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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “An engaging combination of mystery, historical fiction and coming-of-age story laced with occasional humor. In 1965 Australia, half-aborigine Jasper awakens persecuted nerd Charlie in the middle of the night, takes him to a remote forest retreat, and reveals the hanged body of Laura, Jasper's...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Jasper Jones started out with a bang and I had great hopes for it...but it stretched out way too long, dwelled on the game of Cricket without a explanation of the game and tied up without the "sleuthing" that was promised! |
Newest Reviews
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“An Australian novel about a small mining town. The author covers friendship, adultery, incest, suicide, racism, victimization and revenge very adeptly. Well written with some very likable characters. Jeffrey Lu the hero's best friend is adorable. Read it.”
Gaye A wrote this review Saturday, March 23, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Jasper Jones started out with a bang and I had great hopes for it...but it stretched out way too long, dwelled on the game of Cricket without a explanation of the game and tied up without the "sleuthing" that was promised!
Connie P wrote this review Monday, March 11, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
My Booktalk:
Charlie Bucktin is a 13 year old boy living in a very small town in Australia with his mother and father. He's deathly afraid of bugs and just a little less afraid of his mother! Jasper Jones is a virtually homeless, virtually orphaned boy a year older than Charlie. One night Jasper comes to Charlie's bedroom window and begs him for help. Charlie is ripe for excitement, but gets more than he's bargained for when he sees who is hanging from a tree in Jasper's private sanctuary by the dam. They make a pact to discover who beat and hung Jasper's only friend in the whole city. But they got more than they bargained for with a racist sheriff and townsfolk who automatically believe that Jasper is responsible for anything that goes wrong in their town.
End of Booktalk.
So even though this is Printz Honor book and was recommended by a student, I just won't be able to convincingly booktalk this story to my students. I just didn't believe in it.”
“this is a book that i really enjoyed. it has quite a dark and serious story line, but it was a good read nonetheless. i always like a book which is set in a place i am familiar with, like WA.”
Stuart J wrote this review Thursday, March 7, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It is interesting. :l”
Alonso Preciado wrote this review Thursday, April 4, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It was okay. ”
Sophie E wrote this review Tuesday, January 22, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this narrative. Whilst it has been compared to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, I do believe that it has only some pionts of comparison (and with allusions to Atticus Finch and Harper Lee) and could be somewhat reductive in its effect. The currents and nuances of small town Australia for young people losing their innoence in the 1960s has a wonderful ring of authenticity to it. I will be encouraging every teenager that comes into my library to read it.”
Mittagongbookgirl wrote this review Wednesday, January 2, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Well, I'll start off with the main thing I liked about this book: it is very high quality. That sounds strange, but what I mean is, it's a "good" book. It isn't cliche. The writing is very, very good, with interesting word choice. It's not fake-happy or fake-sad or anything. The characters are well-developed, etc.
Abbie MG wrote this review Thursday, November 22, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
But, my personal problem with it - something that I did not expect, something that is almost never the case - is that it was absolutely no fun to read. Bleh. I really wanted to know how it all resolved itself - and, low and behold, I predicted it exactly - but other than that, ugh. The dialogue is so incredibly annoying. None of the 'wit' is actually funny - instead it's grating and long-winded. And many - most? - of the characters are hard to like. I mean, I feel sympathetic for them, but they're a little... vague, somehow.
It's not a 'bad' book, I was just personally a bit disappointed with it. ”
“Without a doubt the single most brilliant piece of literature I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Jasper Jones was a delightful coming of age story set in an Australian outback mining town, and a book I feel every school should be introducing to their student reading list. Craig has penned a modern day masterpiece.”
Phillip Overton wrote this review Wednesday, November 7, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great whodunnit, though a little on the predictable side, the social commentary on Western Australia more than makes up for the lack of mystery. ”
Phoebe M wrote this review Wednesday, November 7, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I loved this book, it drags you in and you have to keep turning the pages to see what happens. It had great themes; struggle, prejudice, racism, and hopelessness . It also has wonderful characters. I especially like the witty conversations between Charlie and Jeffrey Lu, his cricket mad next door neighbour. I thoroughly recommend this book.”
Robbie wrote this review Tuesday, October 30, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
