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Wave Length
Oliver's world has shrunk. It's all about Year 12 finals. It's about that magic 80% average he needs to get into uni, get his dream job and get cashed up. If only he can find a quiet place to study - away from the chaos and mess of living with two small kids and his Mum's booming muffin business.A study break in a small coastal town seems just the ticket. But Sunny Haven Recreation and Leisure Centre is like some weird parallel universe. He arrives cashless, bookless, phoneless and fuming in the back of his Dad's clapped out Cortina only to find his new study space is home to an array of elderly citizens.They've each got their own opinions on Oliver's life plans and he "doesn't wanna hear it!" But gradually, with their help Oliver's universe expands.
228 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 2010
2 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Betts
8 books264 followersI'm a Perth-based writer who writes realistic fiction for teenagers (14+) but adults enjoy them too. I'm also an English teacher, poet, writer of non-fiction texts, presenter and reader.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 25, 2011
I was really interested in reading this book because it is set in Perth (where I live) and Busselton (where I have holidayed). In other words, I am familiar with the scenery which is rare as not alot of books are set in Perth so a big shout out to local author AJ Betts! I briefly met Betts once when she came into the book store I was working in. This was before Wavelength had been released which is a pity because now that I have read it, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to tell her how much I enjoyed it!
The topic of Wavelength is something we can all identify with, our final exams, our TEE. For those of you not familiar with the Australian school system, the mark we get on this determines if we can get into the university course we want. Oliver's frustration is all too easy to identify with and I can remember back to when myself and my friends took our TEE exams and the stress we felt we were under to get great scores. If I remember correctly from our little chat, Betts is a high school teacher so she would be very familiar with Oliver's position, having witnessed it many times over. I also think that showing Oliver's home life reaches out to other teens because he is constantly having to take on other responsibilities due to his mum's job. This helps show that teenager's can have other things in life to worry about besides school. Being a teenager can sometimes be a very lonely time, and, one of the fantastic things about alot of young adult fiction, is that it helps teens understand they are not alone.
For those of you who have read the book, I personally can relate most to the character of Emma. While our circumstances were different, we both ended up going down the same path. I really admire the overall message in the book (well it's what came through the strongest to me anyway) and that's DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE. SOMETHING YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR. I could go on and on about this but it will probably get a little too personal and bore you all to tears so I shall stay on track shall I?
The character development was great and the teasing and banter between Oliver and Emma was really well done. I thought it was important to have Emma's character and her gradual feelings towards the exams revealed because, while Oliver does represent a large portion of year 12 students, not everyone views the exams as the be-all, end-all (because they're not) and I think this is a very important point to keep in mind. That said, this is not an anti-TEE review/book, more a reminder to do what makes you happy.
As a side note, I loved the scene where Oliver is learning how to make coffee for the first time. Very well written!
Sometimes I felt the language was a little off, that some of the words used would not be used by a 17-year-old boy, but ultimately this was a very enjoyable story that I would recommend and that I hope goes into high school libraries.
The topic of Wavelength is something we can all identify with, our final exams, our TEE. For those of you not familiar with the Australian school system, the mark we get on this determines if we can get into the university course we want. Oliver's frustration is all too easy to identify with and I can remember back to when myself and my friends took our TEE exams and the stress we felt we were under to get great scores. If I remember correctly from our little chat, Betts is a high school teacher so she would be very familiar with Oliver's position, having witnessed it many times over. I also think that showing Oliver's home life reaches out to other teens because he is constantly having to take on other responsibilities due to his mum's job. This helps show that teenager's can have other things in life to worry about besides school. Being a teenager can sometimes be a very lonely time, and, one of the fantastic things about alot of young adult fiction, is that it helps teens understand they are not alone.
For those of you who have read the book, I personally can relate most to the character of Emma. While our circumstances were different, we both ended up going down the same path. I really admire the overall message in the book (well it's what came through the strongest to me anyway) and that's DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE. SOMETHING YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR. I could go on and on about this but it will probably get a little too personal and bore you all to tears so I shall stay on track shall I?
