Character Analysis
Jolu's a programmer and technical whiz kid (what else would you expect from a character in Little Brother?) who's the fourth member of the Marcus/Darryl/Van friend pack.
And this guy is super smart. Like Marcus says,
Give him a problem with two bad solutions and he'd figure out a third totally different solution based on throwing away all your assumptions. (7.111)
That's why Jolu's been working for Pigspleen, an internet service provider, since he was twelve. Twelve. He's an out-of-the-box thinker…which juxtaposes with the fact that he goes to a strict, hyper-traditional Catholic school.
Jolu's really good at coding; he makes it so that normal internet traffic completely changes its ratio of encrypted data (7.120-143). He's also clear-headed and realistic. Even though he cares for Marcus, he also stops being part of Marcus's plans after the key party, pointing out that:
" […] the way the DHS is treating you? The law in this country has always been like that for [non-white people]." (10.79)
Jolu's racial identity isn't his defining quality, but it does give another perspective on inequities in the American justice system.