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I, Huckleberry
Magna Carta: The most famous legal text in history.
The foundation of the rule of law.
Stolen.
When Huckleberry Jones is packed off by his parents from New York to a camp for “exceptional teenagers” at Oxford University, his first question is: Why? But meeting the beautiful, enigmatic Kat might just make his time there worthwhile. Together with new friends Mei and Tshombe, he discovers that teenagers from four continents can have more in common than their differences.
Then Huck finds himself trapped in a mystery linked to an 800-year-old parchment—and solving it could cost him his life.
The foundation of the rule of law.
Stolen.
When Huckleberry Jones is packed off by his parents from New York to a camp for “exceptional teenagers” at Oxford University, his first question is: Why? But meeting the beautiful, enigmatic Kat might just make his time there worthwhile. Together with new friends Mei and Tshombe, he discovers that teenagers from four continents can have more in common than their differences.
Then Huck finds himself trapped in a mystery linked to an 800-year-old parchment—and solving it could cost him his life.
248 pages, Paperback
Published May 18, 2020
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Simon Chesterman
25 books41 followersSimon Chesterman is David Marshall Professor and Vice Provost (Educational Innovation) at the National University of Singapore, where he is also the founding Dean of NUS College. Educated in Melbourne, Beijing, and Oxford, he has lived and worked in Singapore since 2006. Simon is the author or editor of more than twenty books, including the young adult Raising Arcadia trilogy and the standalone I, Huckleberry. The novel Artifice is his first work of general fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 31, 2020
Magna Carta. Oxford. Mystery. My interest was first piqued by the storyline and blurb.
Enjoy reading a clever 233-page psychological thriller-mystery novel by Simon Chesterman about the unexpected adventures of sixteen-year-old New Yorker Huck and his new friends - smoking hot English rose Kat, aspiring thespian Tshombe from Zambia and bespectacled taekwondo expert Mei from Singapore - all during a special winter programme for “exceptional teenagers” at Oxford University.
It’s an intriguing story for young adults and the young-at-heart.
Expect chuckles, gasps, genre shifts and plot twists!
Enjoy reading a clever 233-page psychological thriller-mystery novel by Simon Chesterman about the unexpected adventures of sixteen-year-old New Yorker Huck and his new friends - smoking hot English rose Kat, aspiring thespian Tshombe from Zambia and bespectacled taekwondo expert Mei from Singapore - all during a special winter programme for “exceptional teenagers” at Oxford University.
It’s an intriguing story for young adults and the young-at-heart.
Expect chuckles, gasps, genre shifts and plot twists!
April 22, 2023
I, Huckleberry by Simon Chesterman
"If you ingest certain drugs, then your perceptions will change; if a person's brain is damaged, then he or she might have difficulty walking or speaking. Yet our minds are also affected by non-physical traumas: some forms of verbal abuse can make us mentally dysfunctional."
📜 Blurb 📜
When Huckleberry Jones is packed off by his parents from New York to a camp for "exceptional teenagers" at Oxford University, his first question is: Why? But meeting the beautiful, enigmatic Kat might just make his time there worthwhile. Together with new friends Mei and Tshombe, he discovers that young people from four continents can have more in common than their differences.
Then Huck finds himself trapped in a mystery linked to an 800-year-old parchment - and solving it could cost him his life.
📜 My Review 📜
Whatever I thought the story will be, I certainly didn't expect the plot twist here! This initially felt like reading a Dan Brown-esque YA book. The psychological thriller aspect surfaced more towards the end it. Story is told from multiple timelines - the now and the past.
I love how the 4 friends from 4 countries(UK, US, Zambia and Singapore) are described. The Singaporean traits that Mei exhibits are delightfully on point. Only later on did I realise the book was supported by the Sg National Arts Council and the Sg National Library Board. And... surprise surprise.. the author is the current Dean of NUS Law school, who clearly also has interest in AI. How interesting! 😆
The dialogues are witty and fun, with enjoyable light inferences to history, philosophy and politics sprinkled throughout. By the way, this was another read highlighted by my library that I picked up. I love it!
"If you ingest certain drugs, then your perceptions will change; if a person's brain is damaged, then he or she might have difficulty walking or speaking. Yet our minds are also affected by non-physical traumas: some forms of verbal abuse can make us mentally dysfunctional."
📜 Blurb 📜
When Huckleberry Jones is packed off by his parents from New York to a camp for "exceptional teenagers" at Oxford University, his first question is: Why? But meeting the beautiful, enigmatic Kat might just make his time there worthwhile. Together with new friends Mei and Tshombe, he discovers that young people from four continents can have more in common than their differences.
Then Huck finds himself trapped in a mystery linked to an 800-year-old parchment - and solving it could cost him his life.
📜 My Review 📜
Whatever I thought the story will be, I certainly didn't expect the plot twist here! This initially felt like reading a Dan Brown-esque YA book. The psychological thriller aspect surfaced more towards the end it. Story is told from multiple timelines - the now and the past.
I love how the 4 friends from 4 countries(UK, US, Zambia and Singapore) are described. The Singaporean traits that Mei exhibits are delightfully on point. Only later on did I realise the book was supported by the Sg National Arts Council and the Sg National Library Board. And... surprise surprise.. the author is the current Dean of NUS Law school, who clearly also has interest in AI. How interesting! 😆
The dialogues are witty and fun, with enjoyable light inferences to history, philosophy and politics sprinkled throughout. By the way, this was another read highlighted by my library that I picked up. I love it!
October 16, 2022
4.2 ⭐️
Huck has been sent from New York to an Oxford University camp for “exceptional teenagers.” No matter how hard he tries, there is just no straight answer why exactly he’s there.
He gets entwined with Kat, an English classmate, and a copy of the Magna Carta — an 800-year-old piece of vellum which Kat believes holds much more than is thought.
Simon Chesterman (currently Dean of Law at the National University of Singapore) writes compellingly and with such intelligence and humour. Huck wryly observes a sullen administrator who’s a victim of “the poor state of English dentistry”. And there’s Mei, a Singaporean classmate, who consistently misses Kat’s sarcasm.
But oh, there’s a helluva twist. And Chesterman is so, so clever to have blindsided me. It also means I can’t say very much more, except that I really enjoyed this!
Part The Da Vinci Code, part psychological thriller, this is a teen title which I think accomplished tween readers would enjoy too.
📚: @marshallcavendish
Huck has been sent from New York to an Oxford University camp for “exceptional teenagers.” No matter how hard he tries, there is just no straight answer why exactly he’s there.
He gets entwined with Kat, an English classmate, and a copy of the Magna Carta — an 800-year-old piece of vellum which Kat believes holds much more than is thought.
Simon Chesterman (currently Dean of Law at the National University of Singapore) writes compellingly and with such intelligence and humour. Huck wryly observes a sullen administrator who’s a victim of “the poor state of English dentistry”. And there’s Mei, a Singaporean classmate, who consistently misses Kat’s sarcasm.
But oh, there’s a helluva twist. And Chesterman is so, so clever to have blindsided me. It also means I can’t say very much more, except that I really enjoyed this!
Part The Da Vinci Code, part psychological thriller, this is a teen title which I think accomplished tween readers would enjoy too.
📚: @marshallcavendish
November 15, 2024
3.5 stars
September 30, 2025
I think the story would’ve been more engaging if at any point I cared about any of the characters or what happened to them. The book felt both rushed and dragging at the same time.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews