Reviews tagging 'Child death'

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

14 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Torture, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Blood, Death, Gore, and Sexism

Moderate: Self harm, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Cursing, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

Minor: Racial slurs and Religious bigotry

aleyajo's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So enthralling! Excellent critique of the prison industrial complex. You cannot truly love if you have ownership over another. Masterful blend of the real with the almost-real, akin to the Handmaid’s Tale.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Mental illness, Police brutality, Self harm, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Murder, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

joensign's review

challenging dark tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Police brutality, Racism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, Suicide, Child death, Murder, Torture, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Body horror, and Domestic abuse

akswhy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Gut-wrenching in its closeness and exceptionally violent. This is an important book and a well-crafted story, but I cannot say I enjoyed it. I have a feeling that was the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Child death, Blood, Slavery, Police brutality, Mental illness, Confinement, Racial slurs, Gore, Racism, Torture, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Car accident, Transphobia, Addiction, and Rape

glammster's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Colonisation, Cursing, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Gore, Sexism, Trafficking, Murder, Death of parent, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Confinement, Racial slurs, Slavery, Cancer, Child death, Classism, Death, and Rape

jennaviolet's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Blood, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Rape, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Homophobia, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

wooblatoober's review

adventurous dark informative reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

This book has changed me. Incredibly informative and real, strengthened my hatred for America’s prison system. Also a commentary on racism and capitalism in general, both of which Adjei-Brenyah shows run rampant in his fictional American prison system and in America’s real one that’s not so far off. I gave it a 4.75 instead of 5 because Adjei-Brenyah’s writing does more telling instead of showing at times, and there are sometimes long monologues in the character’s heads that could be shaved down or even cut. I had read this right after taking a creative writing class and was surprised by how many parts of the book my professor would have told me to remove or change if I was writing it, especially because it was otherwise such an incredible book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Slavery, Cursing, Body horror, Child death, Torture, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

kevsunblush's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Hate crime, Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Suicide

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

Chain-Gang All-Stars is a compelling, character-driven dystopian with a Hunger-Games-style premise that explores the very real present-day horrors of the prison-industrial complex in the United States. The story is told through a fragmented series of fictional POVs and is occasionally interspersed with real statistics and historical context. The idea of the games - killing contests derived for commercial entertainment staged between inmates from prisons across the country - calls on the language and history of slavery in the United States and blends it with the present commodification of a capitalist prison system. It might seem dystopian to imagine large corporations sponsoring prisoners' scythes, hammers, and other murder weapons, but it's hardly very futuristic when we consider the existing - and very profitable - industry surrounding imprisonment, security, monitoring and policing.

This is a stand-out read, and particularly enjoyable on audio, given the diverse cast of narrators. I only wish it had been a bit tighter in execution, because there were parts where I struggled to stay fully invested in the throughline of the story. That said, this is remarkable, and I highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Slavery, Racism, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Blood, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

samburkhouse's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Police brutality, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Child death, Self harm, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Sexual content, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Rape