Reviews with content warning for Racism - A Sitting in St. James

An unflinching and powerful character-driven book that gripped me from the very beginning. It was utterly mesmerizing - I couldn’t look away. I am in awe of how the author crafts characters that feel real and complex, who show each other kindness and love while also demonstrating astonishing and unspeakable cruelty.

Several other reviews have mentioned how explicit and mature this book is, and questioned its status as ‘Young Adult’, wishing instead that it was marketed as Adult Fiction. While I cannot argue with the truth of its explicit nature, I disagree with the idea that it is suitable only for adults to read. Williams-Garcia writes historical fiction, with the emphasis on historical - it is meticulously researched and utterly honest in its depiction of the dehumanization and exploitation that was life in the antebellum south for enslaved peoples. It does not shy away from the reality and truth of our history, it does not soften the blows for easier digestion. Choosing whether or not to confront that history is a privilege.

So are they all horrible, despicable human beings, as one commenter described them? So many of the characters here are monstrous. They behave monstrously. Yet Williams-Garcia depicts them not exclusively as monsters - but as ordinary and human. They were unremarkable and normal, which is possibly the most horrifying part of the book - that the terrible things they did were played out in the same manner all across the south, every day, over and over again.

A Sitting in St. James is the most honest book written about this time period that I have ever read. It is real history, and it is also fiction.

Content Warnings

bimenace's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

angelina41's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

arlangrey17's review

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

library_kb's review against another edition

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challenging sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was an absolutely brutal audiobook to listen to (I listened to it through LibroFM's Educator ALC program). It follows the lives of eight characters living on a plantation in Louisiana right before the Civil War. So few of these characters are likable characters--and they aren't supposed to be. It is hard to hear the dehumanizing language and rhetoric against the enslaved people from the plantation owning family, which is complicated and messy. However, despite the grime of the story, Williams-Garcia writes with gorgeous and beautiful style, fleshing out the characters into fully realized characters rather than stereotypes. I liked this story, even though character based slow stories aren't my favorite--it is an important addition to the historical fiction genre. However, I would advise for mature readers (personally, I'd recommend Jr./Sr. High school and up, because there are some pretty explicit scenes of violence and rape depicted on page, and the complexities of racism and classism and so much more can be better approached with maturity).

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is essentially a slice-of-life kind of story set in late 1800s Lousiana. The writing is very well done, anad it's clear that Williams-Garcia did her research on the time period. Everything about it felt authentic, really pulling you into the story. It's definitely not a fast-paced, plot driven story, though. It's slow moving, giving you a clear picture of the time period. I also appreciated the inclusion of LGBTQ characters, because so often they are left out of historical fiction.

There is definitely a dark side to this book, depicting slavery, sexual violence, and rape. I'm not sure that most teens would just pick this up off the shelf, I do think it's an important side of history that many people don't get in American history classes.

Anyway, I underestand why this is getting so much buzz and I think it's definitely well placed. It's just not a book that would be for everyone.

Content Warnings

kaispellmeier's review

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challenging dark informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

readingbetweenthenotes's review

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

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