Customer Reviews
so exciting!! 
2008-04-21
John Marsden has done an excellent job creating a great and exciting story about friendship, war, and love. I have read all the books in this series and I was so mad when it ended. You feel so close to the charactors that when it's over, its heartbreaking. I wish I could meet every one of the charactors on the book. This series truly has changed my life. I've learned so much and it has changed the way I feel about a war. Now that I know first hand what people go through in a war, I'll never doubt the affects again.
Surprisingly workable war and teen romance/coming of age hybrid; recognisable Oz kids 
2008-02-09
I wouldn't have gone for this book if it was pitched to me: a group of teens laugh, fall in love, and grow up in the context of suddenly having to survive as guerrillas. Yeah, right.
But I think Marsden held this together surprisingly well - there are a few strengths to the book (I was about to continue this sentence along the lines of, `that explain the popularity of the series', but there are way too many examples of popularity not reflecting quality).
Ahoy - spoilers ahead.
I liked the very deliberate way Marsden gave us several chapters of these teenagers simply being recognisable Australian kids. Admittedly he did open with the teaser - the hint of something big and dark - rather than totally selling this as a teen romance/coming of age story before the shocking twist. I could have coped without the early promise of more, but tell me he wasn't consciously thinking he didn't want to lose some year nine boys before they got to the shooting (`Is this a kissing book?'). Actually, you don't have to tell me: he's totally open about consciously writing for this market in his preface. That being said, he does only hint, and then spends some time on getting his target audience of Oz juveniles to identify with the main characters. Hence the greater potency when their world is changed in a moment. It probably resonates far more with old folks like myself who already subscribe to this notion, but it would be great if even a few complacent Australians were woken up to the fact that wars don't happen to qualitatively different people - people that you somehow think, you know, them having their homes bombed and being refugees is the sort of thing they just take in their stride. Reminds me of Steely Dan's potent `Third World Man', where Fagan twists familiar suburban images into those of war, for example, "Johnny's playroom, is a bunker filled with sand," "I saw fireworks, I thought that I was dreaming, `til the neighbours came out screaming'" (OK, it works better with Larry Carlton's exquisite solo). So, sure, hats off to Marsden for putting more of a familiar human face in something usually seen as alien.
But once the invasion occurs our plucky kids don't suddenly morph into a crack military unit (well, they do a bit), nor does the book simply shrink into an ugly Tom Clancy/Chuck Norris jingoistic potboiler. Somehow he keeps the teen (dare I say, the `girly' teen) thing happening: introspection with occasional passable insights (eg. people don't really see things because they give them names - once something is named - such as the canyon `hell', they only perceive their projections in the misleading word; animals aren't so easily fooled), and classic - but realistic - boy/girl confusion over infatuation (save me from the appalling romance of just about any fantasy writer: McCaffrey, Kerr, Goodkind, Kay ... ugh. A legion of teenage readers swallowing supposedly profound relationships that haven't a hint of authenticity or beauty). Marsden doesn't play it for voyeurism, but you do get lines you might expect in Grey's Anatomy preceding a jet firing missiles. There's even time for a little historical detection with regard to the enigmatic hermit - who would have thought it? There's also a usable range of characters with far more depth and room for development than many purportedly adult novels. What? A Christian and a stoner that can't merely be summed up in those words. Blimey.
Realistic? Well, sure it's a bit of the old villain saying, "We could have succeeded in our evil plans if it wasn't for you pesky kids!", and that's attractive to some of his audience - it makes for a more enjoyable story than the naked realism of fly-ridden bloody corpses. But while he crosses the line here and there Marsden quite deliberately has the kids lower their expectations from movie ones, and will have a hero go into shock after a near miss rather than rip off their shirt and run unscathed through a hail of bullets slaying faceless hordes (this would also be problematic as some of the more central fighters are girls). This is refreshing. While he's also been careful not to demonise the enemy, I'd be interested to find out if the rest of the series goes as far as the leap to realising the `enemy' may actually have had as little choice as you about being in this dangerous situation.
The book is not a breathtaking achievement, but it is a solid one on a hazardous premise. A lot could have gone wrong that didn't, and there's a lot that goes right.
Fabulous 2008-01-23
Ellie is so articulate, bright, and caring that she makes what would have been an average story into an amazing and believable account of eight young adults out to save their families and ultimately their homeland.
Once I got used to the Australian vernacular, I read this book at an amazing pace because I simply couldn't put it down.
I can't wait to hunt down the rest of this series.
I look forward to teaching this 2008-01-19
I really enjoyed this book and plan to buy the rest of the series. It has a good mix of adventure and romance so it will appeal to most of my high school students. The characters have distinct personalities and all of them show strengths in the story which could be a great jumping off point for a discussion on how we are all different and how our differences make society function better. Aside from thoughts about teaching, I simply couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what happened next.
