dagsswags 's review for:

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
4.25
challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Super violent and dark. Based basically on the true story of America's obsession with hatred, punishment, investing in prison, and violence. Scathing look at the prison industrial complex. I've never read a book like it and it sucks to think that some of these technologies to beat down and destroy a person may not be that far away. I struggled with this not because it was bad (it's really well-written with little vignettes that come together into the full picture) but because it's just so hard. Where life is precious, life is precious.