Late on a hot summer night in the tail end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of 13, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan. Rebellious, mixed-race, and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress. Jasper takes him through town and to his secret glade in the bush, and it's here that Charlie bears witness to Jasper's horrible discovery.

With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion as he locks horns with his tempestuous mother; falls nervously in love, and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend, Jeffrey Lu.

And in vainly attempting to restore the parts that have been shaken loose, Charlie learns to discern the truth from the myth, and why white lies creep like a curse. In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, and even harder to hold in his heart.

Listening Length

12 hours and 49 minutes
Author

Craig Silvey
Narrator

Humphrey Bower
Audible release date

23 July 2012
Language

English
Publisher

Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
ASIN

B00NWBAB3A
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	12 hours and 49 minutes
Author	Craig Silvey
Narrator	Humphrey Bower
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	23 July 2012
Publisher	Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NWBAB3A
Best Sellers Rank	421 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 1 in Young Adult Fiction on Prejudice & Racism 1 in Mystery & Detective Fiction for Teens 1 in Teen Fiction on Racism & Discrimination

Customer reviews

5 star		61%
4 star		28%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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reflect on racism

Reviewed in Australia on 21 January 2022

Verified Purchase

"this story confronts inhumanity and racism" states weekend Australian and i totally agree with it. this book teaches and reminds us about what human actually is.

this story sets in 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan.

Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress. Jasper takes him to his secret glade in the bush, and it's here that Charlie bears witness to Jasper's horrible discovery.

With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion as he locks horns with his tempestuous mother; falls nervously in love and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend, Jeffrey Lu.

And in vainly attempting to restore the parts that have been shaken loose, Charlie learns to discern the truth from the myth, and why white lies creep like a curse.

In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know and even harder to hold in his heart.

I recommend this book to people who wants to know what racism, injustice, inhumanity, young love hypocrisy actually is and learn about it

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seffron holroyd

Unexpected captivation

Reviewed in Australia on 29 November 2018

Verified Purchase

Wow!
I have seen this book on the shelves in all department stores and didn't really understand it's hype until now.
It is written superbly well, real like characters in raw emotions and behavior.
The story line was quick, engrossing to the point that I would think about it at night when I went to bed.
I now have to see the movie and hope it does the book justice and stays true to the story line.
Tragic, raw, funny, sad and up lifting . It was a pleasure to read.
I think I can safely say, seeing that we are nearly at the end of the year, that this book is my favorite pick of all that I read this year.

2 people found this helpful

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M Speers

An intense and fascinatingly unique writing style.

Reviewed in Australia on 20 August 2019

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“JASPER JONES” by Craig Silvey

REVIEW:
I gave this book 4 stars.

Silvey’s writing style is unique, to say the least. It took time to adapt to the quiet introspective, at times almost repetitive way Silvey has of developing scenarios, characters, and plot.

It’s as though the author wants to ensure that a changed situation, or a new character, is depicted with absolute unmistakable clarity, that confusion there in is totally prevented from occurring.

The characters within the story are competently chiseled out of complex but clearly explained contexts. They each stand clear, possessing unique carefully drawn characteristics, that as the complex series of events unfold, become highlighted as deftly crafted details reveal themselves to the reader.

Michael Speers

One person found this helpful

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Highly recommended

Reviewed in Australia on 23 April 2016

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Silvey has certainly made an impressive contribution to Australian Literature with this book. An excellently written novel with a good plot, well developed characters and the pace and flow felt right. It was a not a light or pleasant read, but I felt it was a very important one. 'Jasper Jones' was also a challenge for readers to go on a journey that made you think deeply, reflect and, well...feel uncomfortable, yet compassionate. The plot's climax was exceptional.
Set in rural Australia in the 60's amid influences and events such as, the Vietnam War, Jasper Jones and Charlie Bucktin (the book was told through his POV) find friendship. Jasper was part aboriginal and the small mindedness of the locals wouldn't allow for fair or equal treatment of him. Instead, they judged him. Charlie's observations were well recorded as he deduced that Jasper was a better person than even the local dignitaries. Another character, Jeffrey Lu and family were a real asset to the telling of this narrative.
My only annoyance had nothing at all to do with the book. It had to do with the cover stating that 'Jasper Jones' is Australia's 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. While there were comparisons to draw, 'Jasper Jones' could surely stand on its own. It is what it is! I don't think it needed that particular publicity to be an award winning bestseller. By making those comments, I mean no disrespect to Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' which is one of my all-time favourite books. It's simply that the statement was unnecessary. 'Jasper Jones' is a must read Australian piece of literature!

4 people found this helpful

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Beautiful, evocative, funny and sad

Reviewed in Australia on 11 April 2021

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What a fabulous read. Funny sad stressful. The main characters were beautifully drawn and the language of the writer created a visual of the era, the heat, the small town and the characters. I loved this book and on completion, download his second. Loved that too

One person found this helpful

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Brian. S. Olsen

Becoming of age.

Reviewed in Australia on 5 February 2021

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Jasper jones is an excellent story written by Australian author Craig Silvey and is about a young boy growing up in Australia. It has a range of emotions, some sad some ugly racism but the dialogue between Charlie and his mate Jeffery is priceless. All in all a great story about a boy becoming of age.

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David Povey

Great story!

Reviewed in Australia on 24 March 2017

Verified Purchase

Like another Amazon reviewer, I have never cried reading a book more than I cried reading Craig Silvery's fantastic, fabulously well written Jasper Jones, nor shivered with more nervous tension in concern for the characters. We may recognise ourselves in these characters, in Charlie Bucktin the chief protagonist, Jasper Jones, Eliza Wishart and the wonderful Jeffrey Lu. I laughed out loud, and chuckled, and sighed, and cheered. Its an extraordinarily good book.

2 people found this helpful

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Perfect

Reviewed in Australia on 26 May 2018

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This is a delightful coming-of-age story set in a small Aussie town. I found the dialogue stunning, the characters perfectly drawn and the scene setting spot on. I particularly liked the banter between Charlie and Jeffrey, and the scenes with Jasper warmed my heart. I loved every minute of this book, and will be recommending it.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

MAG007

Tensions and Murder in 1960's Small Town Australia

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2018

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This is a tale about a young boy Charlie who unwittingly finds himself involved in the mysterious death of a girl in his hometown of Corrigan in Australia in 1965. In order to protect his friend Jasper Jones who is the town outcast and is most likely to be blamed they end up doing something that has far reaching effects. Around this story we also get interwoven themes of racism in the local community, and of tensions in Charlie's family and the revealing of family secrets for some of the other characters. There's also a smattering of humour between Charlie and his friend Jeffery as they have childish debates and the POV of Charlie is convincing but I think the swearing used was a bit more than was required throughout the whole book.

One person found this helpful

jeannie-ju

I truly loved this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2018

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Authentic- believable- wonderfull characterization-fabulous writing-sense of place-stunning; I could go on forever, I truly loved this book, I was totally immersed and captivated. Jeffrey Ju such a wonderful little person, and chuck- totally believable as a thirteen yearold wordsmith of a boy. It's dark- really dark- and light and the banter between the boys is amusing and clever. We cannot forget the enigmatic Jasper Jones--Wow!! Wow and more Wow!!. I am truly bowled over by this writer.......

One person found this helpful

Gs-trentham

Interesting enough to overcome the reservations

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2012

Verified Purchase

Craig Silvey has written a brave book. Charlie Bucktin, growing up in what emerges as a dysfunctional family in small-town Australia, becomes an inadvertent accessory to a crime. Exactly what the crime is, and who the perpetrator, becomes clear only slowly. The revelation when it comes is plausible in itself and as the cause of a great deal of anguish.

The eponymous Jasper Jones is a rebel determined upon fulfilling the role of outcast which he believes is being forced upon him by circumstance. By the end, he is only one of a number whose lives have been changed. Central to the story is Charlie's friendship with Jeffrey Wu, a cricket-mad Asian boy; the author makes no attempt to conceal the parallels with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Their relationship is complicated by Charlie's crush on Eliza Wishart, another disturbed young person.

Sometimes the author's intention to identify large issues of friendship, loyalty and racism pushes the boundaries of what might be expected of early-teenagers, but this is a courageous novel with a fresh setting.

One person found this helpful

Angel N

Beautifully told coming of age story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2016

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Small town Australia in the 1960s full of prejudice and rumour. Charlie is swept up in a mystery hanging. Some of the best observed moments of the book are in his relationship complete with schoolboy repartee with his Vietnamese friend, Geoffrey and their standing up to older bullies. As the plot unravels, domestic secrets emerge which are profoundly upsetting. The narrator's voice is always authentically that of a rural adolescent. By the end, Charlie has become wiser, seeing through the deceptions and bigotry around him.

One person found this helpful

Sammy

Long winded and dragged

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 May 2018

Verified Purchase

Really long-winded. Did not like the author's style of writing at all. Disappointed - waste of £9. It started off okay and there was potential to put the story across really well. But some parts really dragged on. Simple things, like the boys playing a game. Or comparing favourite superheroes. Not for me, sorry.

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Jasper Jones Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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