Tom Sawyer is one of my favorite books. It's a well written, truly American classic, that's just a lot of fun to read. The characters, Tom, Huck, Aunt Polly and Joe Harper, among others, are lively and colorful. The plot moves swiftly from scenes that are rioutously funny to scenes that are quite horrifying. And the book gives the reader an accurate picture of life in the South. But most importantly, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a very truthful account of childhood. Twain had the psychology of children nailed down, and this is apparent in almost every scene.