The character development was great and the teasing and banter between Oliver and Emma was really well done. I thought it was important to have Emma's character and her gradual feelings towards the exams revealed because, while Oliver does represent a large portion of year 12 students, not everyone views the exams as the be-all, end-all (because they're not) and I think this is a very important point to keep in mind. That said, this is not an anti-TEE review/book, more a reminder to do what makes you happy.
As a side note, I loved the scene where Oliver is learning how to make coffee for the first time. Very well written!
Sometimes I felt the language was a little off, that some of the words used would not be used by a 17-year-old boy, but ultimately this was a very enjoyable story that I would recommend and that I hope goes into high school libraries.
June 18, 2018
And this ends my reading challenge of one book a week for 2018 and I still have half a year to go :-).
I first read Zac and Mia (a YA novel about two teenagers dealing with Cancer) a few years ago. It was at a time when everyone was in love with The Fault in Our Stars and comments on Zac and Mia were less than favorable in comparison. However, I was sold on Ms Betts after reading it. Her characters were authentic, the story line was authentic and I loved the fact that she was an Aussie writer writing YA. When this book by the same author came on Kindle sale, I quickly snapped it up and on my Kindle it has sat (with 100s of other sale books) for a few years....until now.
While I didn't like this book anywhere near as much as Zac and Mia, I will say again that Betts does write authentic characters and given this is an Aussie writer, writing YA fiction in Aussie towns it gets lots of bonus points from me.
Unfortunately, it was just a little bland and while it had an important underlying message to youth of today about not stressing about school exams or the future and that getting into uni straight out of school is not everything, I was disappointed that she took the stereotypical view that subjects like Physics and Geology are "dull". I saw the title of this book and read the blurb and was so ready to geek out - but no.....none of my world of physics/geology and the passion and wonder and awe that comes with it was conveyed in this book. While I know Ms Betts was trying to get at the path having to be right for the individual, I think she missed the target on it and possibly alienated a few geeks in her travels.
Also, I really wanted to see character exploration and understand motivations. Why did the parents split up? Why did the Dad give up coaching? Who is his room mate and what is his importance to the story and why did the author need to mention that the Dad and the room mate had separate rooms about 100 times..... Also, the ending was so abrupt and there was no closure on what happened next that it left me feeling frustrated and a little cheated by the author for not finishing her story. While I am a fan usually of open endings, it has to fit the book and unfortunately this book just felt unfinished because of it.
While this is a book had a really important underlying message, I found the execution a little bland and the character development non-existent. I still have one more book by Ms Betts on shelf that I picked up in a second hand book sale and I am still keen to read it, I just had high expectations for this book given the title and it didn't happen for me unfortunately. Can't please all the people all the time.
I first read Zac and Mia (a YA novel about two teenagers dealing with Cancer) a few years ago. It was at a time when everyone was in love with The Fault in Our Stars and comments on Zac and Mia were less than favorable in comparison. However, I was sold on Ms Betts after reading it. Her characters were authentic, the story line was authentic and I loved the fact that she was an Aussie writer writing YA. When this book by the same author came on Kindle sale, I quickly snapped it up and on my Kindle it has sat (with 100s of other sale books) for a few years....until now.
While I didn't like this book anywhere near as much as Zac and Mia, I will say again that Betts does write authentic characters and given this is an Aussie writer, writing YA fiction in Aussie towns it gets lots of bonus points from me.
Unfortunately, it was just a little bland and while it had an important underlying message to youth of today about not stressing about school exams or the future and that getting into uni straight out of school is not everything, I was disappointed that she took the stereotypical view that subjects like Physics and Geology are "dull". I saw the title of this book and read the blurb and was so ready to geek out - but no.....none of my world of physics/geology and the passion and wonder and awe that comes with it was conveyed in this book. While I know Ms Betts was trying to get at the path having to be right for the individual, I think she missed the target on it and possibly alienated a few geeks in her travels.
