Jasper Jones

"Please, mum, can you read my class novel so we can talk about it?"
"Sure thing, son."
Thus began my love affair with this excellent Year 12 English text, a 'fresh off the press' novel by an entertaining young author called Greg Silvey.
Don't bother with this one if you don't have a sense of humour. Silvey is a wit addict, creating lengthy verbal spas between the protagonist, Charlie, and his best friend Jeffrey, which made me lol on numerous occasions.
And the plot? Let's just say there is a suspicious death at the start - a local teenage girl is found hanging from a tree - and Charlie finds himself as an unwitting accomplice due to helping Jasper Jones get rid of the body.
This would be a hard book to read a few pages at a time, due to the extended detailed conversations, so I suggest 'chunk' reading, ie, read at least 50 pages at a time.
The novel has been likened to "a modern day Mockingbird". I disagree. Mockingbird is a classic in its own right. Having said that, I think in the future Jasper Jones will take its own place amongst the annals of classic texts.
Great choice, Miss Year 12 English teacher!

Where Did That Last 3 Hours Go?

It is interesting how time flies when you’re hooked in a book’s plot. I am 500 pages into Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes and I can’t put the darn thing down! Picoult takes us on a journey into the mind of a mass murderer. What might interest you, Year 9, is that the killer is around your age. He went on a shooting spree in his high school, killing 10 outright and leaving many more wounded.

It is dark reading. I can’t necessarily tell what’s fact and what’s fiction but one thing’s for sure – this has happened and will likely happen again.

Picoult portrays the killer as a victim in his own right; he was bullied to the max from a young age and his parents had been oblivious to the torment he was facing every minute of every day.

She is not one of my favourite authors (in case you’re interested – ask me why in person and I’ll let you in on a little secret) but I can’t fault the compelling interweaving of the characters’ lives. Is a victim of extreme bullying a walking time bomb? Jodi says yes!