A review by betweentheshelves
Adventures of Mary Jane by Hope Jahren

adventurous challenging informative 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

4.0

There aren't many YA historical fiction books that are set in this era. so it's always nice to see something a little different. I'll admit, it's been a long time since I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, so I honestly didn't remember who Mary Jane is. But I liked that Jahren gave her a whole backstory, eventually connecting this to that American classic.

You can tell that this book is thoroughly researched, with a lot of backmatter at the end explaining the real-life inspirations for the families in this book. It would work well as a companion piece to Huckleberry Finn and just talking about this era of the US, just before the Civil War. 

The book itself felt a little long, but other than that, if you like historical fiction, this is definitely a book to pick up!
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