A review by daniellekat
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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

3.75

A very difficult book to rate. There was so much packed into this but overall it lacked focus. The author is a talented writer but, for me, this was messy and chaotic. There were way too many characters and names to follow and the changing POVs just added to the confusion. I enjoyed the addition of the factual footnotes, but the intermixing of fiction footnotes watered down the effect and distracted from the main novel. I can appreciate what the author was attempting and I think that there is much value in turning a magnifying lens to the American carceral system, but this needed more fine tuning. 
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