What do you think?
Rate this book
Jasper Jones
It’s summer 1965 in a small, hot town in Western Australia. Overseas, war is raging in Vietnam, Civil Rights marches are on the streets, and women’s liberation is stirring – but at home in Corrigan Charlie Bucktin dreams of writing the Great Australian Novel. Charlie’s 14 and smart. But when 16-year-old, constantly-in-trouble Jasper Jones appears at his window one night, Charlie’s out of his depth. Jasper has stumbled upon a terrible crime in the scrub nearby, and he knows he’s the first suspect – that goes with the colour of his skin. He needs every ounce of Charlie’s bookish brain to help solve this awful mystery before the town turns on Jasper.
Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Craig Silvey’s award-winning novel is wise and beautiful. A coming-of-age story, Jasper Jones interweaves the lives of complex individuals all struggling to find happiness among the buried secrets of a small rural community.
Whether you know the book or not, this piercing adaptation is very much worth seeing for the way it depicts – and shows ways across – some of the deep and enduring divides in our society." - Jason Blake SMH
Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Craig Silvey’s award-winning novel is wise and beautiful. A coming-of-age story, Jasper Jones interweaves the lives of complex individuals all struggling to find happiness among the buried secrets of a small rural community.
Whether you know the book or not, this piercing adaptation is very much worth seeing for the way it depicts – and shows ways across – some of the deep and enduring divides in our society." - Jason Blake SMH
78 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2016
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 20, 2017
An Adept Adaptation that Captures the Vivacity of the Original.
Kate Mulvany’s stage productions of Jasper Jones have been performed in several major Australian cities. In this particular adaptation of Craig Silvey's 2009 iconic novel, Mulvany vibrantly brings to life the Aussie classic that has sold half a million copies.
In her “Adaptor’s Note” at the beginning of the book, Mulvany mentions that she and Silvey both come from small West Australian towns. She also writes: “We can learn the ways of the world from these small communities, these contained universes. They are a petri dish of the bigger picture. The ails of society are often magnified in small towns, but so are the cures. The shared experience of a community, of listening to each other’s stories with an open mind and empathetic ear, is what these towns can do best and what we can all do better.” This quote encapsulates the power of Mulvany’s adaptation.
While the script for Mulvany’s play tightly follows Silvey’s novel, it does much more than just condense it. It also cleverly reimagines some parts.
Example #1: In her adaptation, it is Eliza that tells Charlie about Baniszeswki and the Likens sisters, giving a depth to Eliza’s own sisterly conundrum (whereas in the original, Charlie simply reads about this in the library).
Example #2: Mulvany adds Jasper to a certain car crash that is pivotal to his Jasper’s identity (whereas in the original, Jasper wasn’t a passenger in that car).
There are several other creative reinterpretations — such as ones involving a dead-Laura-ghost, watermelon pips, and the one-inch punch — all of which add beauty and poignancy to the story.
Kate Mulvany’s stage productions of Jasper Jones have been performed in several major Australian cities. In this particular adaptation of Craig Silvey's 2009 iconic novel, Mulvany vibrantly brings to life the Aussie classic that has sold half a million copies.
In her “Adaptor’s Note” at the beginning of the book, Mulvany mentions that she and Silvey both come from small West Australian towns. She also writes: “We can learn the ways of the world from these small communities, these contained universes. They are a petri dish of the bigger picture. The ails of society are often magnified in small towns, but so are the cures. The shared experience of a community, of listening to each other’s stories with an open mind and empathetic ear, is what these towns can do best and what we can all do better.” This quote encapsulates the power of Mulvany’s adaptation.
While the script for Mulvany’s play tightly follows Silvey’s novel, it does much more than just condense it. It also cleverly reimagines some parts.
Example #1: In her adaptation, it is Eliza that tells Charlie about Baniszeswki and the Likens sisters, giving a depth to Eliza’s own sisterly conundrum (whereas in the original, Charlie simply reads about this in the library).
Example #2: Mulvany adds Jasper to a certain car crash that is pivotal to his Jasper’s identity (whereas in the original, Jasper wasn’t a passenger in that car).
There are several other creative reinterpretations — such as ones involving a dead-Laura-ghost, watermelon pips, and the one-inch punch — all of which add beauty and poignancy to the story.
