Cover of My Jim

My Jim

To help her granddaughter accept the risks of loving, Sadie Watson mines her memory for the tale of the unquenchable love of her life, Jim. Sadie's Jim was an ambitious young slave and seer who, when faced with the prospect of being sold, escaped down the Mississippi with a white boy named Huck Finn. Sadie is suddenly left alone, worried about her children, reviled as a witch, punished for Jim's escape, and convinced her husband is dead. But Sadie's will and her love for Jim animate her life and see her through.

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Told with spare eloquence and mirroring the true stories of countless slave women, My Jimrecreates one of the most controversial characters in American literature. A nuanced critique of the great American novel, My Jimis a haunting and inspiring story about freedom, longing, and the remarkable endurance of love.

Look for the Reader's Group Guide at the back of this book.

Audience
adultyoung adult
Length
short · 192 pages

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  1. Gabriel's Story Shares historical fiction, fiction, alex awards
  2. The Necessary Beggar Shares fiction, alex awards, adult
  3. Song Yet Sung Shares historical fiction, fiction, slavery
  4. A Mercy Shares historical fiction, fiction, African American

“People who read My Jim tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Capote in Kansas: A Ghost Story
  2. The Night Birds
  3. Mare's War
  4. A Lova' Like No Otha'

“If you want more of the same (historical fiction about african american), start with these.”

  1. Stand the Storm
  2. The Coming
  3. A Slave to Want
  4. Burning Uncle Tom's Cabin

“If it was the slavery that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Walk Through Darkness
  2. Wench
  3. All Different Kinds of Free
  4. Mama Flora's Family

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Heartsease
  2. The Underground Railroad: An Interactive History Adventure
  3. Age of the Seer
  4. Running Out of Night