The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

I wasn't happy when my seventh-grade English teacher announced that we were going to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Who wanted to read a book with a boy main character? Not me.

I completely changed my mind after we read together the very first chapter. The dynamics of the relationship between edgy Tom and his guardian Aunt Polly was spot-on perfect. And the story went on, and just got better and better. Skipping school. Tom got his fence painted and didn't do a lick of work—fabulous. Body snatchers in a graveyard. A haunted house. Lost in a cave. Witness to a murder. Buried treasure. Pirates. Attending his own funeral.

One of my all-time favorite reads.