Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

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

260 reviews

raichoreads's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

Holy cow this was an emotional read. The earnest emotionality that came through this story and these characters was so intense for so much of this book. The strong abolitionist thread that included emphasis on forgiveness and empathy and the necessity of change brought me to tears a couple of times. I particularly appreciated the way that the author implicates the reader in being a consumer of Chain-Gang All-Stars, just like the society that we theoretically would condemn. It evoked a lot of self reflection for me and has me talking about this book with anyone who will listen. I loved the simultaneous resolution and also lack thereof. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Blood, and Sexual harassment

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

"Chain-Gang All-Stars" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a thoughtful look at the United States carceral system through a near-future sci-fi lens.
In the future, the carceral system has been turned into a reality show. Prisoners can choose to fight against one another to the death with the promise of freedom if they can survive for three years. The story focuses on two Black women who choose to fight, Hurricane Staxxx and Loretta Thurwar, who also happen to be in love with one another. As Thurwar looks to the near future and her potential freedom, the system will find new and increasingly brutal ways to pit the women against each other. 
Adjei-Brenyah has crafted a horrifying world that feels eerily close to our own. Two of the biggest highlights of this story are the characters and the world-building. The characters feel like real people with all of the complications and messiness that makes humans humans. Many of the characters we follow are murderers and yet, Adjei-Brenyah does an excellent job of humanizing them and making their past transgressions feel like it is in the past. We are provided the opportunity to see firsthand how these characters have grown and changed. I also really appreciated how he weaves true facts about our current prison system with the near-future world. They added to and continued to build the existing world. 
I did run into a bit of an issue with the way the narrative was told. We swoop in and out of a number of different characters' lives. Some we spend a good deal of time with while others are only seen for a single chapter. Though I appreciate how this built out the world and allowed us to see how the horror of death matches have become common place, I found the one-off characters could be a bit confusing and take away from the larger narrative of our main characters. Even so, I think this is a fantastic debut and I cannot wait to see what Adjei-Brenyah writes next. I am sure it will have great characters and biting commentary told through a fascinating world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs and Rape

sourbabies's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Suicide and Torture

aharper's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bookflix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

gdulecki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

5.0

FUCK!!!! 

“I seen men I knew were a danger to the world and they too deserve better than this. A shame for me to hope for better, but I know it’s better that can be done”

This was horrifying, brutal, and so deeply moving. There was so much going on, all the perspectives were woven together so masterfully, and I think this style of narration and storytelling was exactly what this story needed. I am at a loss for words, I am grateful for Adjei-Brenyah putting this  book into the world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

elainemh's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

indieleah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A must read, an excellent take down of the prison complex and humans obsession with watching bad things happen to one another. Every now and then the language felt a bit pretentious, but that’s just personal preference I think. Excellent, and also, a tough read (VERY SAD). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape

sarahburchh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

incredible concept for a dystopian book based on the current system we live in. took me a minute to get into it but then i was IN. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

kimapede's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Rape