Juleeahh’s Comments (group member since Jan 17, 2025)

Juleeahh’s comments from the Julia's 2025 Reading Challenge group.

For prompt #18, I just wrapped up the novel James by Percival Everett. This was a novel that reimagines the events of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and is told in the voice of Jim, the enslaved protagonist who has run away. Like Twain, the author Everett, exposes the hypocrisy of racism but because it is told from the perspective of the victim, there is less comedy, more humanity and soulfulness. So many takeaways from the book that could be applied to today, James thoughts after meeting two grifters, "After being cruel, the most notable white attribute was gullibility. As evidenced by Huck's reaction. He said, "you fellas are amazing."

Also, "It turned out that con men are the easiest people to con."

and one more, Huck speaks to James, "Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?" James responds, "Folks be funny like that. They takes the lies they want and throws away the truth that scares them."

I recently finished this book and recommend it for reading prompt #1 - a novel written by a neurodivergent author. Solomon is non-binary and intersex and states that they use fae/faer and they/them pronouns. They describe themself as "a dyke, an anarchist, a she-beast, an exile, a shiv, a wreck, and a refugee of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. They have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and are on the autism spectrum.

The characters in the novel can also be described as non-binary and neurodivergent as well. These LGBTQ+ neurodivergent characters were brought to life in this enthralling and engrossing novel. So glad I kicked off my 2025 reading with this amazing book with rich interesting characters. It was a tough read, however. The brutality and hopelessness can be overwhelming and triggering to some.