Cassie McCullough

And meanwhile, head to the ABC's Book Club Facebook group to share your reactions to these literary versions of Sicily and Naples.

But today we're travelling to Massachusetts with Sue Miller's Monogamy.

And to Ghana and Alabama with Yaa Gyasi's book Transcendent Kingdom.

But we'll begin in Perth with the much anticipated Honey Bee by Craig Silvey.

West Australian writer Craig Silvey's second novel, Jasper Jones, was both loved and critically acclaimed.

It was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, it was the Australian Book Industry Association's Book of the Year for 2010, and it was made into a film and, Cassie, I think even more than one play version.

Yes.

So after it was published in 2009 and one of my friends from school thrust a copy of it into my hands and said, you've got to read this, which I did and loved it.

And it was then adapted by the great Kate Mulvaney for the stage and there were productions around the country.

I managed to see one in Sydney and also the Melbourne Theatre Company's version of it.

And then Rachel Perkins, the brilliant Rachel Perkins, directed it as a film.

So this is one of the most loved books in Australia of the last decade or so.

And it's a why.

It was a young adult's book.

It's about a bookworm called Charlie Buckton, who's 13 years old, and his mate Jeffrey Lou.

and a guy that they both admire, Jasper Jones, who's 14.

And, you know, it's got a quite dark story where that girl goes missing and things are going on in this little town, this fictional town of Corrigan in Western Australia, that you wouldn't think were happening from the surface appearance of things.

So a massive hit for Craig, but that was back in 2009.

And people have been really waiting to see what he was going to do next.

And what he's done now is this novel called Honey Bee.