Tomorrow: When the War Began
On the Author:
John Marsden, born 1950, Australian author. At age 28, after working several jobs, Marsden began a teaching course. Whilst working as a teacher, Marsden began writing for children, and in 1987 with a diary novel So Much to Tell You, about a girl who stops talking after being the victim of a disaster. After his debut, followed several similar stories, often written in letter or diary form, about troubled youth. Since then, he has written or edited over 40 books and has sold over 5 million books throughout the world.
Marsden portrays violence and evil without euphemisms. Best known, he has become the adventure series that begins with Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993), about a group of Australian teenagers who are forced to form a guerrilla group to survive since their country has been invaded by an alien power. The seven books in the suite raises questions as how to handle that life turns into a nightmare and how to maintain their humanity when forced to kill to survive. In a follow-up trilogy, which began with the While I Live (2003), portrayed Ellie, a young, future destinies.
In 2006, Marsden started an alternative school, Candlebark School in the Macedon Ranges, in which he is the school principal. Marsden has since reduced his writing to focus on teaching and running the school. He is also the patron of youth media organisation Express Media. Marsden has had his books translated into ten languages including Swedish, Norwegian, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Polish and Spanish. My Reasons for Reading this Book: I saw this movie about a year ago and I really liked it, so when I found this in the library I just had to read it.
I wanted to know if there is a lot difference between the book and the movie, and I can’t wait to read the rest of these books. There are six others that continues this story. The reason I like this type of movie/book is because I like stories that have to do with the end of the world. Whether it is war, zombies taking over the world or a disease spreading. I think it has to do with my sick need of wanting to prepare for the end of the world, when ever that may come. My Summary: Imagine if you went camping with your friends for a few days and came back to find everyone was missing… that is what this book is about.
The main character is the 17-year-old Ellie Linton. She lives in a town called Wirrawee, Australia. Ellie plans to take a break from work on her parents farm and set out on one last adventure before summer vacation is over, a camping trip to the legendary oasis that is rumored to be located in the middle of the stone desert that surrounds the village, and that the locals call “Hell”. The six friends that goes with her on the trip are Robyn, Homer, Fiona, Corrie, Kevin and Lee. My Reading Log: Finishing Remarks I have now finished the book and I loved it! The story is so good!
I can not wait to find out what happens next. The language is also great, very modern. I definitely want to find out more and I am curious about what will happen in the next book. It is exciting and fascinating and the characters are very believable. I would most certainly recommend this book to anyone!
Secondary Sources
- Marsden, John. Tomorrow when the war began. Australia: Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd, 1993.
- John Marsden. http://www. ne. se/lang/john-marsden, Nationalencyklopedin, hamtad 2012-10-30.
- “John Marsden” Wikipedia. 25 October 2012 hamtad 2012-10-30
