Jasper Jones

Silvey, C. (2009). Jasper jones. NY: Ember. 13-year-old Charlie Bucktin is the protagonist in Jasper Jones. In the novel, Charlie, a loner, agrees to help Jasper Jones, a town trouble maker, with a problem, moving Laura Wishart’s dead body before Jasper can find out who murdered her before he is blamed. Charlie struggles to not tell his love interest Eliza, Laura’s younger sister, the truth as he grows closer to her. The novel ends with Eliza revealing that Laura killed herself after her mother did not believe that her father impregnated her, but promises never to tell the police about Laura if her mother comes forward with the truth. Eliza’s mother never does, so Eliza burns her house down. I think the intended audience of the book might be for ages 12 and up. Recommendations for follow up reading include Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, The Secret River by Kate Grenville, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. A lesson that might come from reading Jasper Jones is to not hang with the wrong crowd. For anyone who has been in Charlie’s shoes, not everyone that comes around is meant to be a friend, no matter how desperate you are for one. I think Jasper Jones meets the social developmental criteria because Charlie, who is a loner, befriends a troublemaker and gets wrapped up in a killing. During adolescence, teenagers look for kids to socialize with and find their place in the world. Along the way, some find their place while others struggle and become loners or hang with the wrong crowd.