In the spirit of To Kill a Mockingbird, Jasper Jones is an outcast in a small mining town in Australia. Whatever laws are broken, Jasper is always the suspect. Imagine his fear when he stumbles across a dead girl in his favorite hideaway spot out in the secluded woody area outside of town. Fearing he most likely will be the one blamed, Jasper returns to town and enlists Charlie, a rather bookish intellectual 13- year-old boy, to assist him in thinking through a plot to keep him from being accused and to help find the real murderer. While the town becomes frightened and suspicion runs rampant, Charlie manages to battle his mother and discover her secrets, falls in love, and keeps a grip on what he knows and how sometimes what you know hurts. This book received an Indie Book of the Year Award for 2009 and was a finalist in the Miles Franklin Award in 2010.
Recommended by Tammy Reed, Librarian, Texas
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When Jasper knocks on his window late at night, Charlie has no idea that he is about
to get involved in the death of a young girl, but together, they find Jasper’s best friend
hanging from a tree. Worried that with his reputation for mischievousness, Jasper
will get automatically blamed for the murder of this girl, he enlists Charlie’s help in
discarding the body in order to find the true killer themselves. As this thrilling mystery
unfolds, the reader gets to know a town full of prejudice and bigotry. In addition to
fighting the stereotypes associated with Jasper Jones, Charlie must also protect his best
friend Jeffrey, who is Vietnamese living in Australia during the Vietnam War, and sort
through his romantic feelings for the sister of the murder victim. This unsettling story
is highly recommended for anyone that appreciates a thoughtful tale of morality and
mystery.
Recommended by Carrie Shaurette, Librarian New Jersey