Tomorrow series

The Tomorrow Series

Author	John Marsden
Translator	punjabi
Language	English
Genre	Action, Adventure novel
Publisher	Pan Macmillan (Australia)
Publication date	1993-1999 (Australia) 1993-1999 (Europe) 1995-2009 (USA)
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	7 books on average 280 pages each

For the UK children's Science Fiction TV series, see The Tomorrow People.

The Tomorrow series is a series of seven young adult invasion novels written by Australian writer John Marsden, detailing a high-intensity invasion and occupation of Australia by a foreign power. The novels are related from the first person perspective by the main character, Ellie Linton, a part of a small band of teenagers waging a guerrilla war on the enemy soldiers in 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 1994 to 1999, 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.

The invading nation is never specified in the books; in fact, no nation in the world meets the criteria laid out in the series most likely by explicit intent of the author. Likewise, no 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, or how well the war is going for the Australian military. It is likely that this was Marsden's intention, given that the series focuses on the characters more than the actual war, and is an accurate reflection of how Ellie and her friends are isolated and cut off from outside communication.

Tomorrow, When The War Began and its subsequent sequels are one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed series of novels aimed at young readers in Australian literature history . It has sold between 2 and 3 million copies in Australia alone and has been translated into five languages, one of them being Swedish, where the series has sold over 115 000 copies..

Books and Plot

Tomorrow, When The War Began (1993)

#1 - 2001 Edition cover

Main article: Tomorrow, When the War Began

Ellie goes out camping in the bush for a week with her friends Homer Yannos, Lee, Kevin Holmes, Corrie Mackenzie, Robyn Mathers, and Fi (Fiona) Maxwell. They find a way into a lair in a remote area of bush the locals have named "Hell", and camp there for the week. During this time they see large numbers of planes flying at night without lights, and though it is mentioned in conversation the following morning, they think little of it.

When they return to their home they find that all the people are missing and their pets and livestock are dead or dying. They come to realize that their families never came back from the Commemoration Day Show. Luckily, Corrie's father managed to send a fax from the Showgrounds earlier in the week, warning the kids of the invasion and telling them to hide. They split up to visit each teen's house and various parts of town to search for more clues, but Robyn and Lee never return. Ellie, Kevin, and Corrie are chased by soldiers, and Ellie injures and possibly kills three of them by blowing up a ride-on lawn mower. The group stay in Corrie's house while waiting for Robyn and Lee to return, but enemy planes spot them moving and bomb the house, while the kids watch from the shearers' shed.

Ellie and Homer finally decide to go back into town to find Robyn and Lee. They find them, and discover that Robyn and Lee could not return because Lee had been shot in the leg and was unable to walk. Ellie, Homer, and Robyn form a plan to rescue Lee in the shovel of a bulldozer. After the rescue, they find another friend of theirs, Chris, who has been hiding out since the invasion. He comes with them, although Ellie yells at and kicks him for not taking the war seriously after he falls asleep on sentry duty. They finally get back to Hell, and Ellie and Lee begin a relationship, while Homer and Fi also begin one, but more slowly.

Homer comes up with an idea to fight the enemy their own way - by blowing up the wooden bridge into town. Ellie and Fi steal a petroleum tanker truck, while Homer and Lee stampede a herd of cattle at a passing patrol of soldiers to distract them. Ellie drives the truck under the bridge and runs a rope soaked with petrol a distance away, where Fi lights the makeshift fuse and blows up the bridge. The four of them go to Ellie's house to find the others, and they discover that Corrie has been shot. Kevin volunteers to drive her to the hospital, hoping that the enemy soldiers will treat her wound. The remaining six go back into Hell.

The Dead Of The Night (1994)

File:The Dead of the Night Front Cover.JPG

#2 - 2001 Edition cover

In the wake of losing Corrie and Kevin, and not knowing how either of them are faring in enemy territory, the group's morale deteriorates and they spend the bulk of their time doing very little. Homer eventually takes the lead by calling for a group meeting and suggesting that they do something productive with their time and attempt to track down Corrie and Kevin. After spending some time scoping out the area, they release a smoke bomb into the hospital and investigate during the evacuation. They discover that Corrie is comatose and that Kevin was beaten when he arrived, but is otherwise healthy, but they are unable to do anything for either of their friends.

