John Marsden (1) (1950–)

Never heard of this one, but can't wait to read it!
Trigger warnings: Death of a pet, fire, explosions, murder of a wife and child, blood depiction, military violence and war themes, gun violence

Update: 7/10, I've been wanting to read this for a while since it looked interesting to me and I'm glad I did, I can certainly say that it definitely feels similar to Alone by Megan E. Freeman but this author like another one I've read from managed to pull off a classic Australian twist making this fresh and original, where do I begin. It starts off with the main character Ellie Linton with six other friends enjoying their school holidays and living their lives in this rural town and they were in this open area called Hell, at first nothing much happens but the next day everything changes much like Alone. Ellie wakes up and noticed that there were a few changes like all the pets are dying or dead and everyone else seems to be captured, all that's left is her and her six remaining friends and the author succeeds in writing these characters well and all of them I enjoyed reading. At least they have each other. Anyways the fact that almost everything and everyone is gone was disorienting at first until Ellie stumbles across a world radio which gave some critical information like possible intervention from the US confirming that it's not a world war, well not yet and humanitarian aid will come "soon". It was a nice touch setting this book in the 90s as I only know a few books that are set during this time period from the fact that one character used a Walkman. The pacing is varied with some action scenes of explosions and chases but most of the book is a slow burn with Ellie contemplating about very deep subjects like nature, love and good and evil. By the time the book ends, it was heartwarming when I still saw Ellie and her group still all together now adjusted to this new reality but I'm confused about how the war actually started, it could be revealed in the next books in the series.… (more)

I have read this Australian classic a few times over the years and have enjoyed it as much as I did when I read it for the first time as a teen. It did get a bit bogged down and three-quarters of the way through when Ellie was thinking about the hermit's hut, however, there was plenty of action to make up for it throughout the rest of the novel.

I liked Ellie's narration of the story and enjoyed the strong friendships the six teenagers shared. A story of strength, survival and fortitude, "Tomorrow When the War Began" was an exciting read with a good ending.… (more)