The aspect of people killing each other for the entertaninment of others will surely remind you of Battle Royale or the Hunger Games; but unlike those, Chain-Gang All-Stars is set to pretty much the modern-day USA, with a sci-fi gadget or two thrown into the mix.

As with those other two books, it dissects what people are willing to accept with enough brainwashing and convincing that it's okay as long as it happens to other people. Especially if they're from an undesirable social class. All of the characters are well developed and interesting, on all sides of the conflict, and Adjei-Brenyah pulls no punches.

I'm not an expert on those topics, but I think the USA's societal issues this book touches on are handled well and do represent the views on all sides quite accurately.