Huck Finn's crush faces crooks, slavery in historic tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Adventures of Mary Jane is the first work of fiction by science author Hope Jahren. Its title character is the red-headed girl Huck Finn is smitten with in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—and that part of the story is told anew from Mary Jane's viewpoint. (Let's just say Mark Twain, and Huck, got a few details wrong from time to time.) There's quite a backstory before Mary Jane and Huck's paths cross, and the author packs in a lot of historic detail of life along the Mississippi, and the looming Civil War, in 1847. Minnesota-born Mary Jane considers herself a strong Abolitionist, having read Uncle Tom's Cabin many times, and is shocked when family duty takes her to Mississippi and an abusive, enslaving relative. Smart, kind, and resourceful, she encounters good, loving souls and cruel, evil ones, and does her best to protect the innocent and defenseless. The horrors of slavery are on full view, especially as families are torn apart. An adult relative sexually molests a terrified teen. Lots of swindling, greed, and indifference to the suffering of others mean that the good, kind characters have a lot to deal with. Mary Jane herself sticks to "hell" and "darn" when it comes to strong language, but an adult character uses crude and profane language, e.g., "shite," "goddamn," "bitch." Enslavers use degrading terms like "male," "female," and "ungrown" to describe their "property." There's a you-are-there feeling about lots of history woven into the tale, and the history is discussed at length in the author's afterword. Love and kindness win the day in this take, but they have a dark, rocky, and challenging road to get there.
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Between slavery, industrial accidents, and disease, plus general ignorance, greed, and fraud, a lot of bad things happen to a lot of people, many of whom don't deserve it. Mary Jane walks in on their uncle molesting her paralyzed-with-shock cousin and comes to the girl's rescue; there's a strong suggestion he's been doing the same to a woman he has enslaved. The vomiting and diarrhea of typhoid victims is described in gross detail several times as Mary Jane tries to keep them alive, often without success. Discussing the tarring and feathering of the fake uncles, aka the King and the Duke from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a character goes into gleeful, gory detail of how the skin comes off with the tar with much bleeding, and it's suggested that the fraudsters were hanged by the angry mob. A kid loses an eye because his abusive mother beats him with a belt. An enslaved woman's child looks just like her, only paler, suggesting a White master raped her. In a harrowing scene, an enslaved mother and daughter are forcefully separated when they're sold to different owners. Characters die, sometimes from gruesome accidents and disgusting diseases. Dead bodies sometimes aren't treated with much respect. It's mentioned that dissection labs at medical schools are eager to buy the corpses of enslaved people who've died. In the background, soldiers are driving Indigenous tribes from their native lands to reservations further west.
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Occasional "darn," "hell," "bastard," "goddamn," "bitches," "shite." Dehumanizing language used by slave owners ("male," "female," "ungrown," etc.) to describe their "property" is disturbing. Slurs against Mormons and other disfavored groups.
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Mary Jane and the boy who's stolen her heart share a dance, and she knows, from following the advice of those who've been happy in love, that she has to heed her heart and go find him.
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In her first work of fiction, author Hope Jahren packs a lot of historical detail about the pre-Civil War era along the Mississippi, as seen and experienced by 14-year-old Mary Jane: riverboat life, steam engines, the way the river starts in Minnesota and wends its way to warmer climates and different ways of life. As in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, slavery—and its dire effects—is a huge part of the story. Many characters and events from Huckleberry Finn appear here, seen from Mary Jane's viewpoint. Mary Jane loves A Child's History of England and obsesses over the queens. Most lead characters are female and, by the laws of the time, have little control of their lives or their property. Codes and ciphers are important, as is Mary Jane's talent with numbers. The telegraph, then new technology, is important. Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, makes a cameo appearance. As the story unfolds, readers get beyond the mere facts of history to see what they meant to people living through the time. An author's afterword provides further detail, down to the accents of the characters and how they got them.
Positive Messages
a lot
Following your heart, doing your best, helping out however and whenever you can. Perseverance, empathy, problem-solving skills—and the resilience to change plans on the fly when things go wrong—are important themes. Also, always make friends with a dog if you get the chance—"it's never a mistake to do so." "It doesn't cost anything to be kind." "It is never your fault when someone takes advantage of you. That's a low-down dirty thing they do of their own choosing." Hypocrisy, religious and otherwise, gets a lot of skewering.
