Surfing Mr Petrovic

by Colin Bowles

Eleven-year-old Tao loves hanging around with his mates. He used to like surfing with his dad, too, until Dad left home to live with a fashion model. And his mum has a new boyfriend, with altogether too-brainy kids. When Mr Petrovic enters the scheme of things, he becomes the focus for Tao's anger.

Genres: School, Young Adult

Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Also writes under:

Mark D'Arbanville / Colin Falconer

Reviews

[Oscar Reisz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main plot of the book is about a boy called Tao and his two friends Matt and Bluey who play pranks on a lonely old man called Mr Petrovic. Matt persuades his friends to do this, and I think Tao only goes along with it because he is trying to fit in and be cool.

I think Tao is really silly to let his friend influence him to do bad things, but when Tao gets in trouble for the pranks I also think it's good that he does not tell on the others, but it's bad that his friends don't owe up. Tao finally stands up to his friends and apologies to Mr Petrovic and he then learns about Mr Petrovic's very sad but amazing life. This really reminded me to not judge a book by its cover because there are lots of reasons why people do the things that they do.

The saddest bit in the book for me was when Tao's dog got run over because I have a dog that I love very much and couldn't imagine life without him.

Overall it was a good storyline but I thought the book was a little short.

[Kyle Glinada · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, it has a great story line, and i am thoroughly enjoying it so far. I like how it sort of has two aspects all in one- the comedic part to it and the emotional side to it.

I have just finished reading Surfing Mr Petrovic, it was a great book and I enjoyed every single bit of it- from the comedy part of the story, to the realistic and emotional side of it. The way the book was written was great, I really got a good understanding of what was going on, the punctuation was very simple, yet it was written so well that even though it was simple, it didn't bore me one bit. The storyline was very intriguing and well set out. I would highly recommend reading this book to anyone, it is fairly child safe, so therefore it is suitable for all ages and audiences.

[George Dellas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Surfing Mr Petrovic. It was a good book, I enjoyed the humorous side of the story and the emotional side of the story. I liked how towards the end of the book, we learnt about Mr Petrovic and finding out he's not just a mean old man, but has had a difficult life. I like the moral of the story on how not everybody is who you think, Such as "don't judge a book by it's cover". I believe the ending could've been improved but altogether I believe this was a great book for year sevens to read and I really enjoyed reading it.

[Jmaumill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main characters are Tao, Matt, Bluey, Mum, Dad, Barry, Belinda and Mr Petrovic. Surfing Mr Petrovic revolves around a boy named Tao. All his troubles begin when his mum and dad divorce, meaning his dad went to stay with his girlfriend, Belinda. Also his "friends", Matt and Bluey, keep on over and over dragging him into pranking Mr Petrovic to get even, for taking Bluey's skateboard after Matt kicked a football into his yard. It is set in the present.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het leven kan hard zijn als je bijna 12 bent en wil dat je ouders terug samenkomen maar ze dat zelf niet willen/kunnen.
Tao raakt steeds verder in de problemen, niet altijd door zijn eigen schuld.
We krijgen een zicht op de denkwereld van Tao en de gevolgen van wat hij doet of juist niet doet. Het feit dat hij stoer wil doen en slecht zijn gevoelens kan uiten helpt ook niet echt.
Toch is hij tamelijk gewoon en leeft gelukkig in een nieuw-samengesteld liefdevol gezin.
De tegenstelling tussen de echte wereld en de gedachtenwereld van Tao leiden vaak tot grappige situaties en beschrijvingen. De relatie met meneer Petrovic en de bende van drie waartoe Tao behoort brengen spanning en aktie in het verhaal, de relatie met zijn vader, moeder en stiefvader en de vriendin van zijn vader brengen alle emoties naar boven.
Een mooie beschrijving van een coming-of-age van een jonge tiener die met de realiteit van het dagelijkse leven in het reine moet komen, meestal vanuit een grappige invalshoek.

[Fayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my 12 year old son who is an extremely reluctant reader. It's set in Fremantle (Western Australia), and the main character is an 11 year old boy, who my son totally related to. We were laughing out loud all through it. There was one scene where he needs to vomit and his dads awful girlfriend is stopping him from getting to the toilet, and we both just knew it would end with him chucking on her (which he did), but the build up was just fantastic fun and we were both screaming with laughter.

Tao's parents are recently separated, and he's also hanging around with some nasty boys, and we get to ride along in Tao's head. It was great to see my boy recognize that Tao's friends were bullies and to empathize with why Tao couldn't see that.

