I think this is one of my favorite books now. I shied away from this book for a long time because school kind of ruined classic books for me. I figured it would be boring and depressing but I finally read it and I loved it! 
 The characters were great and each one different from the other. There is much character development and none of it felt forced. The Chief is the narrator but the main focus is on McMurphy and his story. McMurphy is the driving force in this novel along with the Big Nurse, of course. Their power struggle is captivating and I found myself rooting for McMurphy and his crazy ways. The ending is bittersweet but it's also one of my favorite things about this book. It shows each character for who they really are. It's sad but it's also hopeful and inspirational. 
 Also, this is definitely a case of 'the book is better than the movie' for me. I know a lot of people love the movie but maybe it's because I read the book first, but the movie felt so empty to me. There were a lot of things missing, and the characters weren't the same, etc. So I would definitely read the book if you haven't.