Tomorrow When the War Began - Netflix - produced by Michael Boughen and Tony Winley - based on the books by John Marsden

Wow. If you’ve read the books, be prepared to want to re-read them. If you’ve read the books and seen the movie, be prepared to be impressed. The books are amazing! The movie… less so, but still good! If you haven’t read the book, seen the movie OR seen the TV show, I recommend:

Movie
Books
TV Show

The new TV show left me pleasantly surprised. The characters are true to the books (for the most part, there are a few new characters, but they are integrated into the story in such a way that I wish they were in the books). The locations used for filming are beautiful and well developed. The TV show follows the books well, moving between the differing characters and locations while keeping things in an easy to follow, chronological order. In the books, we do not learn a lot about the families of the main characters, save that they are in holding camps, guarded by the invaders. In the TV show, the parents and siblings are given screen time inside the camp, which adds another level to the perceived danger of not only them but also the group in Hell. Newer technology (cellphones etc) have been incorporated into the story - which was written before they were ubiquitous and attached to our hands day and night - in a way that makes it feel natural and actually adds to the story.

The library doesn’t have the TV show, which is available on Netflix, but we have multiple copies of the books (including audio and digital for those who prefer that), and we have the 2010 movie.

Overall - 5 stars. TW: Violence, sex, sexual assault, suicide, drinking, drugs, racism, colonisation, PTSD.

Reviewed by Library Li

Catalogue link: Tomorrow when the war began