Fresh from the discovery of what had happened to their friends, the group agrees to make an attack on the convoys on the highway to Cobbler's Bay. The morning of the attack, however, Ellie tries to make conversation with Chris and realises that he is drunk. That afternoon, the group is surprised by an enemy sentry, but Homer pulls a sawn-off shotgun on them, despite their agreement that they would carry no weapons. The explosion of the convoy is successful, but Ellie is forced to kill a wounded soldier, an event which haunts her for the rest of the book. Not wanting to return to Wirrawee after this, they decide to investigate the other paths out of Hell to determine where they lead. Chris, however, decides not to go and to stay behind instead.

Their exploration leads them to a group of free Australians called "Harvey's Heroes", led by a man named Major Harvey, who exhibits extremely sexist and controlling behaviour. He refuses to allow any portion of the group to return to Hell to find Chris, and appears to have a particular vendetta against Ellie. It becomes clear quickly that Harvey is not actually a major, but in fact a school principal who, at one point, spent some time in the army reserves. Although Harvey brags about having made several enemy attacks, these attacks are revealed to be low-risk acts against abandoned vehicles and a "power station" they attacked turns out to be the local phone grid. The group is invited to spectate as Harvey's Heroes attack an abandoned tank, but they are led into an enemy ambush and have to flee from the scene, leaving most of their possessions behind; Fi is chased by an enemy soldier and Lee stabs him, reminding the others that their path back into Hell cannot be found out.

When they return to Hell, Chris is not there. They spend two weeks waiting for him, but there is no sign of him at all. More investigations into Wirrawee discover work parties of prisoners, including Corrie's mother, and early colonists. While camping in Robyn's music teacher's house, Ellie and Lee consummate their relationship for the first time, but Ellie feels betrayed when Lee tells Homer. They move on to a church, where they keep watch over some of the early colonists, who have taken over several houses in the nice area of town, including Fi's house. Here they discover that Major Harvey, presumed dead in the ambush, is now working directly with the enemy. Reeling from this discovery, they arrange to blow up several of these houses using sparks from broken fuses to set off gas from ovens and heaters.

The experience is exciting and works well, but on their way back to Hell they see an overturned vehicle near a dam; further investigation reveals that Chris had overturned the car and died weeks ago. The book ends where it begins, with the group depressed and with low morale.

The Third Day, The Frost (published in America as "A Killing Frost") (1995)

Like in the opening of the previous book, the group's morale has once again deteriorated, with some members suffering from eating disorders and insomnia, amongst other things. They discover their friend Kevin working as a slave on a nearby farm, and rescue him by faking his death. He rejoins the group, and tells them that while in captivity, he learned about explosives from other POWs.

With Kevin's knowledge they are able to organise an attack on Cobbler's Bay, a major deep-water harbour in the area, being used by the enemy. They successfully destroy at least one ship and a large part of the wharf using a titanic fertiliser-based bomb, and all manage to escape from the harbour relatively intact.

The group gets themselves into trouble with the enemy soldiers and are forced to hide in a car wreckers salvage yard. They discover that in the house there are radios and they manage to contact the New Zealand Army.

Thinking that they have done enough, they decide to go up to the Isthmus, a place where a few of them have been camping with their families before, and as they are heading towards the national park they are captured by the enemy and placed in a high security prison being used by the enemy to house "troublesome" Australian citizens. Here they discover that New Zealand has declared outright war on the invaders, but the United States refuses to get involved (although under the ANZUS pact, they are obliged to), fearing another Vietnam situation.

Working at the prison is Major Harvey, the traitor from the last book. He repeatedly tries to convince Ellie that the war is good for Australia, to no avail. Ellie and Homer are eventually sentenced to death while the rest of the group are given sentences varying from 20 to 30 years in jail for their crimes.

Fortunately, the prison is targeted for a bombing raid by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and, amongst the ensuing chaos, Ellie and her friends manage to escape. Major Harvey tries to stop them, but Robyn kills him and herself with a grenade. The rest of the group find a Kiwi pilot and convince him to take them to New Zealand.

They arrive at New Zealand and are taken straight to a hospital where the nurses discover that they have many injuries such as back problems, scarring and concussion. The book then ends by saying you have to believe in something, how heroic Robyn was, and how Ellie admired her, and that they'll all be hobbling around for a while yet.