Highly recommended for boys 10-13

[Zoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the worst book I've ever read. EVER. I only read this because of a school project, and I'm a normal reader I read a lot so, I didn't hate this book because I don't like reading it was just terrible. The storyline was gone halfway through the book it felt like I was reading my old narratives from year 2. The characters were so bland that my favourite was the dog...(which *magically* disappeared at the start of the book A.K.A dea....). There was only one good part which was at the end and the writing for it was just not great. Considering the author of the book was a comedian, I thought it would funny...nope. Don't waste your time reading this book, parents if you're reading this coming from a 12 year old PLEASE DON'T BUY THIS FOR A KID! At least a got a 93% on my book report. :)

[Evangeline]

good

[Harry Pridmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the story Surfing with Mr Petrovic, there are a bunch of characters who both have a different point of view of everything. the main characters in the story are, Tao, Bluey, Matt, Tao's mum, Tao's dad, Bob, Mr Petrovic.
the not so important characters are, Michael and Connie (Barry's Children.), Tao's principle, Tao's dog, the police, the lumber man, the lady who hit Tao's dog with a car, the vet and the mechanic.

The story is based about Tao and his Trouble with Mr Petrovic. Tao is in a gang with his friends (Matt and Bluey). Matt is the leader of the gang, so he gets to tell Tao and Bluey what to do. one time when Tao's gang were walking home while kicking a football, Matt Kicked the football over Mr Petrovic's wall. the football landed right next to a rose bush in his garden, Mr Petrovic was on his veranda and walked over and grabbed the football and went inside his small house.

Matt then got very angry at Mr Petrovic and decided that the gang was going to do lots of pranks on Mr Petrovic. The next day Matt, Bluey and Tao were going to skate board around Mr Petrovic's roses. Matt went Matt went first, then Tao and last but not least Bluey. Bluey wasn't very good at skate boarding and fell of his skate board making a lot of noise. within seconds Mr Petrovic was outside looking very angry, he then grabbed Bluey's skate board and started to shout at the gang. as soon as Mr Petrovic started to shout the gang was running away as fast as they could.

ever since that indecent the gang was pranking Mr Petrovic. the rest of the pranks were a lot worse than the skate board incident.

[Jake Mazzone]

surfing Mr. Petrovic is a great book which has lots of significant events. it is about a boy called Tao Simmonds who is going through some tough stages in his life, such as his dad leaving home, and his mum hooking up with Barry. When his friends Matt and Bluey kicked the footy into Mr. Petrovics' house he came out and yelled at them for kicking the ball into his rosebushes. This is when Matt and Bluey decided to "get back" at Mr. Petrovic. This is when they receptively prank Mr. Petrovic until he calls the police. Taos' life starts to get worse from here as his mid term test results come back and they were horrible. This is why I love this book and why you should read it to.

[Ailbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was about a boy called Tao who was going through some pretty tough teen issues such as his mum and dad split up his dads girlfriend chucked him out and his step brother was being a right pain in the sphincter. There were a few main characters such as Tao, Tao's mum, Tao's dad, Matt, and Bluey and also the Principal, the Vet, the Police, the Saw Mill Guy, Barry, Micheal and Connie.

Tao, Matt and Bluey play pranks on Mr P all the time although these pranks are not funny in any way towards Mr Petrovic. So Tao would rather take a punch to the head than see this old man suffer any longer.

So all in all i really liked this book and i hope others do to.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that surfing Mr Petovic is a very good book because it had in-depth story. I found that the situation that Tao's parents are in is relatable in real life.

I really liked how at the end of the book Mr Petrovic told Tao how he used to live. In the book his wife gets blown up by a bomb. I found that sad and it was also sad that the only thing that Mr Petrovic had left was his rose bushes. So I can understand why he was shouting at Tao for going near his rose bushes.

I found it nice how Mr Petrovic wanted to become friends with Tao and asked Bluey if he could come over and have orange juice and cookies.

[FlynnM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surfing Mr Petrovic is based on a boy called Tao. Tao is an eleven year old boy who lives in Australia.

Tao and his friends, Matt and Bluey are kicking a football in the street and Matt accidently kicks the ball into some one’s front yard. Matt sends Bluey into the yard to get the ball. Bluey finds the ball in a small rosebush. A old man comes out of the door starts yelling at Bluey. Matt thinks that the man (Mr Petrovic) has done something wrong and sets up pranks that go to bad to worse. Tao gets the blame for most of these pranks.

