John Marsden (1) (1950–2024)

This gripping first installment of John Marsden's seven-volume series about a group of Australian teenagers who begin a campaign of guerilla warfare, when their country in invaded and occupied by foreign troops - it was apparently made into a film last year (can you get on that, American distributors? because I want to see it!) - sucked me right in, and never let go. I haven't been as engrossed as this in a reading experience since picking up Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy!

Narrated by show more Ellie, who is ostensibly recording the extraordinary events through which she and her friends are living, Tomorrow, When the War Began opens mundanely enough, as a group of teens decide to "go feral," and camp out in the bush for a week, before school begins again. Choosing as their destination a locale known as "Hell" - a small, mostly hidden, difficult-to-reach hollow, nestled amongst the cliffs of the nearby mountain range, and accessible only be descending "Satan's Steps" - the friends pass a mostly idyllic week, emerging to find that their world has changed forever. Finding their homes abandoned, and their animals - pets, working animals, livestock - dead or dying, they discover that an unnamed enemy has occupied their hometown of Wirrawee, which they are using as a springboard for a larger invasion of the country, and are keeping the entire population (including their families) in a makeshift prison camp in the town center. Focused on staying hidden (and free) at first, the group of seven (and then eight) teens eventually turns to the question of what to do: try to stay out of sight, and go on living in Hell? Or strike back, and try to do some damage to the invading force...?

An author who can make improbable events seem, not just possible, but matter-of-factly realistic, Marsden spins an exciting tale, one with plenty of breathtaking suspense and heart-pounding action. But this is more than that, more than just an action-adventure extravaganza. It is also an incredibly astute character study, of Ellie herself, and of her friends. At times humorous, at times poignant, it doesn't neglect those aspects of adolescent life that are so important, dystopian environment or no. The romances that form - and the growing awareness of sexuality and sexual tension, with teenage boys and girls living together, off on their own in the wild - the shifting patterns of leadership, as everyone proves that they're more than first appeared, are all captured here. These characters felt very real to me, and I appreciated the fact that their creator never reduced them to types. Homer, the erstwhile bad-boy troublemaker, emerges as a leader, with a heart no one suspected he had; Kevin, the eldest member of the group, who had hitherto seemed very tough, has hidden moments of fear; Fi (Fiona), the 'delicate' townie with less knowledge of the bush than the others, proves tougher than she seems; Robyn, the sincere and thoughtful Christian, turns out to have a hidden aggressive streak.

It was fascinating to see these aspects of the characters emerge, under the pressure of unimaginable events, just as it was interesting to see the more philosophical discussions that ensue, as the kids try to figure out what the right thing to do is. Textually immediate, with its first-person narration, emotionally resonant, and intensely involving, Tomorrow, When the War Began is a brilliant book! I had no sooner finished it, than I was hunting down the next installment, The Dead Of Night. I think I need to invest in my own copies of this series... show less

Epistolary novella: two teenage girls become penpals, and slowly discover that neither has the perfect life the other first thought. A quick read full of teenage angst (not in a derogatory way, just... that's the age where it seems people come up against how much the world sucks, before gaining the skills and resources to deal with it and/or the emotional calluses to ignore it), ending with a not-quite-conclusion that's as heart-rending as it is inevitable on one side, while satisfyingly show more hopeful on the other. show less

Despite some initial reservations, I've grown to love this series. This finale offers the same brilliant action and heartwarming personal stories as the other novels.

The seperation from the ferals was absolutely heartwrenching, and the group went out with a bang in their final contribution to the war.
However, I was completely disappointed by the ending.

I can see where Marsden was coming from- this was the end of a violent war, and a 'they lived happily ever after' would have been a bit show more unrealistic. But I think he represented Ellie as too fickle in the end. A girl that suddenly falls out of love with one friend (AGAIN!) and begins to have feelings for another (AGAIN!) (I really thought she was over that drama), and a girl that breaks a promise to a little girl... it just does not feel like the Ellie I admired throughout the series. And beyond that, the cruel splitting up of the group... I understand that their relationships would have a little tension now, but after everything they went through, it just seems bizzare.
And I suppose that somewhat naively, after how independent the group acted for so long, I did not envision them becoming obedient teenagers that follow the decisions of their parents (ie. Fi's move to the city). They just seemed too grown-up for that.

Anyway, this novel is as brilliant as its predecessors, and although I personally hate the ending, if I view it from a distance, I can understand and respect that Marsden's ending stays true to the cold, hard, reality. I think I just got too emotionally involved in the series.

PS. I totally knew that the rest of the group was alive! I was in complete denial when Ellie thought they were dead..it would have been too cruel.
show less

"Night started to fall, then it fell, till it was lying all over the ground."

This is the second in the Tomorrow series - following on from Tomorrow, When the War Began. Ellie and her friends, now a depleted number, have returned to their bush camp-out following their successful guerilla attack on the bridge. On an exploratory trip out of their camp, they come across another guerilla camp, run on rather different lines. After disaster strikes, their hearts are hardened and they undertake show more further attacks on Wirrawee.

I rather enjoyed the first in this series - I didn't find it very profound but the post-invasion world was an interesting setting for what is essentially a novel about teenagers' interactions under stress. The Dead of the Night is considerably darker - Ellie and her friends are coming to terms with what it means to be a soldier, to have to kill in order to survive. Ellie's peace-time conscience is getting the better of her and she finds it a relief to be ordered around in the other camp, only permitted to do housework and not be a soldier.

Plausibly, by this stage, the members of the group are all pretty fed up with their situation and one another and there are plenty of squabbles. Interestingly, the group dynamic has changed after they all read Ellie's record in the first volume (the story is seen through Ellie's record of what the group go through, she is their chosen record-keeper and is brutally honest about their combative deeds as well as the budding relationships) - she writes for a while about the power of the written word and how her honesty (or perspective) has altered her relationship with both Homer and Fi.

There isn't much character development as we return to the same characters, but it's interesting to see Ellie and co deal with new situations, particularly the conflict that is arising within each person and the group as their deeds become more brutal. Their disappointment with the adults in the other camp is profound - they cannot believe how much the adults have fallen for the pointless propaganda of their leader.

I won't be bothering to seek out the rest of this series, but if they were right here in front of me, I would read them - the characters are fun and complex, and their adventures are high-octane enough to be suspenseful and credible. show less