''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' is the first book in the
''Tomorrow'' series by
John Marsden. It was published in 1993, and is a
young adult
In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
invasion novel, detailing a high-intensity invasion and occupation of Australia by a foreign power. The novel is told in first person perspective by the main character, a teenage girl named Ellie Linton, who is part of a small band of teenagers waging a guerrilla war on the enemy garrison in their fictional home town of Wirrawee.
''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' was adapted into a
feature film of the same name that was released on 2 September 2010 in Australia and New Zealand. It was written and directed by
Stuart Beattie, and starred
Caitlin Stasey in the role of Ellie Linton.
[Teen tale is the stuff of movies](_blank)
Herald Sun 10 August 2010. Accessed 12 August 2010
Plot summary
Ellie Linton goes out camping in the bush for a week with her friends Homer Yannos, Lee Takkam, Kevin Holmes, Corrie Mackenzie, Robyn Mathers, and Fiona Maxwell. They find a way into a large, vegetated
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...
in a remote area of bush the locals have dubbed "Hell", and camp there. During this time they see large numbers of planes flying through the night without lights, and though it is mentioned in conversation the following morning, they think little of it, dismissing it as military planes heading back from a demonstration.
When they return to their hometown of Wirrawee (a fictional town located somewhere in rural Victoria) they find that all the people are missing and their pets and livestock are dead or dying. Fearing the worst, they break into three groups to investigate Wirrawee's situation. They discover that Wirrawee was captured as a
beachhead
A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...
for an invasion of Australia by an unidentified force; local citizens are being held captive by the occupiers. Ellie's group is spotted, and pursued by the enemy and, in order to escape, use the fuel tank of a
ride-on lawnmower to create an
improvised explosive. However, after reuniting with Homer and Fi at a pre-arranged meeting point, they discover Robyn and Lee missing. Homer and Ellie search for them and they are met by Robyn. They discover that Lee has been shot in the leg and is hiding out in the main street of Wirrawee, the centre of the enemy's activity. Ellie and Homer confer with the others and Ellie decides that they should attempt to rescue Lee, using a
front-end loader to move and protect him. After a protracted chase that sees several soldiers killed, Lee is successfully rescued and returned to the safety of Hell but not before they discover Chris Lang hiding out in his house after his parents were away on a business trip.
While hiding out in Hell, a romantic relationship forms between Ellie and Lee, Homer falls in love with Fi, while Kevin and Corrie continue a romantic relationship started a few months before the invasion. The teens decide to raid nearby farmhouses, searching for food and other supplies, and then retreat to Hell to establish a base camp for themselves. The group eventually moves toward waging a
guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...
against the invaders.
Homer explains a plan around taking out the main bridge at Wirrawee which the invaders are using to supply their troops. They all agree and Ellie, Fi, Lee, and Homer steal a
petrol tanker and use it to blow up the main bridge out of Wirrawee. However, the plan nearly falls apart when Ellie and Fi are discussing Homer and Lee. Luckily at the last minute they kick into gear and get the tanker to the bridge. Homer and Lee create a distraction with cattle. As the bridge party joins up with the others they discover Corrie has been shot.
The raid is a success as the bridge collapses but Corrie needs medical attention. Kevin decides that he will surrender and hope that the invaders give Corrie medical attention. They set off as the others look to the future.
Reception
''
Horn Book Magazine'' said that ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' is "a riveting adventure through which Marsden explores the capacity for evil and the necessity of working together to oppose it."
''Book Report'' magazine said that it was "an exciting story of self-discovery and survival."
Between 1993 and 1998, over three million copies of the novel were sold.
During this timeframe, ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' was translated into five languages, and was rated as the "4th best loved book" in an Australian survey.
[
The novel is recommended by the New South Wales ]Board of Studies
The Board of Studies was the state government education board in New South Wales, Australia from 1990 to 2013. It provided educational leadership by developing the curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 and awarding the secondary school credent ...
as a text to be studied in English classes during Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10). In 1996, the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world.
History 19th century ...
(ALA) named ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' as one of the best young adult titles published in America in that year. In 2000, the ALA listed the book as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000.
In 2000, the Swedish government selected ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' as the book most likely to inspire a love of reading in young people, and financed the printing and distribution of the novel to teenage school students in the country.
In 2013, ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' was voted Australia's favourite Australian book in a poll run by ''Get Reading!'', an annual campaign run by the Australian Government to encourage Australians to read.
Adaptations
The book has been adapted twice.
In June 2009, Screen Australia announced that it would fund the development of the feature film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
to be produced based on the novel, to be written and directed by screenwriter Stuart Beattie. The film was released on 2 September 2010, but critical response was mixed and it failed to find an overseas audience.ABC3
ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...
. Filming took place from 14 September to 13 November 2015 in Melbourne, and premiered on 23 April 2016. The first series roughly followed the events of the first book.
References
External links
Tomorrow Series
(European fansite)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomorrow, When The War Began
1993 Australian novels
Tomorrow series
Australian young adult novels
Novels about alien invasions
Pan Books books
Australian novels adapted into films
Novels set in Australia
Novels by John Marsden
BILBY Award–winning works
COOL Award–winning works
First-person narrative novels