Also, I really wanted to see character exploration and understand motivations. Why did the parents split up? Why did the Dad give up coaching? Who is his room mate and what is his importance to the story and why did the author need to mention that the Dad and the room mate had separate rooms about 100 times..... Also, the ending was so abrupt and there was no closure on what happened next that it left me feeling frustrated and a little cheated by the author for not finishing her story. While I am a fan usually of open endings, it has to fit the book and unfortunately this book just felt unfinished because of it.
While this is a book had a really important underlying message, I found the execution a little bland and the character development non-existent. I still have one more book by Ms Betts on shelf that I picked up in a second hand book sale and I am still keen to read it, I just had high expectations for this book given the title and it didn't happen for me unfortunately. Can't please all the people all the time.
November 18, 2010
This was a good quick read with really well developed characters. The one criticism I have is that the ending seemed kind of rushed and there wasn't much closure. I get the whole 'start of the journey' thing but I would have liked to know what happened when he got home - if he was different or altered in anyway for his experience. I felt the story could have benefited from a couple more chapters or even an epilogue.
Also, I'm from Perth so I loved reading about places that I had actually been to and knew really well. That was a new experience, which I really liked.
All in all, a good read.
Also, I'm from Perth so I loved reading about places that I had actually been to and knew really well. That was a new experience, which I really liked.
All in all, a good read.
September 30, 2010
YA. Once again, AJ Betts has nailed a terrific story and portrayed the angst of family dysfunction, broken relationships, a yearning for love and the big life choices facing this Gen Y teenager.
September 12, 2021
An easy read with an Aussie setting and interesting characters.
December 31, 2014
Initial thoughts: Wavelength's subject matter is one many can relate to: stressing out over the need to study. Oliver so badly wanted to get into his choice university course and so set his mind completely on studying. The trouble was that no matter where he went, he came across a lot of distractions, so he packed up for his one week break to spend it at his father's place. Little did he expect even more distractions.
The thing aboutWavelength is that it isn't terribly interesting. To me it read like a story a friend would've told me about their "disastrous" term break during which they didn't manage to accomplish their academic goals. And whenever that happened, I'd sympathise for the the first three minutes, after which I would switch off. Spending every waking moment of my vacation studying never was a primary concern to me. And since complaints about not studying enough surrounded me so many years through school and university, Wavelength appealed to my memories but not in a good way.
There wasn't much about the individual characters that caught my attention either. The ending of the book was fairly abrupt too. While I don't mind open endings, I do want to see how particular event impacted the characters. How did they respond? Did they change as a result? I didn't see that in Wavelength. As much as the title of the book is Wavelength, the ups and downs of the plot and the characters remained decidedly flat for me.
The thing aboutWavelength is that it isn't terribly interesting. To me it read like a story a friend would've told me about their "disastrous" term break during which they didn't manage to accomplish their academic goals. And whenever that happened, I'd sympathise for the the first three minutes, after which I would switch off. Spending every waking moment of my vacation studying never was a primary concern to me. And since complaints about not studying enough surrounded me so many years through school and university, Wavelength appealed to my memories but not in a good way.
There wasn't much about the individual characters that caught my attention either. The ending of the book was fairly abrupt too. While I don't mind open endings, I do want to see how particular event impacted the characters. How did they respond? Did they change as a result? I didn't see that in Wavelength. As much as the title of the book is Wavelength, the ups and downs of the plot and the characters remained decidedly flat for me.
January 1, 2021
When I ordered Invisible Boys from Fremantle Press a few weeks ago, I perused the catalogue and snapped up this early Betts while I was there.
