My 13-year old nephew, who hates reading, had this as his summer reading assignment for 7th grade. While he pretended to read the first few chapters, and could not answer the questions I was asking to check on his reading comprehension, he really got into the book after I had him read out loud some of Tom's antics - boys never change! The dialect can be a challenge but we would discuss each chapter after he read it. I took advantage of the great resources available online to help challenge him to think about and understand what was happening throughout the book.



I also highlighted Twain's use and borrowing of Christian concepts and worldview whenever I could (e.g. The boys making a promise and signing an oath in blood, we see the God of the Bible make a promise to Abraham which was kept thru the shed blood of Christ on the cross or when Tom takes the whippings for Becky knowing she could not bear such punishment, similar to the biblical account of Jesus Christ taking the place of sinful man, bearing the punishment for our sins on the cross.)



When my nephew finished (which took him about two weeks) he could not believe it was over, so we have downloaded Huck Finn for him to read! He is looking forward to reading more about the boys and the place Twain introduced him to in Tom Sawyer.



Truly a timeless classic of American literature.