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A review by sarahyjackson
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
challenging
dark
emotional
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
A vivid, visceral narrative that has just enough dystopian elements to make it speculative, and way more actuality to make the realism inescapable.
If I were still a high school teacher, I’d assign this book. It manages to be both a condemnation of the American prison industrial complex and a poem about violence, repair, suffering, & ethics.
As comprehensive a story about abolition as I have read in a while. I’ll be thinking of Loretta & Hamara for a long time.
If I were still a high school teacher, I’d assign this book. It manages to be both a condemnation of the American prison industrial complex and a poem about violence, repair, suffering, & ethics.
As comprehensive a story about abolition as I have read in a while. I’ll be thinking of Loretta & Hamara for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Antisemitism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship