Geek Girl (Netflix)

Gawky and smart, 16 year-old Harriet Manners wants to be a palaeontologist. That’s if she can survive high school, where she is ruthlessly bullied and ridiculed. Possibly on the autism spectrum, Harriet often finds life overwhelming. Her only friends are Toby, the equally geeky boy next door and Nat, her best mate since kindergarten. Supporting Nat on her quest to become a model, Harriet gets scouted and sees a chance to change her life. But is she equipped to navigate the fashion industry? Will her uptight stepmum even let her try? Could a dreamily handsome top teen supermodel really be flirting with her? And could Nat ever forgive Harriet for stealing her dream? Totally predictable and improbable in every possible way, this light-hearted look at difference and acceptance is a colourful bit of fun.

My Favourite Mistake, by Marian Keyes

The Walsh family has provided rich pickings for Keyes, with seven of her 16 novels featuring the five Irish sisters. This one revisits fourth sister Anna, who lived down to expectations as the family flake in her teens and early 20s and went on to become an unexpected success in PR. After 20 years of stress in New York, a combination of perimenopause, burnout and a break-up send her back to Ireland and the bosom of her family. There she finds it hard to make a fresh start, until friends in need call her to their farm near Galway to rescue their attempt to develop a luxury wellness retreat. Anna needs to win local hearts and minds, while working with a tricky figure from her past who dredges up myriad sorrows, feelings and old mistakes. Distinguishing friends from foes can be difficult in a small town full of characters, especially when your hormones are out of whack. Can Anna save the day and get her life back on track? There is little doubt about the ultimate destination of this story but, as ever with the Walsh sister tales, the ride there is thoroughly enjoyable.

The Glass House, by Anne Buist & Graeme Simsion

Aspiring to be a psychiatrist, registrar Hannah Wright works in the acute mental health ward of a major Melbourne hospital. To achieve her goal she must deal with hospital politics, an overburdened health system and her own self-doubt. Each chapter starts with a different mental health crisis, set within a framework of treatment by Hannah and her colleagues. Post-natal psychosis, PTSD, anorexia, schizophrenia, depression – they happen to police officers, politicians, plumbers, refugees, anyone. The heavy subject matter asks important questions about diagnosis and treatment, but is handled with a lightness of touch that makes the book an easy read. It’s so compelling and engaging that it’s difficult to put down and wait to find out what happens to each of the patients and their families. Hannah’s personal and professional relationships are just as interesting as the medical stories. A product of a chaotic country childhood, she has a few issues of her own to address, which cause her to question her vocation. There is apparently the possibility of a sequel, which would be very welcome.

Oppenheimer (2023), directed by Christopher Nolan

Physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father of the Atomic bomb’, is a polarising historical figure, who rode a rollercoaster of adulation and vilification. This film depicts how his early left wing leanings and Jewish background fuelled a genuine opposition to Nazism and led naturally to his wartime work on the bomb. His earnest belief seemed to be that dropping the A-bomb would end all war because the consequences were so horrific. The end would justify the means. His post-war work to influence US policy in this direction was also an attempt to assuage his conscience about the destruction his work wreaked. Combined with his early communist sympathies, this put him at odds with McCarthyist America. The film’s structure is odd, starting with what eventually becomes clear to be his downfall and flashing back and forward in time throughout. Apart from the war years of the Manhattan project, the exact time period is never entirely clear and for some reason the latest time period is shot in black and white. Famous figures of physics abound in a dizzying array that barely allows time for recognition in a feature film, even one that is three hours long. The story could probably have been better told in a limited series format. That said, Nolan uses VFX well to help explain quantum physics to a general audience whose closest point of reference is likely the Big Bang Theory. The stellar cast is excellent and Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr are exceptional and deserving of their Oscars. But while interesting the film as a whole is overlong and overhyped. Its most useful purpose is to point the way to discovering more about a fascinating character in a crucial period of history. It also serves as a timely reminder that US politics has always been fucked.

The Accident, by Fiona Lowe

In the WA wheatbelt town of Garringarup, retailer Freya and paramedic Ryan have been happily unmarried and child free for 15 years. Ryan’s best friend Jamie is about to marry younger Perth girl Hannah, who has become close with Freya. On the eve of the wedding a catastrophic car crash not only devastates them all, but raises questions and issues from all their lives that will drastically affect the future and test the bonds of friendship. This intense examination of relationships between mothers and daughters, partners and friends dips into heavy themes ranging from coercive control, reproductive technology law and various addictions. Unfortunately this is another book that needed more drafts and a stronger editor. It starts with a huge info dump and an excess of adjectives. Many characters are two-dimensional, the research dictates the narrative rather than informing it and the strong feminist message, while admirable, is often didactic. There are the bones of a great story, but it is written as an aspiring potboiler bestseller, a la Moriarty and is ultimately not a satisfying read.

Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix)

Repressed Edwin and cheerful Charles have been best friends for 30-odd years, despite their many differences. What they do have in common is that they are both ghosts, resisting moving on to the afterlife but helping others to do so by solving their murders. After helping her get rid of a demon they team up with living psychic Crystal to solve the mystery of a missing girl in a small American town. A malevolent witch, the King of cats, a Japanese student and a goth butcher are just a few of the enemies and allies they need to contend with or enlist in sorting out the town’s many supernatural problems before they can return to London. The boys are also being chased by the afterworld’s Lost and Found Office, while Crystal’s demon has not given up on repossessing her. Fast moving and witty, the only quibble with this entertaining series is that the three protagonists are supposed to be in their teens and the actors very clearly are not. That said, they are very good and imbue their well-written characters with breadth and depth. Based on a Neil Gaiman story, this is apparently a Sandman spinoff and it has the same sexy/horror/supernatural vibe but far livelier.

Take Three Girls, by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell & Fiona Wood

Clem, Kate and Ady are in Year 10 at St Hilda’s, one Melbourne’s incestuous and insular private schools. With parents working in Singapore, sporty Clem and her nerdy fraternal twin Iris really don’t get along. A swim star, Clem is rethinking her priorities after an injury and an encounter with an attractive older boy. Country girl Kate is another new boarder, keen to get a scholarship and study medicine but torn by her love of music and the alternative possibilities it offers. Ady is a long term day girl with family problems, struggling to reconcile her creative side with her mean girl pack. St Hilda’s has instituted a wellness program to counteract online bullying, which seems inadequate to deal with its toxic impact on the girls. But it serves to bring together three who would otherwise have had little to do with each other and these new, strong friendships help them deal with the online nastiness. The three authors create strong voices for three distinct heroines, who learn a lot about themselves and how to get what they want in life. They also do a good job of blending those voices when the girls interact, although sad twin Iris is left a little underdone. The end of the tale is anticlimactic, fighting hate with flowers solves everything apparently, which is a pity as it’s otherwise a good, contemporary story.