Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey, was published in 2009. It has been shortlisted for a number of awards and named the ABIA Book of the Year 2010.

     “Protagonist Charlie Bucktin is a thirteen-year-old boy living in the regional mining town of Corrigan. He reflects that he is somewhat socially awkward, being uncoordinated in a town that values sporting ability. He is relatively intelligent – a fact which causes the other students to resent him. His best friend is Jeffrey Lu, a Vietnamese boy who, along with his parents, experiences racial discrimination throughout the novel. On a summer evening in 1965, Charlie is visited by fourteen-year-old Jasper Jones, an outcast in Corrigan due to his mixed White-Aboriginal heritage. Jasper takes Charlie to his secret glade in the bush where Charlie bears witness to a terrible discovery.” (Wikipedia)

AUDIOBOOK: Jasper Jones is available on iTunes for $4.99

Here are some resources to help you understand the novel:

Combined reviews of Jasper Jones (clink on hot links to read whole reviews)

Huffington Post Review – ‘Jasper Jones is the Classic Australian Tale we Needed’

Jones S 2010. Jasper Jones Reading Guide

BookRags (plot summary, characters, themes, style, quotes)

Jasper Jones, a novel by Craig Silvey by M. Williams IN The Monthly, May, No.45. 

Interview with Craig Silvey, write up by Tony Birch

Craig Silvey answers ten terrifying questions

Jasper Jones Study Guide (LitCharts)

Australia in the 1960s: Sites to support the study of Jasper Jones (Livebinders)

Themes and examples – Jasper Jones (Mindmap)

Melbourne Theatre Company’s notes on Jasper Jones (play)

Prezi presentation on Racism in Jasper Jones (click ‘Transcript’ below for the full text of the speech).