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131st out of 199 books
—
477 voters
Swerve
One of Australia's finest young cellists, 16 year-old Hugh Twycross has a very bright future. A future that has been mapped out by his parents, his teachers, by everybody, it seems, except Hugh Twycross.
Hugh has a secret, though: he loves cars and he loves car racing. When his newly discovered grandfather, Poppy, asks him to go on a road trip to Uluru in his 1970 Holden H...more
Hugh has a secret, though: he loves cars and he loves car racing. When his newly discovered grandfather, Poppy, asks him to go on a road trip to Uluru in his 1970 Holden H...more
Paperback, 228 pages
Published
August 31st 2009
by Penguin
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I absolutely loved this story and couldn't put it down! The writing is fantastic and it was great to read another YA fiction book that is not fantasy/science fiction or teen angst-y. As Hugh participates in a sort of 'right of passage' road trip from Sydney to the Red Center, he discovers there can be more to life than following all the rules. Gotta love Poppy as well, such a great character!
Reading this book took me back to the YA books I used to read almost 10 years ago, from the fantastic wor...more
Reading this book took me back to the YA books I used to read almost 10 years ago, from the fantastic wor...more
Hugh Twycross has it all figured out. He’s a Sydney private school boy on a mission . . . a mission to get good grades, become a concert cellist and keep impressing his mother and father with his budding brilliance. And if that means keeping his lust for Holden muscle cars a secret, then so be it.
And then Poppy turns up. Outside Hugh’s private school gates, Poppy looks like a hippy cultist and he has some wild claims about being Hugh’s grandfather . . . a grandfather Hugh was always told had die...more
And then Poppy turns up. Outside Hugh’s private school gates, Poppy looks like a hippy cultist and he has some wild claims about being Hugh’s grandfather . . . a grandfather Hugh was always told had die...more
Plot summary: On the last day of school, Hugh's grandfather rings him and suggests that they drive from Sydney to Uluru so Hugh can clock a bunch of hours for his learner's permit. The only problem? Hugh has a big cello audition in less than a week. But when his grandfather tells Hugh - a car fanatic - that they'll be making the trip in an HT Monaro GTS 350, what's a guy to do?
Thoughts: This was a funny and fast paced read. Hugh is pretty clueless about the world around him, and it's not long b...more
Thoughts: This was a funny and fast paced read. Hugh is pretty clueless about the world around him, and it's not long b...more
I'm not a slow reader but usually it takes me a while to find time to read, then a while to get into it, and I always seem to find something else I need to do (the main pitfall of moving out of my parents' house).
Swerve, however - a story about a recent high school graduate who takes a spontaneous road trip with his once-estranged grandfather to Uluru - hooked me and within a few hours I'd finished it.
It feels almost designed to be a quick read, with a lot of things skipped over in favour of a b...more
Swerve, however - a story about a recent high school graduate who takes a spontaneous road trip with his once-estranged grandfather to Uluru - hooked me and within a few hours I'd finished it.
It feels almost designed to be a quick read, with a lot of things skipped over in favour of a b...more
Hugh Twycross is a guy who knows where he’s going in life. A private school boy with a cello audition at the prestigious Conservatorium, Hugh is not one to diverge from the straight and narrow path of his life. That is until Poppy, the grandfather Hugh never knew existed, suggests a road trip to Ayres rocks in his 1969 Holden HT Monaro GTS 350 V8. And from than on out the straight and narrow starts to get a bit curvy as Hugh and Poppy venture out into the dangerously beautiful Australian terrain...more
Swerve is a young adult novel that tells the story of 16 year old Hugh Twycross, a talented cellist with a bright future.
After discovering his estranged grandfather, Hugh unexpectedly joins him on a journey from Sydney to Uluru in his 1970 Holden HT Monaro.
Hugh loves cars and racing, a passion that does not fit into his mapped out life. His grandfather encourages his passion and during the trip teaches Hugh things that have not been touched in his formal education.
This book is a journey of self-...more
After discovering his estranged grandfather, Hugh unexpectedly joins him on a journey from Sydney to Uluru in his 1970 Holden HT Monaro.
Hugh loves cars and racing, a passion that does not fit into his mapped out life. His grandfather encourages his passion and during the trip teaches Hugh things that have not been touched in his formal education.
This book is a journey of self-...more
A coming of age road trip. Not the most outstanding YA novel but nevertheless, an enjoyable jaunt through the countryside with Hugh and his "elderly hippie" grandfather. The scenery of the outback features, as does a vintage Holden Monaro, both of which are almost characters in this adventure of a lifetime.
Would appeal to readers wanting an easy, escapist, holiday read.
Would appeal to readers wanting an easy, escapist, holiday read.
Enjoyable and fast paced. Good to see Phillip Gwynne back in the YA arena. It fits him so well. He fits it so well. A match made and all that.
Not at all preachy, and no excessive angst. Just strong characters and a well constructed plot.
Not at all preachy, and no excessive angst. Just strong characters and a well constructed plot.
I guess I've got a thing for Gwynne's books - loved Deadly, Unna; liked Nukkin' Ya; now thoroughly enjoyed Swerve (after struggling through a couple of other books today that I felt like I was supposed to enjoy, but had to work at it). This one, I wanted to read.
I was not sure about this book when I first read it but it has grown on me. The quintessential Aussie road trip story. Would a cello fit in the back of a Holden Monaro? I assume so but it irked me during the reading.
A nice easy read. Simple story but flowed along quickly enough to maintain interest.
Not a bad book, plenty of Australian humor. Would make a good movie.
Rating - 3.5
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Phillip Gwynne's first novel Deadly Unna? the literary hit of 1998, has now sold over 180,000 copies. It was made into the feature film Australian Rules for which Phillip won an AFI award. The sequel, Nukkin Ya, was published to great acclaim in 2000. He has also written The Worst Team Ever, Born to Bake, and A Chook Called Harry in the Aussie Bites series, and Jetty Rats. Phillip's latest novel,...more
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