THE THIRD DAY THE FROST BY JOHN MARSDEN

Tomorrow When the War Began, the first book in this series, was made into a movie released a few months ago, and it's easy to see why when you're reading any of the books in this series. The action-packed story translates very well to the screen.

Ellie Linton and her friends Fi, Robyn, Lee, Homer, Kevin and Corrie were on a camping trip when Australia was invaded and they found themselves as some of the only free people in an occupied area. They started blowing up enemy camps and machinery, and throughout the first two books cause some major damage to enemy forces. But they also suffer lots of losses and their lives are constantly terrifying.

The Third Day, The Frost is the third novel in the series. It opens with the group with a very low morale after making a tragic discovery at the end of the second book. But they soon decide that they have to do something more to fight the enemy (which is a country that is never named in the novels). After being reunited with one of their friends, they plan a major attack on a port that has been taken over.

The book is fast-paced, at times heart-racing and terrifying, at other times very sad, and even sometimes funny. Although it sometimes seems very unrealistic the action elements and the well-developed characters make up for that. It's also a highly imaginative story, and because it was set in Australia I found myself able to relate to the characters' anger about their country being invaded and colonised.

This book was a quick, exciting read and I would really recommend the series. I don't normally read a lot of action but these books are different, possibly because of the interesting political aspects and the realistic aspects (ie this could actually happen, however unlikely!)

Butterflies: 7.5 out of 10

Recommended for: teenagers

Warnings: references to sex (though there isn't any actual sex in this book, there is in other books), swearing and lots of violence (including the main characters killing and injuring enemy soldiers)