A review by kris_tea516
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Book 39 of 2025

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain

5/5 ⭐️ 

Length: 9:25

Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age

Synopsis: Huck Finn is a 13-14 yr old boy in the 1830s/1840s. His mother died when he was young & his father is an abusive drunk that can’t keep a job. An older lady in town has decides to take Huck in & civilize & educate him. Huck appreciates it & tries his best but when his dad comes back into town, he takes Huck back to his home & where he abuses the boy & forbids him from going to school or church. Huck eventually escapes his father & runs away to live on an island out in the Mississippi River. While there, Huck runs upon Jim, a runaway slave. They become fast friends & Huck enjoys his life of freedom. The towns people presume Huck to have died & accusations are pointed at Huck’s father & Jim. So Huck & Jim take off down the river to escape capture. 

Review: According to Goodreads, I read this years ago & hated it. I don’t think I ever actually read it but I do remember we were supposed to read it in high school but I read very few of the books I was supposed to read in high school & I’m pretty sure Huck Finn was one I refused to read & just took the test based on the 1974 movie. 

Earlier this year I read “James” by Percival Everett (Amazing book! Highly recommend!) which is a retelling of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” but from the perspective of Jim. As part of one of the reading challenges I’m participating in this year, I needed to read two books that crossover so I chose these two books. 

This was a wonderful book but needs to be read with the idea of how controversial & groundbreaking the book was in the time Twain wrote the book & when it was finally published. For the modern reader, much of the language would be shocking and sound very racist but in the time it was written, it was considered a major step in fighting racism. Percival Everett’s retelling is a beautiful update to the story that continues the fight against the racism that we are still fighting in this country. 

There is much that could be said about this book but one of the most interesting aspects of the story is the cognitive dissonance Huck struggles with through the entire story of the desire to do the right thing but what he feels in his conscience as right is at war with what he has been taught in society as being morally right. 

This is considered a children’s book but due to the subject matter & the use of derogatory & racist language, it is more appropriate for those who understand the history of the setting & how such language is not kind & dehumanizing & should no longer be used. 

I’ll also say that due to the slang & dialect that Twain uses in the story (which is necessary to putting you into the world of Huck), the audiobook made it much easier to understand. 

Content Warnings: racism, racial slurs, slavery, abuse, child abuse, death, lynching, near drowning, gun shot, lots of lying& deception