What do you do when you have a secret that you don't want but that you can't tell? You wear it like a burdensome albatross around your neck. It changeWhat do you do when you have a secret that you don't want but that you can't tell? You wear it like a burdensome albatross around your neck. It changes you. It drains you. Charlie wishes he never opened his window to Jasper Jones that night, but now he's laden with this secret whether he wants it or not. Four people are forever tied to that night, and they can never be the same again. As the story deepens, we find that it's the secrets of the adults in the town that have led to the fateful night. How different everyone's life would have been without all these secrets.
I felt a little trepidatious about this book at first since the opening scene was taken out of Tom Sawyer with social outcast Jasper Jones rapping on Charlie's window like Huckleberry rapping on Tom's. The author keeps throwing out unveiled references to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other pieces of literature that Charlie enjoys. At first, I thought the book was going to turn into a sloppy homage, but I was wrong. The characters are sharp, and the storyline is definitely its own. The story doesn't really move quickly, but it doesn't stall out either. I especially enjoy Charlie's best friend Jeffry. He's the type of sidekick that makes up all the inside jokes that can make a friendship a special type of fun. I need the author to write another book called Jeffrey Lu, but that title doesn't have nearly the same ring to it as Jasper Jones.
The big reveal of the book is the worst type of harsh. One part of me wants to think that this isn't a book suitable for a teen to read, but the other part of me knows that teens have to learn that life isn't just a bed of roses. And they have to learn the power that some secrets have to break you and those around you. I'd like to sit in on a high school class discussion of this book. I think it could be emotional and perhaps life-changing for some involved.
There's a reason this book won 3 awards. It's got the same coming-of-age heart, grit, and depth as books like The Outsiders, Great Expectations, etc. And the more I think about it, the more I'm impressed by it. ...more
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