public static JsonNode stringToNode(final String jsonString, final boolean failQuietly) {
        if (jsonString == null) {
            return null;
        }
        try {
            return mapper.readTree(jsonString);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            final String msg = "JSON: Could not convert string to json: '" + jsonString + "'";
            Log.w(msg, e);
            if (failQuietly) {
                return null;
            }
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(msg, e);
        }
    }
converts a json string to a JsonNode. Fails quietly.
main/src/main/java/cgeo/geocaching/utils/JsonUtils.java