liv ❁ (i) 's Reviews > Chain-Gang All-Stars

Chain-Gang All-Stars is a blatant critique of the prison industrial complex and the media industry as we lead up to the weeks where Loretta Thurwar has her final gladiatorial style death match to become free after 3 years as a LINK in this profit-raising, deadly prison fight ring. There are a lot of points of view in this book which give a great visual and more room for talking points on prison abolition, police treatment of protestors, and more. The story is hit over the reader’s head a bit, but I think that that can be necessary in order for the message to not get muddled. The message is clear, as we see other horrific points of view and the way that civilians interact with the media/entertainment of the death matches and the more reality-esque tv-show of the lives of the LINKs. I personally found this to be done in a way where I was never entertained, because I felt a bit horrified, which shows to me that a good balance was struck of showing the “entertainment” that is being critiqued and other aspects to the story. While a gladiatorial combat death ring may seem a bit far-fetched, Adjei-Brenyah ties in how prisoners are used for-profit now and how this isn’t necessarily a big jump in the dystopian sense. Among other things, the facts that prison labor in the United States is the only legal form of slave labor in the USA and that the Angola Prison already has a biannual rodeo that has a very high injury rate and they incentivize the prisoners to participate in makes this dystopian reality seem not too far off. Like Angola prison's rodeo (but to a much higher degree), there are questions raised about whether or not a prisoner can consent to joining the death matches when the only other option are prisons with absolutely horrifying conditions. If the chain-gang is the only way out, are they really volunteering? I also really appreciate how abolitionists are questioned about what solutions exist outside of prison, and some of the abolitionists have to come to terms with their own prejudices of people in the prison system. While it stands incredibly well on its own, this is the only book that I feel even slightly comfortable giving a Hunger Games comp to.

I listened to the audiobook of this and have to add that the main narrator, Shayna Small, as well as the narrators with smaller roles, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, and Lee Osorio, all did an incredible job. Would highly recommend the audio version.

4.5/5