Adventures of Mary Jane is really fan fiction created for a minor character from Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The author gives Mary Jane her own back story against the drop of the expanding American frontier along the Mississippi River. Grabbing from a few different decades for historical events and context, the author is more interested in giving the flavor of the time rather than a historical portrayal of a sliver of time.
One need not have read Huckleberry Finn in order to follow and enjoy this book. Lovers of historical fiction will enjoy it and also readers who love a spunky heroine. Over the course of the book Mary Jane becomes an independent and confident young lady who tries to protect those who need it. She does the best she can in a difficult world where women and girls have a hard life and not many rights. Although it was satisfying to see her growth, it was sad to see her become a bit jaded towards her mother. A glance at the cover gives the impression that this is a middle grade book, but because some of the themes are tough, this book is probably a better fit for young adult readers.
Review a Digital Advance Reading Copy Provided by the Publisher
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 3 mild obscenities; 1 religious profanity; 1 derogatory name.
Violence/Gore: Report of death of parent; report that a cat died from being kicked; man talks about how dangerous logging is and how sometimes there are bloody accidents; brief discussion on how some boats on the river have their boilers explode resulting in deaths; description of how a man received a serious injury and after-effects (at a sawmill a log shot out and hit him in the head); report of a death of a family member; 1-2 page scene where a 14-year-old sits alone with two adults and watches the adults pass/die from illness; brief description of preparing bodies for burial; description of slaver marching enslaved people at gunpoint–in chains and with whip marks on their backs; disrespectful description of an enslaved man who died in a tanning vat; description how bodies of enslaved are sold for medical research; man attempts to kick a dog; dog catches a rat and kills it; one paragraph description of a guardian adult male sexually molesting an adolescent female; death from illness; description of how a mob tarred and feathered someone; with-holding of medical treatment from a person.
Sex/Nudity: Report that a man married woman (he was already married-unbeknown to her) so her children were bastards; innuendo about enslaved women/girls keeping a man company; implication that a young woman and a young man like each other romantically; one paragraph description of a guardian adult male sexually molesting an adolescent female; someone wonders in passing if a person sexually molested others because he had been sexually molested; girl is sweet on a boy and mentions kissing game.
Mature Subject Matter:
Enslavement, death of family members, sexual molestation of minor by a guardian, poverty, neglect/abuse of a child, religious and racial prejudice/discrimination, ethical dilemmas, lack of women’s rights, illness.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Mention of saloon; drinking by adults.
