A review by library_kb
A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia

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). 
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