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4.52 AVERAGE
4.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pros:
- this was such a compelling read. The writing is fast paced and draws you in, and I immediately loved Jim and Huck again. Everett did an amazing job of giving the book the sort of adventurous feel that Huck Finn is supposed to have, while also contextualizing it in the reality of the time and not letting the reader forget that Jim is a slave
- I LOVED the themes surrounding language as a way to hold power and a tool for freedom.
- There were a couple twists I really appreciated but will leave it at that for now :)
Cons:
- there were a couple things from the original book that were totally changed, which is fair game, but the whole ending of Huck Finn (where Huck and Tom try to help Jim escape) was left out and I was really excited to get at that part of Jim’s story. I wish that the new stuff had been more interspersed instead of just borrowing the first half of the story and then making up the rest
- We don’t get much of anything about Jim’s background and I really would have loved to see more of that to flesh him out a bit more
Recommendation: I recommend to fans of literary fiction who are also looking for a fast moving book. As usual with these retellings, Huck Finn isn’t a prereq, but it did help me catch more one liners and stuff. At the same time, heads up that it’s not quite a 1:1 retelling (in the same way that Demon Copperhead so brilliantly was), which, while reasonable, also disappointed me a bit. My other warnings are that character and descriptive development are not the focus of this book. It’s more of a childlike romp that takes place with a backdrop of very serious slavery (like Huck Finn), and gives that backdrop an important role in the book (unlike Huck Finn). Overall, I really enjoyed this- I love reading a book that’s a nod to other classic literature, and I enjoyed the twists and some of the motifs.
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The reimagined story was much better, and better to read at Huckleberry Finn is for a lower reading level.
This is emotional and sad and desperate
This is emotional and sad and desperate
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Some of the plot twists and changes from the original felt like they cheapened decisions James had to make by forcing them with plot versus keeping them the same and allowing us to discover him more as a character through his rationale. In general, enjoyed the writing style and drastically new perspective. The way Everett toes the line between being realistic and absurdist was entertaining but also challenged my thinking and had me saying why not about the extreme character changes.