The Day After Today - Part One

Tomorrow, When the War Began


Written by: John Marsden

Released: March 27, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Juvenile Books

Summary: When Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush, they find things hideously wrong -- their families gone, houses empty and abandoned, pets and stock dead. Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in the town has been taken prisoner. As the horrible reality of the situation becomes evident they have to make a life-and-death decision: to run back into the bush and hide, to give themselves up to be with their families, or to stay and try to fight. This riveting, tautly-drawn novel seems at times to be only a step away from today's headlines.

Last Sunday I described this book as ‘The Hunger Games meets… something’ and I think that I might have to elaborate on that more.

Ok, so in The Hunger Games, the contestants are randomly chosen and then thrown into the middle of a battle ground. They then have to fight in order to be the last one standing so that they can win. (ps: I can’t wait for Mockingjay next week!)

Then, in Tomorrow, When the War Began there are seven friends who escape the invasion because they’re out camping and in order to save their captured friends and family they need to defeat the enemy and be the last ones standing.

Where Hunger Games has spectators who offer help, Tomorrow has other people who managed to evade capture.

So, you see, at the very base of things the two are very comparable. Of course, they are absolutely nothing alike when it comes down to it.

That being said, let’s get on with this review.

I cannot wait to read the remaining books in this series and then the trilogy which acts as a sort of sequel. That being said, it’s incredibly hard to find the two remaining books that I don’t have but I’m looking online, so finger’s crossed. Honestly, this book was so good that it can only really get better.

I thought that this book was so thrilling to read; I never knew exactly what to expect or what they were going to think of next. Plus, you get love, romance, passion, adventure, and action all wrapped neatly within the pages of this book. I can’t wait to see what happened with Ellie and her friends next and if they manage to rescue their families without injury.

If you haven’t read the book/series yet, so far it has my stamp of approval. I also can’t wait to watch the movie whenever it comes to North America, or whenever it’s released on DVD. I’m giving this book a 9/10. It’s well worth the time spent reading.