Oliver is about to sit his end of year exams. He needs peace and quiet to study and an 80% average to get into uni. But these needs seem entirely outside his reach. When his mum ‘fixes’ it by arranging for him to leave the city and spend his stuvac week in Busselton with his Dad, he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. And when he gets there, things seem to go from bad to worse. Can a grumpy girl, his dad being a bit of loser, and too much time around a bunch of old has-beens solve any of Oliver’s problems?
I really enjoyed this book. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - long live the single volume, 200 page novel. There is real craft to writing a simple story. I’ll almost always choose it over the YA obsession with trilogies that have seven hundred characters and a whole bunch of world building. I love Betts writing and this one was a pleasure to kick off my new year of reading.
Oliver is about to sit his end of year exams. He needs peace and quiet to study and an 80% average to get into uni. But these needs seem entirely outside his reach. When his mum ‘fixes’ it by arranging for him to leave the city and spend his stuvac week in Busselton with his Dad, he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. And when he gets there, things seem to go from bad to worse. Can a grumpy girl, his dad being a bit of loser, and too much time around a bunch of old has-beens solve any of Oliver’s problems?
I really enjoyed this book. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - long live the single volume, 200 page novel. There is real craft to writing a simple story. I’ll almost always choose it over the YA obsession with trilogies that have seven hundred characters and a whole bunch of world building. I love Betts writing and this one was a pleasure to kick off my new year of reading.
January 17, 2024
I enjoyed it, but I'm unable to articulate why specifically.
The locations are endearingly rendered, but that's my own biases coming into play.
The main character is kind of a wanker but also way more solid than most people that age.
The female foil was also a wanker but even people with a disability are allowed to be wankers now and then.
I'm guessing that it's that everyone in this book is a bit of a wanker - but they don't take it seriously for the most part. They're self-aware of their own wankitude, and perhaps that's what's so appealing.
The locations are endearingly rendered, but that's my own biases coming into play.
The main character is kind of a wanker but also way more solid than most people that age.
The female foil was also a wanker but even people with a disability are allowed to be wankers now and then.
I'm guessing that it's that everyone in this book is a bit of a wanker - but they don't take it seriously for the most part. They're self-aware of their own wankitude, and perhaps that's what's so appealing.
June 27, 2012
Wavelength is a simple story about a normal boy who is just trying to study and get through his exams. Very relatable for high school students. Stress about grades and (for me in QLD) OP's and getting into the university that you want. I can can still relate to the pressure Oliver is under for exams being in university now.
Oliver is a very relatable character for anyone in high school and even university students coming up to their exams. It's a story about life. It's long. Don't stress unnecessarily about your future. Just take things as they come. All in all it was a very easy and relatable read, I enjoyed it.
This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)
Oliver is a very relatable character for anyone in high school and even university students coming up to their exams. It's a story about life. It's long. Don't stress unnecessarily about your future. Just take things as they come. All in all it was a very easy and relatable read, I enjoyed it.
This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)
August 9, 2022
Loved this. Would be great for teens to read alongside Scot Gardner's Changing Gear.
A subtle novel about how life can change in an instant and how to roll with it.
A sense of fun, sensitive portrayals and hope at the end. Now I want to meet Oliver in 2 years' time to see if he ended up doing what I thought he would!
Recommended.
A subtle novel about how life can change in an instant and how to roll with it.
A sense of fun, sensitive portrayals and hope at the end. Now I want to meet Oliver in 2 years' time to see if he ended up doing what I thought he would!
Recommended.
October 16, 2010
This was a great book. I loved it and i really hope Betts writes another one to this book. This was a great book...even a little educational! And im so recomending to my friends. Great job!
October 18, 2010
A smart, funny, compassionate story with an appeal way beyond its young adult target readership. I found Oliver engaging and wholly believable, and Mum's muffin business is laugh-out-loud stuff :-)
Read
August 5, 2011engaging and insightful
May 3, 2015
I love this book! Just wish there's more..
It reminds me of my dislike of exams and the slogan "To infinity and beyond!" :)
It reminds me of my dislike of exams and the slogan "To infinity and beyond!" :)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews