Huck Finn... (Deep breaths.) We may have our differences, but I applaud you. 

In contrast to meeting him in Tom Sawyer, Huck has his own story and character depth lined up for him in spades in this story. We get to see him in a similar light to Tom's, and similar wild but well-meaning shenanigans with a lot of heart, courage, and rather sensitive issues. It was pretty scandalous at the time it was written as well. 

I think Huck is my favorite of the iconic duo. This book is a lot more emboldened than the first, with more obvious comedy in the villains (still not very likable but better than the feared Indin Joe), real and difficult circumstances and choices, and genuine character growth and contrasts in characters with society, virtue, fighting for dreams, and parallels between all. 

This is an important conversation of a book. I am grateful slavery is over and done in America, but hearing about it and learning about it and reading the heart so human in both perspectives of Huck and Jim were beautiful and crucial, as they are now and doing what we can not to let whatever differences we may find divide us and get out of hand. 

As Huck has grown up a bit since we last saw him after TAOTS, so have the stakes and character building. Very real and potentially upsetting experiences happen in this book, not just for the readers who can only imagine based on the merit of the writing, but the genuine experiences of the characters set in times just like them. Beautifully done; this book needs to be read and appreciated more, especially by the younger generation. 
I highly recommend this book and enjoyed experiencing this story for the first time. 

I reread this book for the first time in years after reading James by Percival Everett. I was curious how the two books lined up, and couldn't recall after all this time what the major events were in Huckleberry Finn. I had completely forgotten the weird part at the end where Huck pretends to be Tom. I had also forgotten the sheer volume of times the n-word gets used. It was very unpleasant. 

James is a book for adults. Huckleberry Finn is a book for children. Both wrestle with race in very different ways, but ultimately, Huckleberry Finn misses the mark badly. I prefer James for a number of reasons.