"Ellie and her friends are back in this fifth volume of Marsden’s adventure series . . . If your library owns volumes one through four, this is a must buy. If you haven’t yet discovered Marsden’s writing, it is well worth investigating." —School Library Journal (10/00) School Library Journal
"The adventure, the sense of isolation, and the touch of sophisticated romance will draw readers of both genders to this well-crafted novel and others in the series." —Booklist (10/1/00) Booklist, ALA
"Poignant. Something for everyone." —Kirkus Review 10/01/00 Kirkus Reviews
"Teens who are inured to the visceral thrills delivered by a big screen and Dolby surround sound just may be convinced by Marsden’s latest that humble print on paper can conjure the same edge-of the-seat delights." —The Bulletin (11/00) The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The story is gripping, the action is riveting, and the characters are intelligent. . . . . Readers of the previous novels will grab this installment eagerly." —VOYA (10/00) VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
This is the latest book in the successful series, Tomorrow, When the War Began. A small group of Australian teenagers continue to be engaged in guerrilla warfare against the nameless invaders of their homeland. One of the group, Ellie, narrates the action as the friends find a way to blow up an important airfield. Usually what happens is the group (five of them now) decide they can't stand inaction if only because they are so miserable, so they exit their safe area and then events dictate their making quick decisions, usually violent ones, to save themselves and to strike against the enemy. From the first book, the teenagers realize that the horror and violence are having an effect on their very personalities, on who they are. In this book, they encounter children who have been living on their own, surviving as best they can in an abandoned suburbchildren who have by now become savage creatures with little memory of "civilized" behavior. The teenagers are now realizing that even when the war is over, when the invaders are expelled, it will be difficult to build up the way of life they knew before the war, because everyone will be different, including themselves. The action is excitingthere is one close call after another. The split decisions that are forced upon them, with Ellie feeling the burden of being the catalyst in the group, are truly amazing. Good escape fiction for YAs who like actionespecially action with teenagers in charge of their own lives. KLIATT Codes: JSRecommended for junior and senior high school students. 1997, Houghton Mifflin, 263p, 98-51986, $15.00. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; November 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 6)
If you haven't read Marsden's first book of this series, Tomorrow, When the War Began, this second book is hard to get into. Who are these kids? What are they fighting? Who is the enemy? Who, if anyone, are the allies? But persevere through the first few short chapters and you'll no longer care about any of these questions. You are caught up in the story, and even winning isn't important anymoreyou just want Ellie, Fi, Kevin, Homer and Lee to survive. These five Australian teenagers have already seen parents and friends die, and while they mourn those they will never see again, they have not given up on their own lives. Whether they blow up an airfield, swim miles and miles to a town that might turn out to be dangerous, or fight off enemy soldiers, they are smart and resourceful and they protect each other as well as themselves. Every once in a while, they remember that they are teenagers and their lives get a little complicated by romance, but nothing is graphic, and their language is consistently clean. Australian slang is clearly explained in an "Aussie glossary," to which the reader can refer if confused. A real page-turner. 2000, Houghton Mifflin, $15.00. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Judy Silverman
The five Australian freedom fighters in Marsden's Tomorrow, When the War Began seriesEllie, Fi, Lee, Homer, and Kevinare burning for revenge, both literally and figuratively. Hiding out in a camp called Hell, they are surrounded by enemy forces, with little hope for rescue. Abandoned by their ally, the New Zealand army, Lee encourages the group to continue the guerilla raids, partly to avenge the death of his parents and partly out of boredom. Kevin appears to be having a breakdown. Ellie, Fi, and Homer follow Lee because they believe in their cause and feel that the group should stick together. When they stumble across the Wirrawee airfield, an enemy stronghold, the urge to destroy it is too great to resist, in spite of the tremendous risk. Explosions, death, and flames abound as the five teenagers succeed in their mission before moving on to other targets. As in previous series titlesTomorrow, When the War Began (Houghton Mifflin, 1995/VOYA August 1995), The Dead of Night (1997/VOYA February 1998), A Killing Frost (1998/VOYA June 1998), and Darkness Be My Friend (1999/VOYA October 1999)the story is told from Ellie's point of view. Although the attack situations might stretch credibilitythese teens should be long deadthe story is gripping, the action is riveting, and the characters are intelligent. The hopes and fears of the group and their struggle to survive in a world of chaos add poignant elements to the novel. Readers of the previous novels will grab this installment eagerly. It is not necessary to have read previous titles to follow Burning, but many references will be missed. As in the other titles, Marsden includes a glossary of Australianterms. Glossary. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2000 (orig. 1998), Houghton Mifflin, 272p, $15. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Judy Sasges
SOURCE: VOYA, October 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 4)
Gr 8 Up-"If only our country hadn't been invaded." Ellie and her friends are back in this fifth volume of Marsden's adventure series that started with Tomorrow, When the War Began (Houghton, 1995). Having orchestrated several harrowing guerrilla attacks on the enemy, the five teens find themselves inside the enemy-held Wirrawee Airfield, outnumbered by hundreds of trained and heavily armed soldiers. Their decision to inflict as much damage as possible sounds like a suicide mission, but these gutsy teens pull off a brutal attack and escape worthy of a Hollywood movie. The action is fast paced and heart stopping, and the characters are so believable that readers forget that the story is fiction. Although Marsden's description of warfare and death is explicit, it is necessary to make his story real. Ellie, the narrator, is thoughtful, resilient, brave, and yet totally human. The other characters are equally intriguing; teenagers will readily identify with their fears and emotions. Fans of this incredibly suspenseful and riveting series will not be disappointed. If your library owns volumes one through four, this is a must buy. If you haven't yet discovered Marsden's writing, it is well worth investigat-ing.-Susie Paige, Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
The fifth and latest in Marsden's series about a group of Australian teenagers who find themselves in the middle of a war follows the adolescent guerrilla fighters as they try to survive in an Australia occupied by enemy forces, while inflicting some damage on the enemy along the way. The five kids (who in the first book, Tomorrow, When the War Began, had returned home from a camping trip to find their country occupied and their families gone) have now become fairly experienced soldiers. Although the five are in theory backed up by adult soldiers, the grownups have been out of touch for so long that the teenagers are virtually on their own. Deciding that they have to try and do something, even if there is not much chance of success and even if it means being discovered by the enemy soldiers, the group plans to infiltrate an enemy airfield and blow it up. Miraculously, the group succeeds, and, even more miraculously, they all come out of the experience alive. Between the day-to-day struggle for survival and the desire for revenge that they feel, the personality of each character emerges, displaying moments of bravery, as well as fear, despair, jealousy, and even pettiness. A fascinating portrayal of the dynamics that occur within a group whose members are dependent on each other, this is part survival, part adventure, and part war tale, with plenty of undercurrents of romance and hints of sexual tension thrown into the mix. It is exciting, dramatic, and laced with violence, while also capturing the drudgery and boredom that is part of the group's daily life. The contrast between the difficult lives they now lead and their former comfortable and peaceful lives as normal Australianteenagersis especially poignant. Something for everyone. (Fiction. 12-16) McCully, Emily Arnold MIRETTE & BELLINI CROSS NIAGARA FALLS Illus. by the author Putnam (32 pp.) Oct. 2000