It was honestly difficult for me to get through this whole book. Although it took me a long time to read it I’m glad I did! Los Angeles is certainly a common enough city in media but this made the city come alive for me in a new way. Overall I’m happy with this book.

Great companion piece to the Adventures Huck Finn. Students really enjoy it. It has a waiting list.

In this modern retelling of Huckleberry Finn, Huck heads west with Pap and they end up in Los Angeles. You'll also meet most of the usual suspects...Tom Sawyer, Miss Douglas, the Thatchers, etc. but maybe not as you remember them. This was definitely in the spirit of Mark Twain's original.

Thank you the the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a good mix of classic vs. modern although it took a little why to adapt to the classic Huck speech written from the point of view within a modern day environment. Most of the characters were well thought out although the trip down the river seemed a bit rushed so there was little time for character development (aside from Huck) before that trip. I would have enjoyed knowing more about Miguel before the adventure really began. All in all a good read.

Tim DeRoche takes on the task of updating and retelling Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - and does an amazing job at it. This telling is set in modern day Los Angeles and partners Huck with Miguel, a Mexican illegal immigrant. Although DeRoche maintains the essence of the original story, this one can stand out on its own. The social commentary is as relevant now as it was before, and Huck's unique language helps meld both versions together. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure from beginning to end and recommend it to any Mark Twain fans. It makes me want to reread the original book. Also a great choice for anyone who hasn't read Mark Twain's classic - it's not necessary to understand and enjoy this book (but seriously, go read the original one too!)

"The Ballad of Huck and Miguel" is a beautiful and timely reselling of the classic Huckleberry Finn. This time Huck is on the run with an illegal immigrant. Much of the original is kept in place and somehow makes sense in modern times. I found this to be a definite indictment of our current culture. There are stunning illustrations included, as well. I recommend it highly for older young adults and adults.

3.5~4★
“Ben wanted to stay there with me too, but I told him he warn’t old enough, seeing how he had just turned seven. I was almost nine years old, if you believed what my Pap said, which is the proper age for living wild out in the woods.”

The author says he hopes this retelling of Mark Twain’s much-loved classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, will encourage kids to read the original. This certainly modernises the familiar story of Huck paddling down the Mississippi River on a raft with runaway slave Jim in the mid-1800s.

[A small quibble from me is that Twain’s Huck was a more believable 13 or 14 rather than only “almost nine”, but I guess there isn’t as much traffic on the Los Angeles River.]

I must mention the wonderful linocut illustrations by Daniel González. Here’s a link to his art. https://www.printgonzalez.com/profile/

[They immediately reminded me of my father’s collection of Thomas Hart Benton’s prints that depicted scenes from old American stories and songs. The one of Jim and Huck hung where I saw it every day – very dark and kind of scary. http://reynoldahouse.org/collections/object/huck-finn?display=default ]

Today’s Huck is hiding out in the woods to escape his father’s drunken rages, because “He had a wild look in his eye, like a dog that got the rabies.”

His mother has possibly been killed by his father, and his little pal Ben [only seven!] brings him scraps of food. He’s quite content until Pap finds him, knocks him senseless, and carts him off in the camper truck to California, where Huck escapes and meets a black boy named Tom Sawyer and his Aunt Polly, a lawyer.

There are plenty of hair-raising episodes where Huck and Tom find a body (Twain’s Injun Joe, perhaps), get involved in a drug deal and a gunfight.

[My Goodreads review shows illustration of Huck and Tom adventuring.]

Then follows a peaceful time where Huck is fostered by “thespian” ladies and befriends their stable hand, an illegal “Mexigrant”.

[My Goodreads review shows an illustration of Pop teaching Huck about “Mexigrants”.]

The author fits in as many of today’s social issues as he can. At one point, Huck thinks working in a “skyscratcher” sounds appealing, until he realises what an internship is.

“. . . wanted me to come work for him for free, kind of like a slave, but he called it an intern.”

[My Goodreads review shows an illustration of “skyscratchers”.]

Huck meets Buck, whose family, he says, is even higher class than the thespian ladies. [No prizes for guessing who the family is.]

