The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a popular 1876 novel about a young boy growing up in the antebellum South on the Mississippi River in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri.

Tom Sawyer, a mischievous orphan taken in by his Aunt Polly, goes through a series of adventures involving his friends, Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. Tom is a mischievous mastermind and a trickster. He escapes punishment many times by his tricks and charms. Though he is often foolish and unpredictable, he also is somewhat smart and has a good sense of humor. When not trying to win his sweetheart, Becky Thatcher, Tom is either getting into mischief or going on an adventure. Many times, Tom suddenly changes from his grinning self into a fearsome pirate or anything else he can think of. His laugh changes into a bloodcurdling yell or a barking captain’s voice. Tom Sawyer’s main doings are racing bugs, impressing girls with fights and stunts in the schoolyard, getting lost in a cave, finding treasure, and playing pirates on the Mississippi River. Tom Sawyer persuades his friends to whitewash, or paint a long fence for him. 

Tom Sawyer also appears in three other Mark Twain books:

1. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
2. Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894)
3. Tom Sawyer, Detective (1896)