Twain, Mark. Tom Sawyer. Racine: Whitman Publishing Company, 1944. 235 pages. (Adventure/Classic)St. Petersburg was a serene little town, until Tom Sawyer came along. After his mother died when he was young, he was sent to live with his aunt Polly. Throughout his days in St. Petersburg, Tom became more and more mischievous. He skipped school, schemed kids out of their money, toys, and goods, and was one of the two generals in the Saturday army game. When Becky Thatcher arrived, he immediately fell for her. They started hanging out a lot and all seems well, but then through a twist of events too detailed to get into, she broke his heart, and he ran off, livid with the world. Luckily, his best friend, Joe Harper, knew just how to cheer him up by hanging out with Huckleberry Finn, the disgrace of the entire town. He slept in people’s sheds and on their doorsteps, smelt absolutely atrocious, had acquired a ghastly reputation among all the adults in town, and wore ratty old clothes. Of course, these are the kind of things that made him so popular with the kids. So one night, Tom and Huck decided to sneak out to the graveyard at midnight and end up witnessing Injun Joe kill a man. During the trial, he escaped, and they spent their next few days worried that Injun Joe would jump out and attack them at any moment. Their worrisome mood didn’t last for long because they, along with Joe Harper, decided to leave town and become pirates. They left in the night and soon had the entire town looking for them. One night, Tom snuck back to town and found out that there was going to be a funeral for them. One the day of the funeral, they all hid in the back of the church and at the end of their service, swaggered down the aisle to the sounds of relieved sighs and a warm greeting from their families. Later that year, Becky invited all the kids from the schoolhouse to a party in the giant cave near the town. Tom and Becky went off delving, got separated from the rest of the kids, and ended up getting lost deep inside the cave. Will Tom and Becky ever find a way out of the cave? Where is Injun Joe? Read and find out.
I absolutely loved this book! The fact that I never knew what was going to happen next made me enjoy it even more. The wide surfeit of characters also made for a truly great story. If you asked me to tell you my favorite character or part of the story, I’d just stare at you blankly until you figured out that I just couldn’t pick one. I’d recommend this book to anyone even if you’re a die-hard sci-fi, fantasy, sport, or whatever fan. Trust me, just try this book, and I’m sure you’ll love it!
Reviewed by the Helpful Purple Butterfly
