James is a darkly comic expansion of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Everett has taken characters well-known (Huck Finn) and less-developed (Jim) and made them each richer, more complex, and human. James as protagonist is intelligent, compassionate, skilled, and determined. Much like in the original text, Huck & Jim spend the novel "adventuring" along the Mississippi River. Unlike in the original text, though, there is an undercurrent of terror throughout the narrative. It's a terror specific to Jim's status as a runaway slave in antebellum America. At every turn, there's a possibility that Jim could be captured, beaten, or hung by the white owning class that lurks in every town or hamlet along the river. This element of fear adds a more realistic approach to the so-called adventures for the era in which it's set.

Regardless of your familiarity with Mark Twain's original story and characters, James is a very enjoyable and well-paced historical novel injected with Everett's signature wit.

Thank you @netgalley & @doubledaybooks for the advance reader copy of James in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.