Diverse Representations
some
As the title suggests, this is about a strong girl character (red-headed, Scandinavian, from Minnesota) who finds herself in some horrible situations and does what she can to make things better for those in trouble, from impoverished relatives to an enslaved Black mother and daughter. Strongly Abolitionist in her views, and finding this isn't a popular view in the South, she's horrified to see how enslaved people are abused, and how careless if not vicious their masters are about it. Harrowing scenes, especially of a mother and daughter torn apart when sold to different people, bring this vividly to life. A young Jewish peddler befriends Mary Jane, as does a Mormon family who's being persecuted for their beliefs. French-speaking voyagers frequent the trading post where Mary Jane's grandfather works. A riverboat captain described as a big, strange-looking woman goes by Mrs. Captain and takes Mary Jane and others under her wing; it's strongly implied she's trans. Some dialogue in Norwegian. Frequent references to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Joanna, who Huck calls "the hare-lip" in his own story, has a facial scar and tries to hide it.
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Positive Role Models
some
Mary Jane is brave, smart, and honest. She gets a strong moral foundation from her loving Norwegian grandfather. Her stern churchgoing mother, stuck with two "bastard children" after her absent husband proves to be already married, isn't loving or supportive to Mary Jane, but often does the best she can in bad circumstances and feels a duty to doctor whoever needs it. Her adopted "sisters" Susan and Joanna are devoted to each other and show courage and cleverness; their loving parents perish early in the tale, opening the door to many scoundrels seeking to take advantage of the girls. Some adult characters seem to be part of the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people get to freedom, while others are quite happy to keep on enslaving and abusing them. "Joe," who Mary Jane falls for at first sight, is a mixed bag, and she can't tell if he's a good person or not. Her friend Eddie, a Jewish peddler, offers her adventure, support, and music. A family of Mormons being persecuted for their faith is often there to offer Mary Jane and her loved ones their support and assistance. Riverboat character Mrs. Captain takes Mary Jane and many other distressed people under her protection—and also teaches them a lot of practical skills. Crooks, swindlers, and enslavers are everywhere.
THE ADVENTURES OF MARY JANE begin as the 14-year-old title character, who's grown up on a Minnesota trading post with her Norwegian grandfather and mom, is sent south on a riverboat to help her aunt, who's in dire need following a grave injury to her beloved husband. It's the beginning of a series of events that will land Mary Jane and her cousins in much danger, as they must travel to Mississippi in the custody of an uncle who owns enslaved people. That's where they cross paths with assorted characters from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, whose title character and Mary Ann are much smitten with each other—and the trouble gets worse. Will kind hearts and clever minds help, or just be crushed?
"Maybe nobody knows how strong they are, until they have to find out," Mary Jane muses. "And maybe not having to find out is the best luck you can wish for in this lifetime."
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say :Not yet rated
Kids say :Not yet rated
There's girl power aplenty in this lively tale—narrated by the red-headed 14-year-old girl who won Huck Finn's heart—about the challenges she faced before they crossed paths, and what happened after. It's 1847 on the Mississippi as the Adventures of Mary Jane unfold, as our heroine takes on gross bodily fluids of typhoid patients, comes to the rescue of a sexually molested teen, tries to help enslaved people, and comes up with many plans, some of them successful, to protect her loved ones. Told in a 19th century style and packed with historical detail, the story gives a vivid, often dark perspective on the events and issues of the era, including slavery, the forced displacement of Indigenous people, the legal powerlessness of women—and the changes wrought by new technology like steam engines and the telegraph. But there are also appealing, kind-hearted characters: Mary Jane and her friends are appealing and cheer-worthy, and fans of Mark Twain's original will enjoy comparing the events and perspectives of the two versions.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories like The Adventures of Mary Jane that tell new stories about characters who first appear in other tales. Do you like this, or would you rather hear about somebody completely new?
Have you ever met someone and known right away they were going to be really important in your life? What happened?
Mary Jane is often thwarted in her best-made plans to protect her loved ones and herself—but she keeps trying anyway and isn't afraid to ask for help from those who love her. Have you ever been in a situation like that? What happened?
Available on
:
Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
Last updated
:
September 18, 2025
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