This is the teen edition. Reviewed for VPRC. This is the story of how the war came to Kokoda. It does not concentrate on characters; rather reports each event as it happens - sometimes the same people crop up and sometimes they do not. As such, it is a typical Peter Fitzsimons novel with multiple people to concentrate on - militia soldiers ( "chocos - for chocolate (NOT REAL) soldiers) who are sent in first and encounter a huge Japanese invasion force studied in jungle warfare. The author concentrates on the failings of the higher-ups to listen to the soldiers fighting on the ground and is scathing in his report about how the Australians were dressed for desert warfare in light clothing, instead of jungle camouflage....something that would be unheard of today. When he is not reporting on military tactics, etc, Fitzsimons does spend sometime discussing the friendship between the Aussie soldiers and their longing for home. Graphic descriptions of the effects of dysentry and foot rot make this a novel not for the weak stomached but I think boys will understand that this is a story that needs to be told - blood, guts and everything. ( )

Kokoda is the story about Australian army forces, sent to cut-off the overwhelming Japanese advance towards Port Moresby, New Guinea in World War 2. Little is known about the battle in Australia, let alone other parts of the world, but the extraordinary efforts of the soldiers must surely be one of the greatest feats of any war.

The author takes you down, deep into the heart of the jungle along the Kokoda track, with the boys, many of them not old enough to order a drink in bar, as they are confronted by a superior force of veteran Japanese forces. These same Japanese forces had taken the Philippines only weeks before as General Macarthur fled Manila.

Extremely well-written, raw and full of emotion. Anyone interested in war-time battles, the insanity, cruelty and above all, the will and determination of young soldiers will find this book captivating, and distressing. ( )