Reviews

this book was just ... okay. the language is kind of hilarious, and even though i grew up 20 years after this story is set, i could still relate to a lot of the stuff going on. it's all very australian! it's also only a very short book so if you're feeling curious about surfie culture in the 70s, give it a go. just don't expect too much. :p

there wasn't really that much of a storyline and

Spoiler

the rape parts were really disturbing. the main characters didn't seem to be phased at all by how disgusting the boys were towards the other girls! or "molls" as they call them. rape culture at it's finest, definitely.

in some ways it reminded me of that other famous teen book "go ask alice" in that it doesn't hold back or sugar coat anything, so for that i guess i have to commend it.

there's a new tv show based on this book coming out soon - i'll be interested in seeing how true they stay to the book!

rebeccadanielle's review against another edition

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1.0

I really wanted to like this book because it's a book I always heard about growing up yet nobody had bothered to read in my generation until the television show was made a year or two ago. I was disappointed by the book and enjoyed the movie more than the book which is rare for me. I think I read the book at the wrong time and should have read it when I was twelve or thirteen.

dark_lyn's review against another edition

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3.0

Shockingly blunt. I was a little horrified but it's a great book.

jehsface's review against another edition

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2.0

Read this book because a student said it was hilarious and awful. I definitely thought it was more awful than hilarious, but I can see why a teenager would think it was endlessly funny. It just kind of made me sad about teenage girls and their sexuality (admittedly this is set in 1970's Australia, but still).

The book is so Aussie it's almost ridiculous, the slang is above and beyond and I would expect this to be a really difficult read for people in other countries unfamiliar with the bizarre colloquialisms of Australia.

rosemarianduffy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

booksbecreads's review against another edition

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3.0

A sort of comming of age novel set in Cronulla in the 1970s.

What first got me about the book was the two forwards - one by an ex Australian sopie star come pop star and the other a aging Australian feminist author, neither whom really fit the bill of what I expected this book to be - not that i had expected much, I don't recal every hearing about it and it was definately never required reading in school (understandably). I would be surprised if this book was never a "banned book", but asume the fact that it was Australian and being read by Australian teens it was never in a position to become a largely talked about inappropriate for teens book.

So while the areas have changed (the sterotype backgrounds of Cronulla and "Banksie"), the activities and perseption of both "groups" haven't much. Its all about fitting in at school, belonging to the cool group and general peer aceptance. It covers drugs, first time sex (at 13 mind you), gang rape and school. I think if I had read it during my teens half of the content would have gone over my head - Forever by Jusy Blume has nothing on this book.

A quick read (or listen on the audio) if you want to give an Australian cult classic a try - just have an open mind and take yourself back in time.

Audio = 3 CDs of 3 hr
Narrator - great "occa" accent

SBC: Based in city I live

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