I really enjoyed the first book, Tom Sawyer, for its hi-jinks and it’s plot of murder mystery and treasure hunting. Tom felt like a cheeky young man who would one day grow to be someone levelheaded but still a dynamic reader.

And then I read Huck Finn.

Huck isn’t like Tom, he isn’t born into luxury and has no confidence in himself. He doesn’t look for trouble as there is enough for him to get on with. But he is pragmatic and humble and sees the best in those who may not get it from everyone - like Jim - but still sees through those who are the worst of humanity. His experiences show how people are alike, and how they are different. Tom Sawyer just didn’t compare as a narrator to someone as resourceful and kind as Huck Finn. And yet, I feel like too much time was spent with characters like the Duke and the King who were overbearing and left me, like Huck and Jim, wondering when they would be shaken. I also didn’t like when Tom came into the storyline. He over complicated a situation to have a bit of fun at the expense of what could have been Jim’s life, and that felt crass when Jim had taken such good care of Huck. Without Tom, Huck knew his own mind, but Tom was another domineering personality that it kind of ruined the ending for me, though I am glad Jim got his freedom, and in a way, so did Huck.