Finn: A Novel by Matthew Clinch

This book comes with an endorsement by Dr. Janet Allen, whom everybody in education recognizes as the guru of vocabulary and good teaching practice. The book is a modern concept of the Huck Finn picaresque novel. The protagonist is Chloe who is kidnapped from her grandparent's home by her mother who lost custody of her. She orchestrates a scheme so it appears that she is dead, and then she runs away with Silivia, her grandparent's illegal alien housekeeper. Silvia is trying to keep from being deported before her baby is born. The story is disjointed, but then a picaresque novel would be. I found parts of it really intriguing and the end totally unsatisfying---just like Mark Twain's version.
Despite Chloe being written as a modern teen ager, there is no filthy language, gratuitous sex or violence in the story. I appreciated that and could see the themes behind her experiences. I don't know if a teen reader would pick up on all of them, but I do think a teen reader would love the book. It's a lot shorter than Huckleberry Finn (it's less than 200 pages), there is no challenging dialect or vocabulary, and you can read it is short bursts without losing track of the storyline.