Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Illustrated Junior Library)

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Summary: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...Every Child's Fantasy
Review: As a child I always dreamed of going on adventures to new places. In some ways these dreams were realized while reading this book. I was swept into Huck's life and became a part of his adventures throughout the story. For such a young boy, Huck has many experiences that most of us will only encounter in our dreams, and this is why the book is appealing to me and people of all ages. Everyone at one point or another in their lives has longed to go on an adventure, and this book satisfies that longing. Mark Twain is an amazing writer who is able to spur your imagination, because his choice of dialect and visuals make everything seem real. At times it was a little hard to understand what was going on when Jim (Miss Watson's slave) was talking because of his strong southern vernacular, but I know that if I was there I would have a hard time understanding what he was saying. This book grabbed my attention from the moment I picked it up. I read it for the first time in eleventh grade and now as a college freshman I was required to read it again. Unlike many books that I have had to read over the years, this book was not a chore, because I fell in love with the story all over again. I recommend this book for people of all ages. If you're just looking for a good book to read for yourself or maybe even to a child, I definitely recommend Huck Finn. Or, if you have to read it for school, give the book a chance, and you might just fall in love with it like I did.

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Summary: And Adventures They Are....
Review: Mark Twain has done a spetacullar job creating the character of Huck Finn. Huckleberry Finn is developed into a wonderful character, and the book is full of many elements of high drama, starting with Huck's escape from his wicked father, and going on to a series of adventures with the runaway slave named Jim. Along the way, he meets an assortment of memorable characters, including a murderous feuding family and a couple of con men. He even gets to meet up again with his old friend, Tom Sawyer. All of these characters have a lesson to teach or a moral to show the reader. You won't realize it though, which is one of the main reasons the story still remains enjoyable.

This book has a long history of being banned in schools because of its depiction of Jim, as well as the liberal use of the "n" word that will always make my skin crawl, to describe African Americans. However, reading of the book will quickly show you that the author had a deep rooted dislike for slavery and the treatment of African-Anericans during his lifetime. Why else would the character Jim keep his dignity throughout while the white men are shown as cruel and or foolish? The character of Jim also shows that he has a big heart and the reader cannot help but want his story to end well. Jim is only one of the characters that I mentioned earlier that will teach the reader without the reader being aware.

I loved this book much to my surprise and found it very hard to put it down. If a person reads nothing else in life but one or two books, this should be one of them.

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Summary: Please!
Review: Who the hell is this Mark Twain character?! Simply put: What a lousy novel! Maybe this was his first novel...I don't know. Anyways, I sure hope he doesn't plan on writing anything else. I read this book, initially, in the author's native bulgarian language...and it was even worse! The translator was probably trying to do us a favor by touching up this P.O.S. novel, but I think it would take an act of God to save this text...