Loose Lips

by Chris Wheat

A wonderful novel full of the extremes and incongruity of young adult life with a cast of likable and immediately recognisable characters. In this book, teenagers are allowed to laugh at themselves, with Wheat's quirky humour and surprising plot lines creating a hilarious finale.

Genres: Fiction

172 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Chris Wheat grew up in Melbourne, where he still lives and works. He takes an active interest in politics and education and believes everyone has to do something to help save the planet. He has lived a life largely without trauma, although he has been attacked by a lemur, three German shepherds, and a tribe of monkeys; been twice beaten up by gangs; had a meat pie thrown at him by a stranger; and has slept in an igloo - not all on the same day. He is happy to be a vegetarian.

Reviews

[Sean Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It is just a tangle of the lives of a bunch of 16 and 17 year old. And it gets really tangled.
X loves Y but Y is a lesbian who has a crush on Z, but Z is with W who is gay and has a crush on X.
X and W end up in a scheme concocted by S along with T and U, S likes U but U like V who is originally with T but T is turned off V when the truth comes out about them.
And everyone has their own issues to deal with. It's just brilliant.
Brilliantly written. I love how each chapter is from a different perspective and adds more to the story. You see a guy fall out of a building 5 times, each time learning more of the situation and how each character reacts and how it affects everyone's lives. And there is a ripple affect for everything that happens.

Plus I always love reading books that are set in places that I actually see. This one is set in Richmond, Victoria.

Highly recommended for mid teens.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Screw Loose before this one, and I can see some of the characters that have in some way 'graduated' from this to that (Matilda, for example). Laugh out loud - yes, that was me on the train yesterday evening - I don't know who Chris Wheat mixes with out there in the western suburbs, but he populates his stories with some weird & wonderful people!

[Sue Bursztynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, over the top book! The characters are bizarre but likeable and it's nice to read a novel set so firmly in Melbourne. It's deliciously silly - who could forget the character who tries to commit suicide by jumping, but bounces off a pile of mattresses on to his friend's head?

[Nikki]

Great insights into Australian city adolescent life

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the humour in it was great, kinda a odd story line but it was nice to read something different.