Darkness Be My Friend (1996)

File:Darkness Be My Friend Front Cover.JPG

#4 - 2001 edition cover

The group tries to live a normal life in New Zealand with other refugees, but are haunted by the war (which is still ongoing). Five months after arriving in the country they are approached by Colonel Finley of the New Zealand Defence Force, who is seeking Australian guerrillas to act as guides for Kiwi SAS units which are being dropped into occupied Australian territory to act as guerrillas. The group agrees reluctantly, and returns to Wirrawee accompanied by a platoon of crack special forces troops.

The SAS troops go missing while on a mission to destroy Wirrawee Airfield (which was being used as a major military airbase), and while searching for them, Ellie's group is spotted and forced to flee. Lee had been guiding the group of New Zealand soldiers, and gets separated from the main group on the night of the planned attack.

Retreating, they decide to take shelter in their old high school rather than going all the way back to Hell, and after reuniting with Lee, he passes on information about their parents to them and tells them his own parents were killed due to them having an argument with a guard at the show ground. This happened in front of Lee's siblings, who are still being held at the show ground, being looked after by other adults still imprisoned and trapped there. After his parents die he becomes emotionally colder and more independent. He also starts to put others in danger, possibly because he doesn't value his life very much.

When he passes on this information, he reveals that one of them (Fi) may be able to see her parents, which results in a clandestine reunion between Mr & Mrs Maxwell and their daughter in the botanical gardens fernery not too far from the high school. They can only speak for about twenty minutes- as long as Fi's parents are allowed for their lunch- and Ellie is unsure if the reunion is a good thing or not.

Around the same time, Lee takes Ellie to the local cemetery, where he points out to her Corrie's grave- Corrie had died a few months earlier, presumably while the rest of the group were in New Zealand. Ellie seems to have a minor breakdown, and turns to Lee for comfort.

The group uses a two-pronged attack against the local airfield (which had been the target of the SAS unit), one plan trying to destroy the airfield outright, and another to sabotage the planes by putting sugar in their fuel. However, a combination of ill-planning, over-confidence, and bad luck cause both their plans to fail, and are forced to flee back to Hell.

The group then makes radio contact with Colonel Finley in New Zealand, who tells them that they have no chance of extraction and will have to return to their old life in occupied territory (camping in Hell).

Burning For Revenge (1997)

File:Burning For Revenge Front Cover.JPG

#5 - 2001 Edition cover

While on a scouting mission, the group hide in enemy trucks to avoid being spotted. After a dark and uncomfortable journey they discover to their shock that they have been transported right into the airfield. They decide to attack the airfield (instead of trying to escape), which would in most cases lead to their deaths. Luckily, security is lax within the airfield, as they did not expect an attack from the inside.

They stage an attack by stealing two trucks, driving them into position, and destroying several fuel trucks by shooting them. The resulting explosions, chain explosions, and fire destroys nearly every plane on the airfield and some of the buildings, dealing a significant blow to the enemy's air force, clearing the skies and creating a crucial bombing opportunity for the New Zealanders.

They make their escape in one of the stolen trucks, and after evading their pursuers, they miraculously slip out of the district by going down to the river, and drifting downstream to the nearby city of Stratton. Here they discover a tribe of feral (and hostile) children (they even dare to mug the group), who have been living on the streets and hiding from enemy troops since the war began.

Ellie also notes that Lee is frequently away from the hide-out within Stratton, and after following him, she is shocked and hurt to see that Lee has established a secret relationship with an enemy teenage girl named Reni). The book concludes with Lee falling into a trap designed to bring about his capture, and his subsequent rescue by Ellie. Ellie saves Lee from capture, but she is in no way inclined to forgive Lee and their relationship, both friendly and romantic, really begins to suffer.

The Night Is For Hunting (1998)

File:The Night is for Hunting Front Cover.JPG

#6 - 2000 Edition cover

The group, while assisting the small bunch of feral children, are discovered by an enemy patrol. They take five of the children (Gavin, Natalie, Casey, Jack and Darina) and escape back to Hell. The children do not trust them, and their leader, Gavin (who is deaf), convinces the others to try to escape into the bush. Ellie and the group manage to track them down, but not before Darina dies of dehydration. They convince the children that they will be safer with the teenagers in Hell than anywhere else, and, exhausted, the children give in.

To make the kids happy, they decide to celebrate Christmas - which will necessitate a raid on an occupied farmhouse to get supplies. Homer, Ellie, Gavin and Fi are captured but manage to escape (breaking through a car boot and riding a motorbike straight through the farmhouse in the process), and return to Hell to celebrate a happy Christmas. After Christmas, they also establish an informal school, with Lee teaching Arts and Music, Kevin teaching Science, Homer teaching Maths and Ellie and Fi teaching English.

They soon discover, however, that their attack on the airfield made them an ultra-high priority target for occupying forces, and a group of soldiers tracking them near Hell ambushes them. After a comparatively long (compared to other head-to-head encounters with enemy groups) fire fight, the group realises that they are no longer safe in Hell any more, and make contact with New Zealand immediately.

The Other Side Of Dawn (1999)

File:The Other Side of Dawn Front Cover.JPG

#7 - 1st Edition front cover, 1999

The group makes contact with Colonel Finley, who sends them a lone NZ SAS soldier named Ryan. Ryan tells them that their armies (New Zealand and Australian) have been planting "misinformation", trying to make the enemy think that they are weakening, that they are losing heart. In reality, they are preparing for one final push, but it could go either way. When the weather is right, D-Day, the combined Australian and New Zealand counter attack, will commence. This final assault is the one they have all their hopes pinned on, and while the troops are battling on the front line, he wants them to cause as much damage and chaos as possible. Similar behind-the-lines groups in other occupied areas have been given the same task.

He gives them plastic explosives and after an intensive instruction, tells them to continue their guerrilla attacks. Ellie's group also manages to convince him to take the kids back to New Zealand with him, as they would hinder their movement. Ryan grudgingly agrees, and the kids are loaded onto a helicopter with him in the middle of the night. Gavin, however, refuses to go, and is nowhere in sight until the helicopter leaves. He says he was "lost", and ends up staying with the teenagers.

The group moves off to the town of Cavendish, stopping over in Stratton on the way and injuring/killing several soldiers in motorbike patrols. The group then attacks a petrol station, which serves as a hub for all the convoys passing through, and are separated while fleeing. Ellie jumps on board a train and manages to destroy it and the train tracks with the remaining plastic explosives, but it is packed full of soldiers who pursue her into the bush. She is shot in the leg, and captured.

While in a prison hospital Ellie is told that Lee, Kevin, Homer, and Fi were all killed while trying to escape the petrol station and she despairs, but takes heart in the fact that Gavin's name was not mentioned. She is sent to Camp 23, a labour camp, where she uses the false name, Amber Faudling. Later, her true identity as one of the partisans is revealed, putting her life in danger. She manages to escape however, and heads towards the place she thinks her mum is being held captive. She manages to enter the area her mum is living in during the confusion caused when a radio broadcast reveals the war is over. However the guards say it hasn't been confirmed and everyone is to stay in the flats. Ellie sleeps with her mother who isn't in very good shape for one night. When she wakes the war is over- Australia signed a peace treaty with the occupying power, resulting in the formation of a new nation on the continent (a theme further explored in the Ellie Chronicles).

Ellie's life returns to a semblance of normality on her old farm (which is right on the border with the new nation). Although both her parents survived, she is saddened by the death of her friends. The novel takes an upbeat turn when it is discovered that they had survived, and had been placed in a high security prison along with Gavin, and most of the New Zealand commandos who went missing. Her friends return to their old lives as well, more or less. Lee moves to Stratton with his siblings and takes up an accelerated course, Fi moves to Stratton with her family and Kevin moves to New Zealand to do school talks; Gavin moves in with Ellie on her farm (his single parent believed killed during the war, and the whereabouts of his sister still unknown). Ellie continues her life as a farmer.

Characters

Ellie Linton is the story's main protagonist and the series' narrator. Ellie also gradually becomes the group's leader. Ellie is the brave, strong leader. She has good ideas and her farm upbringing has given her many skills, notably her driving.

Corrie Mackenzie is Ellie's very best friend, her mate, who she had done everything with since she was a toddler and who she plans on doing everything with when they leave school.

Homer Yannos was famous in the Wirrawee district prior to the invasion for his pranks and often dangerous antics, many of which Ellie reflects on during the series; however, when the war comes, he reveals himself as a strong leader. He guides the group almost single-handedly through the first book and early in the second book.

Lee is an introverted, part-Thai part Vietnamese Asian Australian. He is Ellie's primary love interest, although their relationship was a highly turbulent one. Lee is left with the burden of caring for his siblings due to the loss of his parents.

Robyn Mathers is a devout Christian and a very close friend of Ellie's. She is athletic and good at sports. Robyn is incredibly brave and strong

Fiona Maxwell, or Fi, is pretty, "posh" and knows virtually nothing about camping or living in the bush, but is neither spoiled nor unkind. Fiona is a child of privilege, with both parents practicing as solicitors, with whom she lives on the "upper class" part of Wirrawee. She and Homer start a romantic relationship in the first book but it soon cools off as the war intensifies.

Kevin Holmes is an aggressive and big-talking boy from a Wirrawee property, though he often backs down in the face of danger.

The Ellie Chronicles

While I Live

The first book in the Ellie Chronicles, While I Live, was released in 2003. Ellie's parents are killed early in the book, and it deals with her attempts to keep the family farm running, warding off both developers and enemy militia crossing over the new border to attack Australian citizens. The nation which invaded is still not specified, nor is it said how much and what areas of the continent the new nation controls.

Incurable

Incurable (released on November 1, 2005), is the second book in the Ellie Chronicles, which continues with Ellie Linton's struggle to handle life with Gavin and without her parents. Incurable features Gavin more prominently than the previous novel, with more of his past unveiled while the two of them evade death a number of times. Ellie is trying to be recognised as Gavin's legal guardian, which results in some uncomfortable encounters with local authorities. While handling Gavin, the farm and school, Ellie also participates in a raid with Liberation, a guerrilla group which raids the new foreign settlement, consisting of original characters like Homer and Lee, and new locals added to the story.

Circle of Flight

The third book in the Ellie Chronicles, Circle of Flight, was released on November 1, 2006. It follows Ellie after Gavin is taken from the Linton Farm by vigilante soldiers from across the border. After receiving little help from the Wirrawee police, Ellie calls on the intelligence of Liberation to aid her in finding Gavin, before once again having him taken away from her by the Australian Government. The book deals with Ellie's struggling relationship with Jeremy, her decisions about her future, and the revelation of the identity of the Scarlet Pimple. By the end of the book, she not only regains custody of Gavin, but also reignites a very important relationship with Lee from earlier in the Tomorrow series.

Locations

Some locations described in the series are based closely on a number of real life Australian places mainly in the Alpine National Park in Victoria. Other locations are a pastiche of various typical Australian places. Among the identifiable areas, it is known that Marsden based the fictitious locations of Tailor's Stitch, Hell and Satan's Steps on actual locations in Victoria, The Crosscut Saw, Terrible Hollow and the Devil's Staircase respectively. The mountains of Wombegonoo and Mount Martin are known to be based roughly on Mount Speculation and Mount Howitt. The Wirrawee bridge they blow up in the first book is based loosely on the long wooden bridge across the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai in NSW.

International publication and reception

The series, while best known in Australia, has also found success in other countries. In Sweden, the first title was selected as the world's most likely book to inspire young people to read, prompting 100,000 free copies to be released for distribution among Swedish young people . The Third Day, the Frost, won the Buxtehude Bulle, a German award, regarded as one of the world's most coveted prizes for young peoples' books.

The books are not as well known in North America as they are in Europe, as only the first three books were available in paperback from US publisher Dell. However, in June 2006, major publisher Scholastic announced it had acquired the rights to both the original series and the later "Ellie Chronicles". It has since reissued all seven titles from the original series as well as the first two books in the Ellie Chronicles series.

Marsden's manager, Jill Grinberg, is now reselling the publishing rights in countries where the rights have reverted as well as attempting to sell them into new markets. She has stated that the rights have been sold in Japan to a publisher for a "six-figure deal".

Films

In June 2009, Screen Australia announced that it will fund the development of the feature film Tomorrow When The War Began, written and directed by screenwriter Stuart Beattie (Australia, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), and produced by Andrew Mason for Ambience Entertainment, reportedly to begin production in late 2009.

It was announced that actress Caitlin Stasey (who formerly played Rachel Kinski in the soap "Neighbours") will be playing the lead, Ellie Linton, in the film.

See Also

• Tomorrow, When the War Began

External links

• Movies (Film news fansite)
• Welcome to Wirrawee (Australian Fansite)