MAN ABOUT TOWN

First published in 1993, teacher turned author John Marsden’s YA-adventure novel Tomorrow, When the War Began was very much the Harry Potter of its day; an international publishing success story that sold millions of copies world-wide, spawning six sequels and a spin-off trilogy in the process. Immensely popular among teenage readers, any adaptation of the book must naturally tread carefully in order to avoid alienating its legion of loyal fans, but screenwriter turned director Stuart Beattie ( 30 Days of Night , Pirates of the Caribbean , Australia ) has done a generally sterling job in bringing Marsden’s much-loved novel to the screen. Set in and around the small country town of Wirrawee (population 3871), the film follows the adventures of a suspiciously photogenic group of teenagers led by the resourceful Ellie Linton (Caitlin Stasey, Neighbours ) as they head bush for a camping trip; coincidentally on the same weekend that Australia is invaded by a brutal occupyi...

Having recently seen - and been aghast by - the trailer for the new, US movie adaptation of The Dark is Rising , a Young Adult fantasy novel first published in 1973, I decided to go back and re-read the series, which I'd loved as a teenager growing up in the Latrobe Valley. I'm so glad I did. Not only has it been a delight to revist the adventures of Will Stanton, youngest of the Old Ones, a servant of the Light in the ageless battle against the powers of the Dark; it's been wonderful being re-exposed to Cooper's magical ability with language, words and mood. If you're not familiar with the books, you can learn all about them, and their author, over here at her official site, The Lost Land . In brief, the series begins with Over Sea, Under Stone (1965), the most traditionally 'children's adventure' style title of the series, in which Simon, Jane and Barnabas Drew recover a lost Grail, and learn something of the battle between the Light and the Dark. Th...