Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ask_dorrey54 's review for:
Chain-Gang All-Stars
by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
There were parts of this book that I really loved and other parts that I really hated... The beginning was 3⭐, the middle 2⭐, and the end 5⭐ for me, so I rounded my final score to a 4. So many different emotions, I'll try to explain.
The premise behind this book is really thought provoking. In the near future, convicts are given the choice to join the CAPE program for 3 years instead of serving out their sentence in prison. The only problem is that the CAPE program is a nationally broadcasted gladiator program. Each person is given a group of other gladiators to live with that they can't battle. And then every few days the different battle groups will one at a time (mostly) battle the people from another group to the death. So most people don't make it out of the CAPE program alive. In fact, there has only been one person ever to make it to their 3 year mark and become freed. Meet Loretta Thurwar, one of the best known gladiators who is only 3 weeks away from achieving this goal.
Again, I LOVED the premise. Such a solid idea and so many social critiques can be made from the dramatization of basically a glorified killing show that the general public grows to love like a normal sporting event in a grotesque way. The two main characters, Thurwar and Staxx, super loveable and relatable. The rest of their group, such nuanced lives and great to root for and against. That's the good stuff.
The bad... I found all of the footnotes of current statistics unnecessary and frankly annoying. While it's important information to share, maybe an afterward or intro section would've been the better place. They really took me out of the current story and kind of ruined the flow of the novel for me. The jumping around to different characters all the time really hurt the story for me as well. For the first half of the book I had a very difficult time following who was who and where we were and how this new person was related to what was just happening. It felt like a bunch of short stories and some still feel super unnecessary. It took me forever to read this and I think that was the main reason.
Even though I waivered along the way with whether I actually liked it, I think in the end it's a worthwhile read. Especially for that heart-pounding final chapter! I do really wish we could've seen what happened directly after it though, even though I understand why Nana stopped it there.
The premise behind this book is really thought provoking. In the near future, convicts are given the choice to join the CAPE program for 3 years instead of serving out their sentence in prison. The only problem is that the CAPE program is a nationally broadcasted gladiator program. Each person is given a group of other gladiators to live with that they can't battle. And then every few days the different battle groups will one at a time (mostly) battle the people from another group to the death. So most people don't make it out of the CAPE program alive. In fact, there has only been one person ever to make it to their 3 year mark and become freed. Meet Loretta Thurwar, one of the best known gladiators who is only 3 weeks away from achieving this goal.
Again, I LOVED the premise. Such a solid idea and so many social critiques can be made from the dramatization of basically a glorified killing show that the general public grows to love like a normal sporting event in a grotesque way. The two main characters, Thurwar and Staxx, super loveable and relatable. The rest of their group, such nuanced lives and great to root for and against. That's the good stuff.
The bad... I found all of the footnotes of current statistics unnecessary and frankly annoying. While it's important information to share, maybe an afterward or intro section would've been the better place. They really took me out of the current story and kind of ruined the flow of the novel for me. The jumping around to different characters all the time really hurt the story for me as well. For the first half of the book I had a very difficult time following who was who and where we were and how this new person was related to what was just happening. It felt like a bunch of short stories and some still feel super unnecessary. It took me forever to read this and I think that was the main reason.
Even though I waivered along the way with whether I actually liked it, I think in the end it's a worthwhile read. Especially for that heart-pounding final chapter! I do really wish we could've seen what happened directly after it though, even though I understand why Nana stopped it there.