Product Description

Thirteen-year-old Lockie, an Australian surfer, is happier riding the waves than he is trying to cope with being popular and in love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3856502 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-30
• Formats: Audiobook, Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 3
• Binding: Audio CD

From Publishers Weekly
Moving to Australia's East Coast from Perth makes 14-year-old Lockie an outsider and a city boy--an identity worsened by the fact that his father is a cop and the family lives on the wrong side of the tracks. Still, between smart-mouthing in school, thrashing the waves on his surfboard and having the popular Vicki Streeton as a girlfriend, Lockie soon establishes his place in town. It's a difficult time: sexual stirrings begin perplexing Lockie, and Vicki seems to be confusing love with precocious sex. The boy is also faced with other, more universal concerns, such as the depletion of the ozone, nuclear weapons and world peace. While trendy brand names, pop artists and television programs will date this first novel, Lockie's successes with the business of life have the solid ring of truth. Winton's dry, typically Down Under wit and his use of alien, sometimes challenging Australian slang should charm young readers on this side of the equator. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-- Shortly before he enters high school, Lockie Leonard and his family move from Perth to a small town along the Australian coast. His first weeks in his new school are disastrous, and he tries to keep a low profile. On his 14th birthday, he meets Vicki Streeton and falls in love. From then on they are constantly together, and Vicki's popularity rubs off on him. Lockie's love life deteriorates, however, when Vicki drops him for a couple of punks with a van. In a confrontation with them, Lockie gets beaten up when he refuses to fight. Although most of the characters are not fleshed out well (the hero's parents are disgustingly understanding at all times), the main problem with this novel is its excessive use of Australian slang. An early incident is largely incomprehensible because of the language, and Lockie's woodworking teacher literally throws him out for making a seemingly innocent remark with an apparent double meaning. In light of the boy's later popularity, the whole scene seems unnecessary. Better Australian novels dealing with YA problems, such as The Heroic Life of Al Capsella (Holt, 1990), are available. --Jo-Anne Weinberg, Greenburgh Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A slapstick coming-of-age story set in a small Australian town. For his 14th birthday, Lockie gets not only a neoprene vest to keep him warm while he's surfing but also a sudden steady- -Vicki Streeton--rich, bright, and beautiful. Lockie revels in the new-found popularity this social connection brings him, while eagerly exploring both Vicki's body and the changes within himself--until it dawns on him that Vicki's emotional waters are rather shallow; as he puts it, ``I don't know anything about sex, and you don't know anything about love.'' Lockie rides the waves like a pro but he's a klutz on dry land, so there's plenty of physical comedy here, augmented by nearly impenetrable slang (``There were big kids who were better, but among the grommets Lockie ripped''). The cast is full of intriguing characters, particularly Lockie's well-read, pacifistic father, a police officer. Lockie is part of a recent crop of teenage protagonists who are willing to take some time growing up; fortunately, the author doesn't burden his lighthearted story with messages. (Fiction. YA) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Great book for teenagers and adults
This is a fantastic read--it's not for the prudish, because it's quite frank in its sexual talk, which makes it really refreshing. I don't think an American parent or teacher would want any kid younger than 13 or 14 to read it. You can find cheaper copies on Alibris--check it out. To be on the safe side get an Australian or UK edition of the book because book 2 (Lockie Leonard, Scumbuster) was severely edited to change the Australian slang for the American reader. Big mistake. Not sure about this one because I only have the Australian edition. The Aussie slang isn't that hard to figure out and it's a lot of the fun of reading the book. Highly recommended. If you're a fan of Tim Winton's books for adults, don't dismiss this one--it's every bit as good as his writing for adults.

Love, sex and morality
City boy Lockie Leonard is twelve-and-three-quarters years old, terrible at Math and average at most things, but he can surf good for his age. Now Lockie's family has moved to a small, seaside, rural town, and to top that he is going to high school for the first time. He is more nervous than normal, making lots more mistakes and generally turning out a looser no one wants to know. Then Lockie meets Vickie Streeton, the girl of his dreams, and everything changes in his favor. But is everything now as good as he thinks?

This very successfully written story is about both sexual awakening and emerging morality. The author achieves this interesting combination by avoiding some of the pitfalls of, for example, prudery, or its opposite, over-sensationalization. The sexuality is always described naturalistically and included as the story demands it. Teenage boys, for example, will enjoy reading a story that reveals that most guys experience some surprise and a little embarrassment when they first have a 'wet dream'. The morality centers on the question of 'when is it the right time for intercourse?' Parents will be relieved to find that, despite all the sexuality, this book does not encourage their children to run out and have intercourse at the first opportunity.

The book also has minor themes of law and order, formal religion and social class divisions.

I have one criticism of this otherwise good book: the story is set in Australia and the author has included a lot of Australian popular cultural references, which will be inaccessible to an international audience, and worse, which are now dated even in Australia. (The book was written back in 1990.) Young people just won't understand these references as they are no longer part of the current world. These references, however, are only incidental to the story and the book can be enjoyed despite of them.

Love, sex and morality
City boy Lockie Leonard is twelve-and-three-quarters years old, terrible at Math and average at most things, but he can surf good for his age. Now Lockie's family has moved to a small, seaside, rural town, and to top that he is going to high school for the first time. He is more nervous than normal, making lots more mistakes and generally turning out a looser no one wants to know. Then Lockie meets Vickie Streeton, the girl of his dreams, and everything changes in his favor. But is everything now as good as he thinks?

This very successfully written story is about both sexual awakening and emerging morality. The author achieves this interesting combination by avoiding some of the pitfalls of, for example, prudery, or its opposite, over-sensationalization. The sexuality is always described naturalistically and included as the story demands it. Teenage boys, for example, will enjoy reading a story that reveals that most guys experience some surprise and a little embarrassment when they first have a 'wet dream'. The morality centers on the question of 'when is it the right time for intercourse?' Parents will be relieved to find that, despite all the sexuality, this book does not encourage their children to run out and have intercourse at the first opportunity.

The book also has minor themes of law and order, formal religion and social class divisions.

I have one criticism of this otherwise good book: the story is set in Australia and the author has included a lot of Australian popular cultural references, which will be inaccessible to an international audience, and worse, which are now dated even in Australia. (The book was written back in 1990.) Young people just won't understand these references as they are no longer part of the current world. These references, however, are only incidental to the story and the book can be enjoyed despite of them.