The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Synopsis:
After his adventures with Tom Sawyer, Huck is now living with the Widow Douglas who tries to civilize the boy. Soon, his father comes to town and learns of Huck's new-found wealth, he takes the boy back home with him in the woods. However, after being beat by his father on many occasions, Huck fakes his death and takes off down the river to start a new life. On the way, Huck meets up with Jim, the former slave of the Widow Douglas' sister, who has run away fearing being sent down south. On their voyage down the river, Huck and Jim meet many new people and have many odd encounters that help Huck grow morally as a young man.

My Thoughts:
As you can likely assume from the "moral growth" comment at the end of the synopsis, I read this book for AP English. It was a nice story, but much of the story seemed to lack a clear direction for the plot to follow other than a journey down the river. This may have just been my perception of the book since we spread out the reading over many weeks, but I didn't find it particularly captivating until the very end. However, as we looked at the story from a literary view in my English class, Huck's development throughout the story is done very artfully, showing gradual growth instead of suddenly being "enlightened" into a moral person. Still, many of the characters bothered me by how ridiculous they were; not only the duke and king, but also Tom in the end of the book. It is definitely an appropriate book for an English class, but certainly not a book I would recommend for a casual read.

Questions for Thought:
1. Would you let Jim travel with you, knowing that in that time helping a runaway slave was a detestable action?

2. How would you get rid of the duke and king, if at all?

3. Would you let Tom make Jim's escape complicated and delayed, just to "do it right"?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan
Mark Twain Award Nominee 2007/08

Percy Jackson is a demigod. He has a normal, mortal mother, but his dad is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. He goes to Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place in the world for a Demigod. Soon, Percy finds out that a war between the Gods will happen, and be blamed on him. With the help of his friends Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and the satyr Grover, Percy must journey to the Underworld to find the cause of the war, Zeus' master bolt...

This book was one that I picked up because i just needed something to occupy some time, and I found out I had just picked up one of my favorite books of all time. I love all of the action and humor in the books, and that you get attached to the characters. I have read it twice now, and loved it even more the second time. The book is amazing to those who don't know a thing about Greek Mythology, and especially those who do.

What god would you want to be a child of? Why?

Would you want to be an all year camper or a summer camper? Why?

What is your favorite Greek Myth?

Please give me your comments and answers to this post.

Each Little Bird That Sings

Each Little Bird That Sings
Deborah Wiles
National Book Award Finalist
Mark Twain Award Nominee 2007/08

Comfort Snowberger is used to death. She has been to 247 funerals, including her Great Uncle Edisto's. Now, her Great-great Aunt Florintine has passed away, her best friend, Declaration, doesn't play with her, and her loud and obnoxious cousin, Peach Shuggars, is coming when he ruined Uncle Edisto's funeral! On the day of the funeral, she, Peach, Declaration, and Dismay the Funeral Dog are walking to the graveside service, and Declaration frightens Peach into a flooding grove...

This is a book I thought was a "silly girl book" when I saw it, and wasn't excited to listen to it in the car. Once I got into it, I realized it was a great piece of literature. It is just a book about a girl. The book was awesome, the book was possibly the most detailed, and with good descriptions, that I have ever read. It was also one of the saddest. A book for anyone with a lost family member especially, or just someone looking for a good read.

Would you be able to live in a place that has dead people in it all of the time?

Would you get along with Peach well? Why or why not?

If you were Comfort, would you accept that your dog was dead?

Please give me your comments and answers to this post.

The Kingdom Keepers

The Kingdom Keepers
Ridley Pearson
Mark Twain Award Nominee 2007/08

Finn is a DHI (Disney Host Interactive) at Disney's Magic Kingdom. Every night, he is having strange dreams. He is in the Maginc Kingdom after closing. He talks to a man sitting on a bench named Wayne. He tells Finn to get the rest of the DHI's to come together. After getting ahold of the four others with the help of a new girl, Amanda, Finn finds out why they are there. There are some characters that have formed an evil group called the Overtakers. The Overtakers want to take over the park. It started with store robberies nearby, but they are growing in power, and only Finn and the DHI's can stop them...

This is one of my favorite books of all time (The review sounds tacky and bad, so go pick up a copy and read the back cover). I liked the characters and that the Disney characters, which we all know, are alive in some cases. The plot was VERY suspenceful, and full of twists, which made the book just as or more exciting the second time through. I highly reccomend this book to anyone!

Those of you who have read the book heard about VMK. This is a real site and the address is just http://www.vmk.com/. My name is BestAdventure _Dude if you ever get an account.

Would you like to be a DHI? With or without the power to go to the park every night?

Which character are you most like in the book? Why?

How would you find people from different schools that you only knew part of their name and what they looked like?

Please leave me your comments and answers to this post.

Lunch Money

Lunch Money
Andrew Clements
Mark Twain Award Nominee 2007/08

Greg loves money. Every chance he can get, he is saving it up. When he looks into his lunch room, all he sees is tons and tons of quarters. He starts to make comics, but when one day, he has a rival company, things start to get out of hand...

Lunch Money was a great book in many ways. It showed how enemies became friends and buisness partners. There was great determination and persistance. The ending was great.

If you wanted to make money, how would you do it?

Would you sell things at school?

Would you save your money or spend your money?

Please give me your comments and answers to this post.