Review # 1
The Adventures of Huck Finn is the classic story of Huck Finn traveling up the Mississippi River with a slave named Jim. Huck is escaping his abusive father, and Jim is escaping being sold to a plantation in the deeper south. As they travel down the river, Huck and Jim meet a number of adventures: the find a log raft with a man who has been shot, they run into a band of robbers and steal their loot and they convince some vigilantes that they are suffering with smallpox to narrowly escape.
Huck and Jim wreck their raft and Huck gets pulled into a Hatfield and McCoy style battle between two families (the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons). Thankfully, Jim repairs the raft and Huck escapes. Huck and Jim pick up two con artists who travel with them. The get involved in a scandal with the Wilkes family (involving false identity and lots of gold) but the con artists narrowly escape and continue to travel with Huck and Jim. Finally, the con artists sell Jim to a farmer who turns out to be Tom Sawyer's Aunt and Uncle.
Aunt and Uncle mistake Huck for Tom and Tom shows up and plays Tom's younger brother Sid. They plan an elaborate escape for Jim, but Tom is shot in the process. Jim helps Tom and Jim is recaptured. Tom's Aunt Polly shows up and sets it all right (Jim is actually free, Huck's dad is dead, etc). Huck sets out west for more adventures.
This is a pretty cute book and certainly is a famous one. I read it back in High School, but I remember being amused. I would recommend that anyone read it because of the sheer number of cultural references that come out of this book (or from the Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer partnerships in general). Be aware, however, that the language in the book is mature, reflecting the racial tones of Twain's time. I don't think that means it is inappropriate for children, it just means that if your kids read it, it will be worth talking to them about what the words mean and why they were used in that time period.
