Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

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

13 reviews

ellen_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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 stunning.

Through the lense of a high-action murder game show this book delivers a sharp criticism of the American penal system. By using such an extreme framing point, we are shown all of the ways that the penal system has failed, continues to fail, and could fail in the future. 

Incredibly human characters which force you to question your own complicity and limits of what kinds of punishment can be tolerated. 

Rooted in real statistics and structures of the modern justice system,  this story highlights racial disparities, harsh punishment practices, and all the ways that prisoners are seen as less-than and allowed to be harmed for it. 

I will be thinking about this book and it's message for a very long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Sexual content

leannanecdote's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

crazybookworm31's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This book was an incredibly gripping story, I had trouble putting it down even once, I was so wrapped up in the characters and the plot, I never wanted to let it go.
The story is grueling and painful, but the short chapters and many perspectives offers a bit of reprieve that kept this from being outright depressing. The character Staxxx acts to raise the morale of the other characters within the text, but she did the same for me too, making me laugh when I wanted to cry.
The story is a scathing indictment of the American prison system, one well deserved, and the horror comes not just from the concepts of the story, but by how close it feels to being reality. The horror of knowing we could become this held me the entire way through.
The story is told in many perspectives, something I had to get used to at first, but once I had, it was a breath of fresh air, a bit of creative story telling that is hard to find in published fiction. I greatly enjoyed the author's voice and writing style, the differences between characters voice, the way I could tell who was narrating, not just by the chapter title, but by their own brand of narration. That shows a great bit of talent and skill from the author, which I absolutely applaud.
Is this book sad? Upsetting? Makes you want to be sick? Absolutely. Is it one of the best fiction books I've ever read? Abso-fucking-lutely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Self harm, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism

Non-linear story telling, unreliable narrator(s),

anti-black racial slurs, nazis, graphic depictions of physical and psychological torture, brain-breaking

rcbarnes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-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

Heartbreakingly uncanny.  Sublimly humanizing.  Disturbingly plausible.  Beautiful throughout.

Should probably be required reading before voting in US elections.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

ember13's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, and Abandonment

rainbopagn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

This is a book that will make you rethink everything you feel and know about the American justice system. This should be required reading. The way you go back and forth between perspectives and the way they come together in the final pages... its beautiful storytelling. It is also vicious and violent, much like the real life justice system. The way the author pulls in real people and real statistics is an homage to those who have been unfairly and unjustly treated.  


SPOILERS in
3

2

1

I am more than a little pissed that Thurwar killed Staxxx. I had expected them to go out together, mortally wounding each other. I understand the meaning of the full circle moment but it still annoyed me.     

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Medical content, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Medical trauma

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

rkazoo's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

noodlebooknook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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

4.5

5 stars in general vibes 
4 stars in some execution 
4.5 stars to call it even 

Let’s start with the good:
- the concept is very very good, I mean death games at this point I thought couldn’t be re-invented but this felt familiar yet fresh 
- the main characters were so loved I almost cried multiple times it was so real and raw 
- the author was very good at embodying all of the different POVS each one felt very separate and original 

Some small criticisms:
- the POVs shifting without explicit chapter names for each character can be a little jarring sometimes I wasn’t sure if we were in the story of someone in the games or someone in the outside world
- some of the POV chapters were a little boring, like some chapters would have a rich back story while others I found myself not as invested in
- the changing sometimes between current and past events were not super clear and sometimes made a little confusion in the narrative, chapters as dates or names I think would have cleared me up 

Overall I think this book is an amazing read and says so so so much about current prison systems and neo-slavery while in a fiction setting a lot of this book is very very real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, and Abandonment

3littlewordz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Classism