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A review by 13rebecca13
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Chain-Gang All-Stars is a dystopian fiction novel that follows prisoners in America who compete in a gladiator-style reality TV show run by the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment league. They fight to the death and eventually earn their freedom. There are different groups or "links" that compete against each other, hence the title of the novel.
There are so many characters to follow along with so it took me a while to understand all of them. I did listen to this on audio which has a full cast so that definitely did help. Our main two protagonists and the most prominent members of Chain-Gang All-Stars are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker. The two women are teammates in the same link but are also romantic partners which obviously bodes a problem when they will end up competing against each other.
This was a very interesting read with a big focus being on the de-humanisation of inmates and the examination of the prison system in America, violence and injustice, particularly towards people of colour. There are a lot of statistics peppered throughout the book which are just shocking to hear.
There are so many characters to follow along with so it took me a while to understand all of them. I did listen to this on audio which has a full cast so that definitely did help. Our main two protagonists and the most prominent members of Chain-Gang All-Stars are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker. The two women are teammates in the same link but are also romantic partners which obviously bodes a problem when they will end up competing against each other.
This was a very interesting read with a big focus being on the de-humanisation of inmates and the examination of the prison system in America, violence and injustice, particularly towards people of colour. There are a lot of statistics peppered throughout the book which are just shocking to hear.