Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

9 reviews

ember13's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, and Abandonment

rainbopagn's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is a book that will make you rethink everything you feel and know about the American justice system. This should be required reading. The way you go back and forth between perspectives and the way they come together in the final pages... its beautiful storytelling. It is also vicious and violent, much like the real life justice system. The way the author pulls in real people and real statistics is an homage to those who have been unfairly and unjustly treated.  


SPOILERS in
3

2

1

I am more than a little pissed that Thurwar killed Staxxx. I had expected them to go out together, mortally wounding each other. I understand the meaning of the full circle moment but it still annoyed me.     

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Ableism, Rape, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Cursing

ukponge's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Racial slurs, Murder, Grief, Rape, Police brutality, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Suicide, Blood, Racism, Sexual harassment, Confinement, and Cursing

rkazoo's review

challenging dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Blood, Torture, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Suicide, Cursing, Murder, Confinement, Violence, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

Minor: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Slavery, Classism, Transphobia, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury

noodlebooknook's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

5 stars in general vibes 
4 stars in some execution 
4.5 stars to call it even 

Let’s start with the good:
- the concept is very very good, I mean death games at this point I thought couldn’t be re-invented but this felt familiar yet fresh 
- the main characters were so loved I almost cried multiple times it was so real and raw 
- the author was very good at embodying all of the different POVS each one felt very separate and original 

Some small criticisms:
- the POVs shifting without explicit chapter names for each character can be a little jarring sometimes I wasn’t sure if we were in the story of someone in the games or someone in the outside world
- some of the POV chapters were a little boring, like some chapters would have a rich back story while others I found myself not as invested in
- the changing sometimes between current and past events were not super clear and sometimes made a little confusion in the narrative, chapters as dates or names I think would have cleared me up 

Overall I think this book is an amazing read and says so so so much about current prison systems and neo-slavery while in a fiction setting a lot of this book is very very real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Ableism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Death

3littlewordz's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Police brutality, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Gore, Bullying, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Classism, and Cursing

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Self harm, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Suicide, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Hate crime, Transphobia, Car accident, Gun violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Ableism

kshertz's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.25

What a powerful book. It takes every issue we’re dealing with in modern society and blows it up to monumental proportions. The circle comes back around with chain gangs that fight gladiator style. It’s so smart I’m sure a lot went over my head. But the ills of society are on full display. Prepare to be amazed at the talent ! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Gore, Physical abuse, Body horror, Racism, Violence, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Death

jessthanthree's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Self harm, Gore, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Lesbophobia, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Abandonment