John Marsden, a man who never reads reviews, who doesn't take interest in awards and who has bought an 1,100 acre piece of forest land on the edge of Melbourne (Macedon Ranges), is one of Australia's most influential writers and now reaches a wider audience than any other Australian author. What makes his 35 books so popular? Not only does Marsden create realistic, interesting and powerful characters that show the individuality, resourcefulness and creativity of the younger generation, but he also writes in a variety of genres including: Comedy ( Looking For Trouble [1993]); Human interest ( Winter [2000]); Fantasy ( Out Of Time [1990]) and Non-fiction ( Everything I Know About Writing [1993]). John Marsden is now the principal of Candlebark, an alternative school, which is situated on his native forest reserve just North of Melbourne. But John Marsden is probably best know for his stories that follow eight friends surviving during a war – the Tomorrow series.
The idea for the tomorrow series came eleven years ago, when Marsden was watching an ANZAC Day parade. Gazing at the World War II soldiers marching past, he thought: "[How would] today's teenagers…react in the event of a war[?] Would they dig deep and find reserves of initiative, maturity, responsibility and even heroism that they were perhaps not aware of themselves?" John Marsden, Marsden on Marsden. Published by Macmillan, 2000
Marsden's idea for the main character – Ellie – came soon after, while he was out driving his Land Rover on a Saturday afternoon… "Just 500 meters from home, [I suddenly heard] Ellie talking…Realising that if I didn't get her voice on paper, I might lose it…forever, I…grabbed and old envelope…and quickly wrote down the words. I drove on to my place…and raced into the house knowing that I had a new book underway, and feeling very excited about it…" John Marsden, Marsden on Marsden. Published by Macmillan, 2000
The Tomorrow series is the highest selling collection in Australia with over 1.3 million copies sold and made into 16 reprints. The series has even been translated into 14 languages, in the markets of 18 countries and sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.
The Tomorrow series follows a group of eight teenagers who live in the same district – Wirawee. The eight friends then react to the situation of the war and develop throughout the book, discovering a bit more about themselves and their friends. The characters include:
Ellie- (Ellie Linton) is the story's narrator. Ellie comes from a cattle and sheep farm not far from the edge of the town – Wirawee. Detailed descriptions of characters are rarely given by John Marsden, possibly because it's the mind and spirit that counts, but we know Ellie has a stubborn personality and doesn't back down easily from a fight – especially with the other leader, Homer. As the war progresses, Ellie becomes more violent and intent on survival than anything else but she finally finds her lighter side when she encounters a group of "feral" children.
Homer- (Homer Yannos) is a long time friend and neighbour to Ellie. Although Homer was a known prankster before the war, he proved himself as a leader later on despite his disregard for certain agreements, which causes conflict between him and Ellie. Even though Homer leads the group, he also makes jokes to ease serious situations and manages to keep his light spirit. As the series progresses, Homer learns to share the leadership role.
Corrie- (Corrie Mackenzie) is a close friend of Ellie's and the two share a long history. Ellie is even friends with Corrie's mother, Mrs. Mackenzie. Nothing much is known about Corrie, as she is tragically taken away from the group when a soldier shoots her in the back.
Lee- Lee is part Thai and part Vietnamese and keeps to himself a lot. Before the war, lee played the Violin, Piano and was good at Visual arts at school. Lee, like Ellie, becomes more violent as the war progresses and because he keeps to himself, he sometimes causes a few problems. Lee tends to kill soldiers directly (with knives and guns for example) and becomes more left out when he finds everyone's parents are okay except for his. But Lee, also like Ellie, finds his lighter side with the "feral" children.
Fiona- (Fiona Maxwell) knows absolutely nothing about camping or life in the bush but adds innocence to the group. Fiona is Ellie's role model as she is so graceful and pure of heart. As the war progresses, Fiona tries to be brave but in the process, stays true to herself – the only character to stay the same, which is the best thing.
Robyn- (Robyn Mathers) is very religious and another close friend of Ellie's. before the war, Robyn was a great athlete yet aggressive on the field. This aggressiveness never moved to other situations though. There, Robyn would keep a cool head and not resort to violence. When the group discuss an attack plan, Robyn refuses to kill soldiers directly and in doing that, raises the question of morality; was what they were doing okay?
Kevin- (Kevin Holmes) is Corrie's boyfriend. Although the group doesn't see it, there is more to Kevin than they first think. Kevin is older than the rest of the group, and provides information on bombs, which proves very handy to the group. At a certain point during the war, Kevin has a nervous breakdown which after causes tension between him and the others. Kevin's war experiences were a bit more intense that the other's.
Chris- (Chris Lang) joined the group soon after the war as before, he had to stay at his parent's house. Chris sometimes abuses drugs and alcohol, which intensifies during the war due to the stress – "If it grows, smoke it." Despite first impressions, Chris writes a lot of poetry which makes a window to his personality and thoughts. Chris doesn't fit into the group, and his distancing doesn't help. Eventually, he convinces the group to leave him alone and ultimately puts him in the most danger.
The Tomorrow series is an action-packed seven-part collection that also goes on to The Ellie Chronicles – Ellie's life after the war. The first of the seven books is Tomorrow, When The War Began.
» left by smitty from united kingdom (1 year 22 days ago.)
i can't find a charecter review of kevin holmes in the book tomorrow when the war began from john marsden and i need it ergently Respond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (268 days 15 hours ago.)
It's up there, just unhighlighted. (: Respond to this comment
» left by No-one from Somewhere (223 days 7 hours ago.)
You do know that it is only a brief summary of information on the Tomorrow Series. If it didn't say "A l ittle behind...Tomorrow series", then of course there would be more info. It is only a bit of information - not the whole thing.
» left by Hihavaniceda from Australia (165 days 3 hours ago.)
As a mum I would just like to say thank you ..... you got my then 15 year old son reading .... he is now 18 ... and recently made me buy the "The Ellie Chronicles" which he enjoyed too ! My 13 year old is now reading the story! I cannot get her head out of the first book and although she is very mature and intellient (and athletic) has not been a good novel reader ..... but that has now changed ..... thank you. I have been reading that you don't always eat well ..... please look after yourself .... you are someone special.
hey id like to make a suggestion of making the books into movies but if you do please dont leave a thing out!! i love these books ive read them a few times i cant get them out of my head i realy love war storys and these books are the best ones ive ever read
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