Jasper Jones

Publishers Weekly

Australian author Silvey wears his influences (notably To Kill a Mockingbird) a little too obviously on his sleeve in a novel about crime, race, and growing up in a 1960s Australian mining town. Charlie, 13, is woken up on a hot summer night by teenage outcast Jasper, who wants to show him something secret. That secret turns out to be the dead body of Laura Wishart, Jasper's occasional paramour and the older sister of Charlie's own crush, Eliza. The boys, assuming that Jasper will be blamed, hide the body, and Laura's disappearance combines with the boys' guilt and lies to create an ongoing spiral of stress. The town of Corrigan is rife with racism, which is directed mainly at the half-aboriginal Jasper and Charlie's Vietnamese best friend, Jeffrey. The banter between Jeffrey and Charlie drives the novel's lighter scenes, but can distract, feeling more like Tarantinoesque pop culture asides than anything else. Still, when Silvey, making his U.S. debut, focuses on the town's ugly underbelly, as well as the troubles in Charlie's family, the novel is gripping enough to overcome its weaknesses. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)

From the Publisher

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2011:
"The author’s keen ear for dialogue is evident in the humorous verbal sparring between Charlie and Jeffrey, typical of smart 13-year-old boys...A richly rewarding exploration of truth and lies by a masterful storyteller."

Starred Review, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2011:
"Silvey’s sure-footed, evocative prose, intelligent humor, and careful plot structuring may well ensure this Aussie import lasting status."

Starred Review, The Horn Book Magazine, May/June 2011:
"The mood and atmosphere of the 1960s small-town Australian setting is perfectly realized—suspenseful, menacing, and claustrophobic—with issues of race and class boiling just below the surface."

Starred Review, School Library Journal, June 2011:
"Silvey is a master of wit and words, spinning a coming-of-age tale told through the mind of a young Holden Caulfield."

VOYA - Jamie Hansen

When Jasper Jones, ne'er-do-well outsider in a small Australian mining town, knocks on the window of bookish Charles Bucktin one hot summer night, he is in grave distress. Normally, the two boys are only vaguely aware of each other. Fourteen-year-old half-caste Jasper is the truant, the liar, the thief all parents consider a dreadful threat to their own offspring, while Charlie, a year younger, is the skinny, studious kid mostly ignored in a sports-mad community. Now, Jasper needs to unburden a dreadful secret and Charlie is his desperate last hope. As they stumble through the thick heat and blackness of the Australian night, Jasper leads Charlie to his own hideout, now a scene of horror and death. The body of a teenaged girl dangles from the branch of a eucalyptus tree. Charlie becomes Jasper's unwilling co-conspirator in eliminating the evidence and keeping the appalling secret. All that long, breathless summer, as Charlie bears the weight of that secret, the town surrenders to fear and suspicion, his parents' marriage becomes more unstable, and his life spirals into chaos. Charlie Bucktin narrates the story of that terrible summer in a voice both wistful and profane. Harboring a shared secret, while maturing and seeking love—or simply acceptance— he becomes a storyteller to rank with Holden Caulfield, Scout Finch, or Huckleberry Finn. Language and subject matter make this poignant and luminous novel best suited for older readers wanting a story of depth and power. Reviewer: Jamie Hansen

Children's Literature - Shirley Nelson

In this novel set in a small town in Australia in the 1960's, thirteen-year-old Charlie Bucktin must face the ugly truths in his community and family as he also experiences the highs and lows of first love. Charlie spends most of his time reading and writing. He greatly admires the stories of Harper Lee and Mark Twain, and dreams of becoming a successful writer. His quiet life abruptly changes the night Jasper Jones knocks at his window and asks for help. Jasper takes Charlie to his special place in the woods where he had earlier made a horrific discovery. Jasper knows he, as a half-caste, will be blamed, and wants Charlie to help him solve the mystery. Terrible secrets about Charlie's friends and family are revealed as Charlie is anguishing over Jasper's situation. This beautifully written coming-of-age story will have readers questioning, along with Charlie, whether he did the right thing in helping Jasper even though he hurt those he loves. Reviewer: Shirley Nelson

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Everything changes for 14-year-old Charlie Bucktin the night the town outcast, Jasper Jones, knocks on his window. Jasper needs to show him something terrible, so he takes Charlie into his secret spot in the glade. Laura Wishart, the shire president's daughter and Jasper's friend, hangs from a tree, and unless the boys can hide her body, Jasper will surely be blamed. Without knowing the why or how of this tragedy, Charlie is left with a secret that's almost impossible to bear. The oppressive heat of a small Australian town is an appropriate setting for the slow boil of unraveling truths. Charlie seems wise beyond his years, using the vocabulary of the tomes in which he loses himself. There are, however, several glimpses to remind readers of his real age—in dealing with his first real crush, his uninhibited best friend, and his temperamental mother. Silvey is a master of wit and words, spinning a coming-of-age tale told through the mind of a young Holden Caulfield. Some readers may find themselves stumbling through the Australian slang and cricket-game terminology, but the universal themes are reminiscent of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. However, the expletives and subject matter make this gripping story most appropriate for older teens.—Kimberly Castle, Stark County District Library, Canton, OH

Kirkus Reviews

Charlie is catapulted into adulthood when Jasper Jones knocks on his window on a blisteringly hot Australian night and leads him to a hidden glade where a girl is hanging from a tree, bruised and bloody. Jasper, half-Anglo, half-Aborigine and the scapegoat for all misdeeds in their small town, knows he'll be held responsible for Laura's death. In a "cold moment of dismay . . . disarmed by a shard of knowing," Charlie helps Jasper hide the body. As Jasper delves to the heart of the mystery, Charlie's life goes on as usual, despite the brick in his stomach from keeping their dreadful secret. A collector of words, he's dismayed that he can't find the right ones for the girl he has a crush on or to stick up for his Vietnamese-Australian friend, Jeffrey, who outplays the local bigots in cricket. Silvey infuses his prose with a musician's sensibility—Charlie's pounding heart is echoed in the terse, staccato sentences of the opening scenes, alternating with legato phrases laden with meaning. The author's keen ear for dialogue is evident in the humorous verbal sparring between Charlie and Jeffrey, typical of smart 13-year-old boys. Their wordplay—" 'I bid you a Jew.' 'And I owe your revoir' "—requires some sophistication of readers, who may also wish they'd brushed up on cricket terms. A richly rewarding exploration of truth and lies by a masterful storyteller. (Fiction. 12 & up)