Hentoff's purpose was to get young people to look at both sides of the question of censorship, to think about the issue, and to make up their own minds. In order to accomplish this aim, he wrote this story about conflict over Huckleberry Finn. There are no subplots or other diversions in the book. All the action and dialogue are directed to the trouble stirred up by the book.

As the story progresses, there are explanations of Mark Twain's aims for the novel, including why Huck thought the way he did about right and wrong.

There are also quotations from wellknown authorities about censorship that Nora Baines and the two librarians can recall verbatim at exactly the right moment.

Hentoff has his characters tell the readers what he wants them to know.

For instance, Barney recites: Because fiction . . . is sometimes more real than facts. I mean...