Cricket Fans!

If you love the game of cricket, then you will love Jasper Jones.  I don't know many books that detail the game play as much as this book.  I have no clue how cricket is played but a lot of it is played in Australia, I guess, where Jasper lives and Charles, the main character, lives as well.
Jasper is the bad news dude in town.  He is always blamed for everything.  He is an outcast of mixed race and his dad is a drunk and well, EVERYONE knows that Jasper Jones is bad bad bad.
So when he knocks on Chuck's window in the middle of the night and begs him for help, Chuck is a little hesitant.  But Chuck's a good guy and Jasper seems nicer than all the rumors make him out to be and nothing has ever been PROVEN to make Jasper officially bad and Chuck doesn't believe all of the rumors and so he goes to help Jasper in the middle of the night.  Jasper leads him to his special hide out in the woods and there is the body of a classmate, the sister of Jasper's crush and the daughter of a prominent man.
Jasper swears he hasn't done it and begs Chuck to help him find out who did, because both he and Chuck know that EVERYONE will think that Jasper did it, without even asking questions.
And so begins a journey into small town evil secrets and rumors and young love and self-discovery.  And it is all really well done.  And it takes place during the Vietnam War.  And Chuck's best friend Jeffery is Vietnamese and he and his family face a great deal of prejudice from the jerk-offs in town.  Jeffery was my favorite character by the way and I love the dialog between him and Chuck.  Jeffery has a brave and bold wonderful spirit.
I liked JJ, and for it being NOTHING like books I enjoy and the first book I have read in ages, I have to say I enjoyed it.  Its a smart, smart book, very different and original.