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lokes's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Dysphoria
couldbestephen's review against another edition
5.0
Chain-Gang All-Stars is set in a dystopian American future where imprisoned people (disproportionally made up of BIPOC people) are given an opportunity to participate in in gladiator death matches with other prisoners. We follow several Links (a group of fighters from the same prison are called a Chain, individual fighters are called Links), protesters, and "regular people" as Season 32 of Chain-Gang ends and Season 33 begins.
There was so much I enjoyed about this book. The author bounces between different characters from chapter to chapter, switching from 1st person to 3rd, and only two characters blurred together for me. Everyone was real and had strong personal motivation. The action scenes were tight and kept you on the edge of my seat. One of the final fights (not the Final Fight, but the one right before) straight up had my heart in my throat, I almost threw my book across the room because of how nervous I was. The book is filled with little annotations that talk about real life prison statistics and help ground the book even more, help cement the tragedy of it all.
The only issue I had boiled down to a personal one; I did get two characters mixed up a few times. Singer and Jungle (The Unkillable) at times felt like a "similar" person. It wasn't until they
All in all, this book was fast read that captivated me from the first chapter. It's one I would 100% recommend to everyone. It's incredible. It will stick with you. Read it.
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
rkazoo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism
minxtte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Transphobia and Religious bigotry