Join us for an in-person Book Club Discussion &/or themed Mocktail (+/or Cocktail) Tasting (with a listening party & more fun!) on Saturday, July 19th, starting at 4:00 pm in New Book Joy's Reading Lounge!
This adventure features Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, BUT PRE-READING IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT…
Local Drink Lovers can taste an assortment of mocktails inspired by characters in the story (or opt to turn them into cocktails) to get inspired by the flavors of plots & settings of the story (& participate in other book-inspired fun) from the featured book from 4-5 pm at New Book Joy (5512 W Devon) RIGHT BEFORE OUR BOOK DISCUSSION FROM 5-6 PM.
Psst... You can join us for either or both events!
If you've already paid for a Book Tastings Experience or Subscription, the Book Chat is FREE - no need to buy a ticket - just show up for our discussion! You only need to sign up & pay for the additional event...
If you're not signed up for our Book Club and would like to join us for the discussion or paired activity, please sign up and pay for one or both events! You can pick up a physical copy or Book Box with curated reading pairings from the dropdown menu above, or an audiobook from the link below before the event OR join us for the workshop before you dive into the book - your choice!
CLICK HERE FOR AN AUDIOBOOK COPY
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own...
"She felt their eyes, all those executioners..."
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.
In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.
Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means from a "new and necessary American voice" (Tommy Orange, The New York Times Book Review).
RECOMMENDED FOR: Grown-Ups
OUR BOOKS ARE LISTED BY AGE GROUP to indicate that the content is engaging and appropriate for those selected ages. PLEASE NOTE: They may not be the appropriate reading level for every individual at those ages or may extend beyond the brackets.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS:
Publisher: Hardcover: Pantheon Books / Paperback: Vintage
Publish Date: Hardcover: May 02, 2023 / Paperback: January 23, 2024
Pages: 384 / 432
Dimensions: Hardcover - 6.3 X 9.0 X 1.5 inches | 1.55 pounds / Paperback - 7.9 X 5.1 X 0.9 inches | 0.7 pounds
Language: English
Type: Hardcover or Paperback
Condition: NEW