Book Group

James / Percival Everett

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
James
By: Percival Everett
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 303
Published: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Dates Read: January 2, 2026 - January 10, 2026
Format: Hardcover		ISBN: 9780385550369

Trigger Warnings: slavery, racism, racial slurs, rape, violence, murder

A reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told through the voice of Jim.

When Jim overhears he’s about to be sold and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can think of a plan to get his family together. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his abusive father. The two meet up while hiding and thus begin their adventure down the Mississippi River.

Full disclaimer, I have never read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but I know of the story and generally what happens in it because it’s kind of hard not to, especially growing up in Kansas and now living in Missouri and the fact that Mark Twain is highly talked about. I have, however, read Tom Sawyer, so I knew a little going into this.

I put off reading this because I read The Trees by Percival Everett and just remembered I needed to really focus on it to understand it all. And, I’m going to be honest, this book started off a bit hard to read because of the dialect written in it first thing and I didn’t know if I was ready for it. But, it reminded me of one of my favorite sci-fi writers, P. Djélí Clark, and how I just need to not speedread it to fully enjoy it. I slowed down my reading and it finally “clicked” and I could enjoy it and appreciate it! Especially once you learn what that dialect really is.

I think one of the craziest parts of this was the blackface minstrel troupe… like, that was a real thing?? The history of racism really baffles me sometimes and what people had as “entertainment” back in the day would cause heart attacks nowadays.

Overall, I really enjoy this retelling/changed perspective of Huckleberry Finn. I don’t read a lot in this timeline but appreciate what this brought about freedom, race, and the enduring impact of slavery. 

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman who Stopped Them / Timothy Egan

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman who Stopped Them
By: Timothy Egan
Genre: Nonfiction, History
Number of Pages: 448
Published: June 4, 2024 (1st Published April 4, 2023)
Publisher: Penguin Books
Dates Read: November 4, 2025 - November 23, 2025
Format: Library Book / Book Group

Trigger Warnings: racism, lynching, murder, domestic violence, torture, suicide

After telling the story of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to power in the 1920s, Timothy Egan then tells you how one woman brought it crumbling down.

So, I knew a few things going into this, but also expanded my knowledge too. One, that the KKK hated Blacks; I feel like that is always broadly talked about (but didn’t realize how much they hated Catholics??). Two, the Nazis got the idea for the Holocaust from America, mostly from the KKK (though I don’t think I realized that they (the KKK), also hated Jews, again, I thought it was just Blacks?). Three, American History is so covered in racism that even though a lot of people want to bury it, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Reading this made me think of the fact that sure, not everyone was a part of the Klan, but so many people stood by and let them run havoc because they knew someone in the Klan so therefore were sympathizers of the group. I would hope that nowadays, even if cousin Arnold was a part of a race hating group, that doesn’t mean I have to support him in any way. 

It really got to me about how the Klan used preachers and leaders of the church to teach the hatred principles of the Klan. People get so easily brainwashed by religion that it really goes to that saying “Racism is taught, not inherited”.

Sure, I think everyone needs to read this – if not to see the comparisons of what is happening currently but to also see how to not make the same mistakes. But,  I also want Madge’s story to be shared more. This woman took down the KKK – a group that was not far away from having their fingers dipped into the Presidency of the United States – from her deathbed! 

I’m not going to tell you this is an “easy” read, because, I’ll say it again, American history is covered in racism and people treated others horribly just because of their skin, or ethnic background, or how they chose to worship, but just because it’s horrible, doesn’t mean the story shouldn’t be shared or talked about. We can learn from our mistakes.