 Tomorrow, When the War Began's front cover | |
| |
| Author | John Marsden |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Action, Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Pan Macmillan (Australia) |
| Published | 1993–1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| No. of books | 7 |
| Followed by | The Ellie Chronicles |
The Tomorrow series is a series of seven young adult invasion novels written by Australian writer John Marsden, detailing the invasion and occupation of Australia by a foreign power. The novels are related from the first-person perspective by Ellie Linton, a teenage girl, who is part of a small band of teenagers waging a guerrilla war on the enemy soldiers in the region around their fictional home town of Wirrawee. The name of the series is derived from the title of the first book, Tomorrow, When the War Began.
The books in the series were originally published from 1993–99, by Pan Macmillan, and have been reprinted sixteen times. A sequel series, The Ellie Chronicles, was later published from 2003 to 2006. The follow-up series concerns itself largely with the attempts of society and the protagonist to regain a normal level of functioning in the face of the psychological damage sustained during the war.
In the original series (1993–99) the identity of the invading force is never specified, which is most likely by explicit intent of the author. In the sequel series (2003–06) the invading force is specified as a coalition of highly populous Southeast Asian nations, who see the vast underdeveloped spaces and natural resources of Australia as a way to tackle their human overpopulation problem, and the series features multinational colonies of enemy civilians being set up in conquered territory. Few parts of the war outside Ellie's immediate perspective are covered; the reader is not informed exactly how much of the country is under enemy control, though a radio broadcast early in the series confirms that several major coastal cities and much of the inland area have been seized by the invading forces. How well the war is going for the Australian military is not covered, however, it's strongly implied that they suffer heavy losses.
Tomorrow, When the War Began and its sequels are one of the most popular and critically acclaimed series of novels aimed at young readers in Australian literary history.[1] It has sold over 3 million copies in Australia and has been translated into five languages.[1][2]
- ^ a b 6 August 2008 Tomorrow Series Relaunched for Today's Readers Publishersweekly.com
- ^ Bibliographer Researches Australian Children's Books National Library of Australia ISSN 1039-3498, no. 58, August 2002