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

Bibliographic Information:

Title: Chain-Gang All-Stars

Author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

ISBN: 9780593317334

Publisher: Pantheon

Copyright Date: 2023

Format/Genre: Hardcover; African American fiction; Literary fiction; Dystopian fiction; Book club best bets; Adult books for young adults; Debut title (Chain-Gang All-Stars: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.).

Awards and Honors: 2024 Alex Award

Reading Level/Interest Level: Written for and marketed to adults, but with this being Adjei-Brenyah’s first novel maybe the publisher did not realize the appeal this book would have to teens. Totally appropriate for any kids in high school.

Plot Summary: This is a book about many things – reality television culture, desensitization to violence, racism, wrongful incarceration, the evils of capitalism gone crazy. It is the story of Loretta Thurwar, a convict who signs a contract to leave her prison and join the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (CAPE) program. Essentially, CAPE forms teams of modern-day gladiators (called Links) from each prison district, and these teams (called Chains) compete against other Chains in a winner take all fight to the death, every week, on pay-per-view television. If a Link can survive for three years, they are granted clemency and released from incarceration.

Thurwar, and her best friend/lover/confidant Staxxx, are the two powerhouses on their Chain. Thurwar is already a “Colossal” (the highest ranking you can be before you are “Freed”) and after Staxxx wins her next fight, she will become a Colossal as well. Then Thurwar finds out that that corporation that runs CAPE is about to change the rules. Previously, Links from the same Chain could not, and were not, required to fight each other. But this change to the rules means that Thurwar will have to fight Staxxx when they are both Colossals, with the winner being set free.

Author Background: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was raised about 40 miles north of New York City but now makes his home in the Bronx. His first book, a collection of stories called Friday Black, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize. He is also a National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’ honoree.

Critical Evaluation: Adjei-Brenyah supplies footnotes throughout the book providing factual details on things like innocent people being incarcerated in America at a rate of 2.3 to 5% of the total inmate population (that would be over 100,000 incarcerated unjustly), and eighty-six percent of women in jail have experienced sexual violence. He does not hold back with the facts which will hopefully enlighten readers who just happen to pick up this book for a bit of “summer reading.” He intends to educate the reader and does a fantastic job of it.

With its dystopian, kill or be killed theme, this book had a very Hunger Games feel to it for me. There is a lot (I mean a LOT) of blood and violence in this book, but I could see how this book could be a huge favorite of the YA crowd, making it fully deserving of its 2024 Alex Award win.

Creative Use for a Library Program: Well we can’t exactly have a battleground style fight in the library and start figuring out which of our teens are “Colossals”, so instead we can take a look at and further dissect the facts that the author provides in footnotes throughout the book. Several of these can be further expounded on, with additional reference information, and we can discuss the point the author was trying to make with this book.

Speed-Round Book Talk: Loretta Thurwar has made some mistakes in her past. Is she a good person? Maybe. The same can be said for her friend, and lover, Starxx. The two of them, along with their friends, fight against other groups of prisoners from other prisons, in fight to the death only one person standing battles. This is a way she could get out of prison, Thurwar and Starxx were told. They didn’t tell them that the final battle might mean betraying their best friend.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Lots of things for the complainers to complain about in this book. There is racism, rape, self-harm, lots of blood/gore/violence, and some police brutality thrown in there. But again, most teens have been exposed to this type of stuff already, on broadcast television/cable television/video games. So if parents don’t want their kids to watch/play that stuff at home they can also just tell them they can’t check this book out. But there is no reason to keep this book from other kids. Just have your collection development plan handy to give them a copy.

Reason for Inclusion: This is another Alex Award Winner and I was really pleased to see so many Alex Award Winners in my existing TBR pile. Kids that like the Hunger Games type of movie will enjoy this book.