“Buck’s mama had been on a TV show all about rich and famous people for near on a year, and Buck’s father had one time been one of them football players. . . .
They called it Gallivanting with the Grangerfords, and everybody was monstrous proud of how many million people watched every week.”

But there’s a shooting, and Miguel is forced to flee, accused on the news of kidnapping a white boy. There’s no Mississippi River, but there is the Los Angeles River, which eventually runs down the concrete canyons and culverts through the city. [If you’ve seen the movie “Grease”, you’ll remember the car races that took place there. That’s the river bed when it’s dry.]

Huck reckons they can paddle till they get back to Tom Sawyer and Aunt Polly, the lawyer. More adventures along the river.

[My Goodreads review shows an illustration of the bird watching them sleep near the river. ]

An old-timer camped along the river explains about the anti-immigration politician who’s campaigning loudly to capture dangerous, illegal Miguel. [You’ll recognise today’s politics of fear.]

“‘He gets ’em all riled up with talk of trouble and danger. The average man doesn’t like trouble and danger. He doesn’t want to take the time to get the facts straight and figure out what justice is. He just wants someone to tell him that the trouble and danger are gone, that there’s nothing to worry about anymore.’”

There are homeless people, (“trolls” under bridges) and a religious cult, but one of the funniest groups to me were the social “actervists” protesting for equality. The leader, Worker Brian, made sure he’d scored a fancy imported car for his birthday from his wealthy parents before he “disowned” them for being capitalists.

“Worker Brian said that there was a magical place where they’d most got rid of racialism altogether. It was a place called Sanforcisco and it was more bully even than Los Angeles on account that all the people was the most lovingest people on the face of the earth. It sounded like a real bully place if you was black or a Mexigrant, but Brian said that none of ’em lived there no more. It was better that way too, he said, ’cause there warn’t no chance that you’d run into one of ’em on the street and then say something racialist on accident.”

A novel take on apartheid, eh? And so it goes. Kids who might not relate Twain’s story to today’s world will be left in no doubt as to what DeRoche’s Huck and Miguel find along the river.

The language is easy to read and the author has limited Huck’s distinctive speech patterns and pronunciation so that we know what he sounds like without having to figure out what he means. [Another quibble is that I disliked the overuse of Teddy Roosevelt’s favourite word “bully” for “terrific”, since it is used in such a different way today, and I doubt backwoods kids use it the old way now. But I’m happy to be corrected if anyone knows it is still used in Missouri!]

All in all, an interesting modern tribute to Twain’s Huck, and a reasonably entertaining "gateway" book kids should enjoy as well as adults. Now I hope they go and read the real thing!

Thanks to NetGalley, Redtail Press, the author, and the artist for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

Great book. Loved it very much. The characters were amazing. Love Miguel and Huck

A Huckleberry Finn retelling, more like what would happen if Huck, a dreamer at heart, runs away and reached California? The Ballad of Huck and Miguel is one such story. Huck lands up in California because he ran away from Pap and other intense, but super fun events. And that’s when he meets Miguel, an illegal immigrant (or rather, Mexigrant), And soon they become friends. Miguel has fatherly instincts towards Huck and in a series, if rather unfortunate events Huck and Miguel set on an adventure.

But this is no ordinary adventure because there are dangers lurking in the shadows. The author has presented to us the same fun-loving and extremely curious Huckleberry. His zeal to enquire and learn takes him places. The author hasn’t forgotten Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry’s other half. He had his own role to play, and a rather intense one- the savior.

The language is extremely simple and gives you countryside feels. There are spelling mistakes which are adorable (because Huck is illiterate and is the narrator). Huck’s view of the world where illegal immigration is common and how badly they are treated is also very evident. Though the matter has been displayed in an amusing way, the underlying message is loud and clear.

And then there are these adorable illustrations that are a treat to watch while reading. The Adventure of Huck and Miguel is an adventure of a lifetime and a short trip down the memory lane. The story is extremely heartwarming. It is all about finding ‘home’ because home is where the heart is.