September 23, 2019
I thought the author tried to take on too many social problems, abuse, bullying, suicide and it made the story very dark. I didn't enjoy it very much.
November 8, 2018
This has been my teaching highlight so far this year. Year 11 LOVED this play. I loved this play. I read the book for #exeterladiesofthebook (our book club) years ago and loved it back then, and while the play leaves a lot out, it does Silvey's original story so much justice. In a classroom, the themes are big and bold and wonderful to discuss. Kids also love being allowed to say naughty words in the name of English. I was lucky enough to see the #belvoir performance of JJ at Wollongong while I was teaching it- unfortunately we didn't have enough notice to organise an excursion to take the students, but I highly recommend it to everyone. Read the novel. Watch the play.
February 6, 2019
This is such a fantastic story. I read the story after taking my students to see a stage adaptation at the Melbourne Theatre company, which they loved. I have also watched the film adaptation. Every version of this story is chilling and fantastic for young adults and adults alike.
July 19, 2017
Kate's adaption of Craig Silvey's already fabulous story captures the 1960s context perfectly. Her beautiful craftsmanship, teamed with the great story have created a masterpiece amongst plays.
October 25, 2018
I liked this better than I liked the novel.
December 30, 2018
Fantastic play for Years 10 +
Used it for a Preliminary Standard study of Australian literature and they loved it
Used it for a Preliminary Standard study of Australian literature and they loved it
June 12, 2021
I’ve been hopelessly in love with this brilliant play ever since I saw it at the Belvoir Theatre in 2016. I’ve been teaching it ever since and it is consistently successful because students are both enthralled and appalled by its contents. Many times a student has told me they read the play in one go, the night it was issued to them. Assessment responses are always strong. Students don’t just read this to pass, they actually make a connection with Charlie, Jasper, Laura, Eliza and Jeffrey. They just get it.
As a parting gift for my Bowral peeps, I promised to freshen up the year 11 close study unit of the play that they’ve been teaching. And what a joy it has been, to re-immerse myself in the little town of Corrigan, the mysterious disappearance of Laura, and the friendships that blossom in this iconic, small-town Australian story of racism, secrets and prejudice.
If you’ve never read the multi award winning novel, seen the ‘instant classic’ play, or watched the AWGIE winning film (I attended the premiere at the open air cinema on the harbour - yes, I’m that much of a fan), then you really need to sort yourself out.
As a parting gift for my Bowral peeps, I promised to freshen up the year 11 close study unit of the play that they’ve been teaching. And what a joy it has been, to re-immerse myself in the little town of Corrigan, the mysterious disappearance of Laura, and the friendships that blossom in this iconic, small-town Australian story of racism, secrets and prejudice.
If you’ve never read the multi award winning novel, seen the ‘instant classic’ play, or watched the AWGIE winning film (I attended the premiere at the open air cinema on the harbour - yes, I’m that much of a fan), then you really need to sort yourself out.
February 5, 2021
"Jasper Jones" follows Charlie Bucktin. While reading late at night, Charlie's outcast friend, Jasper Jones, asks Charlie to follow him. Jasper shows Charlie the body of Laura Wishart, and Charlie is determined to find her killer. "Jasper Jones" deals with racism in a great way: not shoving it in your face, but mentioning it enough to have an impact. The book starts off a little slow for my tastes but quickly picks up the pace. As the book goes on, a feeling of unease and anxiety sets in, drawing you into the book further. The dialogue is impeccable, sometimes completely hitting it out of the park, making this book a joy to read.
July 27, 2021
If I could give this a zero I would. I read it in English in class and have never read something that offended me more than this. Why anyone would think that this is worthy to be a play, is beyond me. If I owned this book I would have burned it.
August 4, 2023
Like an Australian Huck Finn and Mockingbird in one. The dialogue between Chuck and his best friend Jeffrey Lu was my favorite part, but it was well written and except for such boring detail about cricket that I skipped, I couldn’t put it down
October 5, 2021
This story kept my interest throughout though I definitely skipped over a lot of extra extra verbiage.
January 10, 2023
Such a good adaptation of a perfect novel
October 13, 2023
read for school
Read
January 21, 2024ooooo love me some google translate vietnamese😑
February 13, 2024
kavanagh thought this one was a bit funny 🤩
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews