Tomorrow When the War Began

This term I will be reading to the students the John Marsden novel Tomorrow When the War began. A captivating title and a book that I am excited to be reading to the class.
Tomorrow (I think I will abbreviate the title) tells the story of a heroic group of teenagers who wage guerrilla warfare on an unknown army who invade Australia. The book is exciting, adventurous and will enthrall the readers.
I first read Tomorrow in 1999 when teaching Year 6 at Canberra Grammar School. I was immediately hooked and couldn't wait to read any sequel. I shared this enthusiasm with my class and they were also incredibly eager to read the series. The discussions we had that year on the books were interesting, thought provoking and mature. The final book (at that point) was being released in the 3rd term holidays that year and it was a race by myself and the students in the class to make sure we had it finished by the time we returned to school.
Yes the book does touch on mature subjects but I believe Year 6 is an appropriate age level at which to read it. The main characters are teenagers so it touches on subjects that appeal to teenagers namely the opposite sex and generally breaking rules. However the book does show teenagers in an incredibly positive light and highlights what they are capable of achieving.
I have met the author John Marsden and mentioned to him that one of the points that impresses me greatly about the Tomorrow series is that females are the the central and most heroic characters (The narrator of the series, Ellie, is amazing). I spent 7 years teaching at all boys schools and I found the heroic females very positive for these adolescent males to read about. I still believe this point is true but for both male and female students as much of what they see in movies or read these days centres around a male being the hero.
There are now 10 books in the Tomorrow series. Marsden initially planned on ending the series after the third book, Third Day the Frost, ( a great title) but the demand from young readers was so great that he reopened the series with book number four Darkness be my Friend. The books ended with number 7 in 1999 before the Ellie Chronicles started in 2003 and featured 3 books. This is one of the reasons I choose to read Tomorrow to the students. If they enjoy it greatly there are 9 more titles to read.
The release of the Tomorrow When the War Began movie last year has opened the book to whole new group of readers. I loved the review the movie received on Triple J radio in Australia when it was described as 'Neighbours with explosions'.
I am very excited about reading Tomorrow this term and I certainly hope the students of 6S share my excitement.