Surfing Mr Petrovic is not a bad book and I would read it again.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tao is a young boy dealing with his parents' separation, realising that his dad isn't quite the hero he has always thought him to be. He's also struggling at school and hanging around with boys he doesn't even particularly like. The boys decide to 'get even' with a lonely old man from their street, Mr Petrovic, by turning off his water, skating in his front yard and cutting down his roses. When Tao finally stands up to his friends and accepts responsibility for his actions, he learns about Mr Petrovic's life.

[James Fulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can relate to this book because my parents split up as well. The size of this book is I think a perfect size but some might think it is too small but it is all up to you in the end. The story is laid out well but I kept getting confused but do not get me wrong its a great book and I found my self getting way too deep in this book trying to work out the next plot and twist. I would highly recommend this book to every one it is just a good old book you could finish in a week or two.

By James Fulton

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surfing Mr Petrovic is a story about a boy who has some very difficult struggles in life. He finds himself in some really low places but doesn’t give up. He just keeps battling on even when he really was just over it he just had to go with it and change for the better. The author is Colin Bowles and I think he has made an exceptional reading book for grade seven students. I found this book very engaging to read which made you a little bit hungry for more. The characters were near perfect for this sort of story.

[Colin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surfing Mr Petrovic was a book about pier pressure and being moral it taught you not to put stereotypes on people you have barely met and don't let pier pressure have you make an immoral decision. It showed how hard it can be to live in a family that was breaking apart and taught you to look for motives and reasons behind peoples actions. it was a book that demonstrated pranks going too far and taught to make sure in your jokes everyones laughing. the book had great description of places, and a fast plotline. it was very entertaining.

[alister Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today I will be doing a book review on the book Mr Petrovic. In the book there were lot of main character like Tao, Belinda, mum, dad, Michael, Connie, Barry, bluey, matt and Mr Petrovic. Some of the main place in the book are Cantonment Street, Mr Petrovic house, the school, port beach, and Tao house. In the book matt, bluey and Tao are all trying to get Mr Petrovic back for him getting angry at them when bluey skateboard got taken away so matt told them that we should get mr petrovic back for what he had done but it was all matt, bluey and Tao doing

[Evan Beach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. It was extremely Australian and I enjoyed the time spent reading it. It followed the life of a 12 year old boy named Tao. Who throughout the book got in to deeper and deeper peril. It was funny but was also guiding you on what not to do in certain situations. Like when his friend Matt made them all play horrible pranks on Mr Petrovic. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a laugh. I'm looking forward to reading some of Colin Bowles other pieces. Can't wait to find out what were going to read next.

[Dashan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Surfing Mr. Petrovic and i would rate it a 4.5 out of 5. I like the story line and how Tao is easy to relate to, and anyone could be in that situation if it happens and you had friends like Matt and Bluey. I also like it that Mr. Petrovic was actually really nice and didn't want to kill Matt, Bluey and Tao, But instead let them go instead of getting the police involved and getting them arrested. I would recommend this book for children during the ages of 9 and 14.

[Kilian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surfing Mr Petrovic was a very good book but very short unfortunately and it didn't seen to fictional I'm very glad we got to read it in class. My favorited character was Tao because he had many struggles for a child of his age. another great character is Mr Petrovic at the start of the book he looks the a villain but as Tao's adventure proceeds Mr P becomes the victim Tao and his friends. to conclude it was a very good book that I would suggest to read

[Sdrake · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Surfing Mr Petrovic had a good theme which was about bullying and was a book which shows what can go wrong in peoples lives. The plot was an interesting one I was impressed with how well thought out it was. My only disappointment with this book was that it finished a bit earlier than I expected and would have liked it to go on a bit more. I recommend this to anyone who likes a... good read! Ba dum crash! Surfing Mr petrovic is a book to read again and again

[Andrew Maree]

This was a great book, I liked it because it wasn't to cliche. It had surprises and twists i enjoyed the ending because you found out a whole load about Mr Petrovic that you didn't know before. This was good because the book made Mr Petrovic out to look like a really grumpy old Russian guy.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

One my grade-seven boy had to read for school - so not my choice or kind of book. Mildly amusing and a good take on bullying and peer pressure. Sam did not enjoy reading it, other than that it was short!

[Khione · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and had a good storyline. I enjoyed it.

[Joe Clifford · Rating 3 out of 5]

alright book, i wish there was more of a story there. and I've read a lot of stories that have the same type of story.

[Tylerfenwick87 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Liked The book because of its beautiful story line. and the characters were really good with there lines and words i would read it again

[Hayley0089 · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good

[CODY · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was amazing

[LucasMcConnell17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was good. I like the parts with the pranks and also the storyline.The sad things i didn't like.