Imagine Huckleberry Finn in modern day adventures...not easy to do, but Tim DeRoach has done it beautifully and movingly. It took me a while to warm up to the conceit, and there are some extraneous chapters that seem forced (e.g., The Grangerfords). But I’m glad I stuck with it. Warm-hearted, thrilling, and funny, it will indeed make a good movie. Read through Netgalley.

Huckleberry Finn recast in 21st century Los Angeles, touching on all stereotypes and conflicts of the day. A fun enough read, and the woodcuts are great.

I loved how this book was told in a new and modern way and kept the spirit of Huckleberry Finn while doing it. I enjoyed every moment of it and hoping to see a sequel!

For me, it was a wild, amazing and very brave journey. The stories when they meet the good strangers, the good colonel, the snake that bites Miguel. And also when Huck had to find his antidote. But Pap did not give up and found them. The courage of Huck's attitude was tested on this journey. And with a very beautiful narrative language, Tim DeRoche describes this journey as a very binding main story. This story provides a valuable moral value to all adults. We do not have to look down on those who run away from their place. They are just fighting and it's time for us to accept it. People like Miguel are not always bad, and Huck has proven that. #Huckandmiguel #NetGalley

This is a somewhat successful modernization of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn story but the dialogue made it difficult to follow. Lovers of the original Huck will doubtless enjoy this update. Either that or feel it’s sacrilege to tinker with Twain’s work. Either way, it’s an interesting effort

I appreciate the author's efforts, but the choice of dialogue presentation made this novel impossible for me to read. The stereotypical phrases and characterization left me uneasy. Instead of fueling my imagination, this novel left me dry and unable to plow through more than half of the book.

Brilliant! It’s a precarious task to remake such a classic, and thankfully, this one is very well done. Huck, still as endearing and practical as he was in the original, goes off to LA and befriends an illegal immigrant. They have all sorts of adventures, from self-flushing toilets to drug dealing gangsters. Sounds crazy, but it works! Bravo!

Every time I went looking for a new book to read The Ballad of Huck and Miguel showed up on my radar. I admit prejudice against this book. I was prepared to start reading and close the book within 50 pages. But then I got involved with the “the full true story of how ….. Huck went on the run from the ‘thorities with a real live illegal Mexigrant”. And what a run it was. I was swept up in the calamities which befell nine-year-old Huckleberry Finn including being “almost shot by a Man with a donkeytail, almost getting killed by a gangster, making a deal with a Rapscallion, getting mixed up in a rebelution, and running always running from his Pap.

Written in the vernacular of an uneducated boy from St. Petersburg, Missouri, within a few pages it felt perfect. Huck is wise beyond his nine years and his perception of the people he meets serve him well. He is able to discern truth from “hocus” and has “too much of a conscience” to outright steal only allowing himself to borrow what he needs from time to time. He is the kid you want to have a conversation with and hear his “take” on the world and its inhabitants.

Totally entertaining, exceptionally insightful, I could not put this down and finished it in one sitting.

Thank you NetGalley and Redtail Press for a copy

Summary:

This is Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, if he was alive today. Leaving a back-water town that hasn’t changed in decades, Huck is forced to go with Pap, his abusive father, to California. Having lived with all of Pap’s prejudices, there’s a lot to learn and understand as he moves further into today’s world. When he escapes his father, he begins his new adventure, learning about friendship, courage, and different walks of life. When things go south he and Miguel, an illegal immigrant he met at his foster home, travel down the “concrete river” of LA to get Miguel help and clear his name of a crime Pap committed.

My thoughts:
There is a lot to love about this book. The plot was well developed and the characters were developed and on point for their classic counterparts, while still being relevant in today’s world…. well, Huck is incredibly backwards but that’s explained by his upbringing. I loved Huck, whose good intentions and heart shine through in this book. Miguel was an amazing character, blasting away Huck’s preconceived notions and bringing him into his own circle. The bond between the two is undeniable. I also enjoyed Huck’s foster parents, and thought they were interesting and brought a good dynamic to the book.

