Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

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

7 reviews

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

azureumbreon's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Violence, Death, Confinement, Torture, Police brutality, Classism, and Dementia

Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, Racial slurs, and Cancer

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

5.0

In a near future dystopia, America has now monetized 'hard action sports' wherein incarcerated people participate in battle royal style murdering to be released from their sentences early. It intersperses real historical facts against this jarring dystopian world of societal failure. The absurdity of society in this book highlights how truly not far off we are from it. In this world, Americans watch and cheer on their favorite incarcerated competitors as they murder each other in sports stadiums broadcasted on TV behind a paywall. It highlights how many people in prisons could be in there for something as simple as having weed, to a mistaken sentence, to murdering their rapist but they are all treated equally horribly in the eyes of the prison. It shows how the prison reform system is not helping communities or addressing route problems but instead tears apart families and essentially exploits incarcerated people for forced labor.

This book should be a must-read for everyone, not only is it extremely well written and truly leaves you feeling a large range of emotions while exploring different perspectives but it is also educational and thought-provoking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Homophobia, Murder, Grief, Police brutality, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Sexism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, War, Self harm, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Trafficking

kristenbynoe's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Rape, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness

tinyplanet'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Torture, Murder, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Blood

Minor: Antisemitism, Infidelity, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Classism, Cursing, Homophobia, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcohol, Death of parent, Deportation, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

bugaboobear's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Self harm, Death, and Slavery

Moderate: Terminal illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Torture, Suicide, and Sexism

Minor: Rape

siobhan28's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Deserves all the praise and more. This book was incredible in the way it deals with abolition of the prison system in a dystopian and a scarily not-so unbelievable future. The facts and real life examples peppered throughout the book really added to that. This book took me through so many different emotions, the writing was visceral and poetic. Really reminded me of an adult version of the hunger games. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death, Racial slurs, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Self harm, Murder, and Racism