro.fm, Penguin Random House Audio, and the author for my ALC!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gun violence

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Death, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Self harm, Gore, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Lesbophobia, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Abandonment