Unfortunately it had it’s faults. Huck’s phrasing and language often drove me insane. Now, I am having trouble remembering it’s classic counterpart, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (It’s been twenty years, after all), but I thing I felt the same way then. It was often hard to get through some of Huck’s narrative without wanting to scream the correct words. I don’t know if it just rubbed me wrong because I was reading it… part of me feels like it wouldn’t have been as terrible if I were listening to it in audio-book. Another reviewer on Goodreads described it as the author wanting to have it be modern, but keeping Huck in the 1800’s. This is a good description, but even then the wording is often incorrect. That did drag me out of the book multiple times. As far as the plot goes, some of it gets… well… a bit more than absurd. I feel that, again, that is in keeping with Twain’s more satirical spirit. With all of this, it was still a four star book for me. normal star ratingnormal star ratingnormal star ratingnormal star rating

On the adult content scale, there is language which includes racial slurs, drugs and violence. I give it a seven. While I think parents might wish to look at it before anyone under thirteen, I would have no problem giving it to a preteen myself. Parental Guidance

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Redtail Press in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

This is funny, cute, and has a wonderful message, but it lacks the powerful narrative of the book it's attempting to pay tribute to. It also lacks the incredible spirit of adventure that made the original Huck Finn so memorable.

The general gist of the retelling is a good one, but the plot borders on absurdist too often, most notably with the father, who alternates from monstrous to comically inept in a way that makes little sense and seems structured as such mostly so that it conveniently fits the narrative. I also didn't love the editing here (perhaps in the published version, those looooong paragraphs will be broken up a bit?).

Miguel's character is a bit thin, but Huck is a likable, fascinating protagonist. I thoroughly enjoyed DeRoche's clever humor, and the illustrations are fantastic. In all, flawed but worth a read.

*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

A brilliant reweaving of a most beloved Twain tale.

In this new version, Huck and his father travel to California on a secret mission. Huck is an explorer, and living with an abusive father, he takes every chance he gets to run away. He does so in CA, and learns his father is there to do a drug deal. A moment of bravery enables Huck and his friend Tom Sawyer to intercede when things go awry. Because if them, the drug lord and his buddies are captured.

Unfortunately, Pap was not captured. Thwarted in his plans to get rich from drugs, Pap shows up again and again, even after Huck has been fostered out, and he's mad for blood. One encounter sends Huck fleeing down a great concrete-banked river with Miguel, an illegal immigrant accused of a savage attack perpetrated by Pap. Thus begins a harrowing adventure for Huck and Miguel, as they try to flee Pap’s rage, and get Miguel to a safe place.

If you couldn't have guessed from the title, The Ballad of Huck and Miguel is a reimagined Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This is a grittier Huckleberry Finn, set in urban LA of modern times. Interspersed through the book are beautiful illustrations  One of Twain's most well-known, and scandalous works, Huckleberry Finn shows up on banned book lists quite a bit and I can see Huck & Miguel joining it.

And what higher praise can you give a story, truly? To ban something means you feel threatened by it, by the thinking it might prompt. Like the original Twain story, DeRoche deals with themes of race, the corrupting influence of civilisation, and superstition. The theme of immigration takes the place of slavery, turning the story into the perfect allegory against the current US immigration policies, and overall attitude of the country.

Huck is raised poor and uneducated (yet possesses far more wisdom than many PhD candidates). His father is a violent, abusive man who feels entitled, and who adheres to the belief that “Mexigrants” are taking over the country. Miguel humanises the “Mexigrants", helping Huck realise they're just people wanting to live and be free too, and are not deserving of the anger and hatred of the entitled masses who believe they are ruining the country. Huck himself seems to have an inner moral compass that supports human rights, and honourable action, so it doesn't take much for him to realise his father's rants against the “Mexigrants" was wrong.

The colloquial language invites us even deeper into Huck’s world, and his personality. I loved to see Huck shedding his past, and reassessing everything he'd been taught. Snakeskins show up twice, and play into the superstition theme carried over from the original, but they are a perfect metaphor for the changes Huck himself is going through. He is sloughing off an old life, and tainted perspectives like a snake sheds its skin and is, in a sense, 'reborn’. That his 'bully 'venture’ takes place travelling the concrete riverbed is apropos. His old life is sloughed off by the cleansing, purifying waters of the sinuous, snakey rivercourse.

Perfect for Twain fans, and worthy of being a modern American classic.

***This book was reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review.