LOCKIE LEONARD Human TORPEDO Tim Winton adoles awakning

REVIEWS .........

a POSITIVE BOOK FOR YOUNGSTERS- WHAT NEXT #!@?? ....... There's a cesspool of fiction for teenagers out there, most of it seeking to establish that the world is unerringly traumatic, loveless and painful. The guts of Lockie Leonard is that the story concludes on a note of hope and self-belief. Lockie does not need to be perfect, nor does he need the approval of others in order to like himself. I have taught this book in many classes and it hasn't missed yet. True, Winton takes cheap shots at the usual suspects; cops, teachers, doctors and lawyers who are decent people are also aberrations. That's a convenient and populist trick which is a little weary.
Even so, I will read this again for the umpteenth time and encourage youngsters to do so. I also had a good laugh at the editorial review that "warned" of the Australian vernacular. Horray for homogeneity!!

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.

Amazingly Realistic .............. Lockie and his family had just moved to a new house when school started for Lockie. His first day of school was the worst it could possibly have been. Although he got off to a rough start, he soon met a girl, and falls in love with her. From this point on his life in the small new town changed greatly. Some exciting things happened to him, but were these new things what he really wanted?
This book is quite an easy read and is appropriate for middle school students. The book's main themes are sex (in a mild non straight forward way), love, and popularity. The author, Tim Winton is a superb writer. He makes it seem that this story can happen to anyone because it is so believable. The main character, Lockie Leonard, seems like someone you could at school. Lockie seems just like a nice guy with problems that everyone else has, an embarrassing family, annoying teachers, and difficulty fitting in. When Winton writes, it seems like you are listening to an Australian thirteen-year-old think. The book gives you a lot of insight into what actual teenage boys think and feel. The things that happen to Lockie are things that could happen in real life. His reactions to these things are quite human and realistic, unlike some books where the main character makes a dumb decision just for the sake of the plot.
This book makes you feel like you are experiencing love for the first time and gives you the feeling of being new in town. Tim Winton is one of the best writers I have ever read. This is definitely a great read even if it may be a bit easy for you.

A fantastic book for young readers, especially males. ………….  Lockie Leonard is a teenage boy into teenage boy things. Apart from dealing with a new school and a crazy family, Lockie has to deal with adolescent changes that are reeking havoc on his life. Trying to stay cool, popular and in love make this Australian book a hilariously realistic look at teenage life.