The War Starts 2007-12-16
Tomorrow When the War Began is a great book for 8th grade through high school readers. It starts off with Elie and a group of friends that camp at a place that has never been searched. They have a great time and want to stay there longer because they now feel as if its their own place. When Elie and her friends arrive back at home something terribly different has happened and nobody is there.
This book tells about how Ellie and her friends survive and take leadership within each other. They also learn how to do things on thier own to survive. I think it is amazing how they work together and do what they have to do.
I think this book is one of my favorite books because it has the action and thriller that makes me want to keep reading it. It is also one of those books that is hard to predict what is going to happen so you always have to be ready. I thought for sure that I knew what was going to happen and then it took a different turn and suprised me. I thought this book was exciting and fun to read besides the first two chapters. I think the first two chapters are boring because it introduces everybody and starts off slow but im sure that any body else who read this book would agree with me. I also like the way the author words the text too. The author lets you know what the main character, Elie, is thinking through out the book which I think is cool.
Don't forget to read the rest of the series if you like this one like me.
The War Starts 2007-12-16
When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they're leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than-tragic food shortage and a secret crush or two, everything goes as planned. But a week later, they return home to find their houses empty and their pets starving. Something has gone wrong--horribly wrong. Before long, they realize the country has been invaded, and the entire town has been captured--including their families and all their friends. Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.
Tomorrow #1- Couldn't put the book down 2007-12-02
Tomorrow When the War Began, is a great book for 8th grade through high school readers. It starts off with Elie and a group of friends that camp at a place that nobody has ever searched. They have a great time and want to stay there longer because they now feel as if its their own place. When Elie and her firends arrive back at home something terribly diffenent has happened and there is nobody there.
This book tells about how Elie and her friends survive and take leadership within each other. They never thought this event could happen so at first they don't know how to handle it; but then they eventually work it out and take action!
I know you want to know what happens when they get back home, and in the rest of the book, but that's for you to read. To all those readers who want to read this book I just want to inform you that the first couple of chapters are boring and a little hard to get through. From then on it picks up and becomes a, "Can't put down book". I'm sure that all the people who have read this book will agree with me. I would freak out if this happened to me so I think it is remarkable how the kids survive.
If you like the book, don't forget to read the rest in the series!
One of my favorite books 2007-09-30
I think of myself as someone who reads quite a lot, and, having just finished this book, it sits comfortably at the top of my list of books that I like, along with Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.
This book has a real quality, something that other books don't manage to duplicate. When, shortly after the characters return to their homes and discover what has happened, one of them says, "I'll never feel safe again", it felt real, and I felt the same way, although the likelihood of another country invading the United States seems small.
Other reviewers have said the characters are unrealistic or one-dimensional. I disagree completely. The characters are perfectly reasonable from the first, and as time progresses they discover the desperate brilliance and strength that shows up repeatedly during war. They develop as emotional human beings over the course of the story, discovering things about themselves and about the way the world works.
The book covers a lot of ground, and although there are some stretches of emptiness, they are entirely within reason--modern war is mostly waiting interspersed with brief periods of frenzied activity. John Marsden does an excellent job of conveying this.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to read the second book.
Entertaining 2007-03-10
I thought this was going to be boring and stupid, seeing how the premise of the book is Australia suffering a military invasion. I don't believe your government would be that short sighted.
Turned out its a good read. I like the ordinary people faced with extraordinary situations aspect, and how they react. I'm halfway through the second book, plan on reading them all. I really hope at some point they say who the invaders are. At first its kind of confusing trying to keep all the players separate, but the author whittles them down, and gives them all distinct traits. I still want to know why Ellie had to turn the phone to talk? Whats up with that? :)
In case any Aussies are wondering, and I know its for local consumption.And its just a plot device,but our memory extends further back than Viet Nam, within 72 hours of any invasion,their would be so much US firepower floating off your shores, it would make D-Day look like a Sunday Sail. For better or worse,like it or not, your on our "short list" of people not to be screwed with.
Australia Under Attack 
2007-02-15
One Australian summer, Ellie and her friends decide to go far down into a valley that seems never to have been explored before, to have a camping trip and get back to nature. The group of teens spend a week camping in the valley getting to know each other better and wishing they could stay longer.
When the teens make their way home, they find something is terribly wrong. Ellie's dogs are dead. Her mother and father are nowhere to be found. There is no power at her house, and no phone lines. The group travels to the houses of others who live out in the sparsely populated areas and find the same things. In one house is a message on the fax machine from the father of one of the girls, saying that they were told to expect routine Army maneuvers but he is suspicious. Soon Ellie and her friends find out that their town is under seige. They have been attacked by another country and most everyone in town is being held prisoner at the stadium.
It is now up to Ellie and her friends to figure out how to save everyone. They are safe and free for the moment, but how can they remain so with soldiers patrolling the streets and shooting at them?
There is some good character development in this book. Some of the characters have changed in reaction to their dangerous situation, which is realistic. This book drags on a bit, though. It's long, but it is also part of a series so by the end of the story nothing is resolved yet, leaving room for sequels. It didn't grab my interest enough to make me need to read the next one.
