Tomorrow Series, Ellie Chronicles - John Marsden

The Tomorrow Series I feel I haven't given John Marsden's Tomorrow series the due it deserves. It is hard to write enough to explain the story without giving any of the key points of the plot away. Marsden does a great job of telling an engaging story and including the pain, fear, and triumph of a band of teenagers fighting a war for their country - Australia. Ellie Linton and her friends - Fi, Homer, Lee, Corrie, and Kevin - convince their parents to let them go camping over school break, skipping the Commemoration Day festivities. They are gone for five days to a camp site deep in the bush. When they return, first to Ellie's place, her parents are missing and all of the animals have died. They check each kid's home on the way into town -Wirrawee. And each looks the same. No sign that anyone returned from the Commen Day fair at the Showgrounds. Once they get into Wirrawee, they begin to see evidence of soldiers - and not Australian soldiers. Ellie and her friends know instinctively to keep hidden. They collect supplies and head back to their camp to decide what to do. After realising that they are on their own, the group decides to do what they can to fight back. And for the seven books of the series, the group of friends sneak, fight, scavenge, hide, run, sabotage, and find out what is important in life - at a time when so much has been stripped away from their normal way of life that they took for granted for so long. This is an intense look at war through the eyes of Ellie as she writes about her experiences through the invasion of her country. It is well written, with many lessons to teach. "It seems like suffering's the only time we can see what's essential. If peace ever comes back I'm making a vow: I'll design myself special glasses. They'll block out whether people are fat or thin or beautiful or weird-looking, whether they have pimples or birthmarks or different coloured skin. They'll do everything suffering's done for us, but without the pain. I'm going to wear those glasses for the rest of my life." The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden: 1 - Tomorrow, When the War Began 2 - The Dead of Night 3 - A Killing Frost 4 - Darkness Be My Friend 5 - Burning for Revenge 6 - The Night is for Hunting 7 - The Other Side of Dawn The Ellie Chronicles This series is followed by The Ellie Chronicles. The war has ended in a peace settlement that has left many people who used to spread across the continent of Australia, crammed into only part of the land. All Ellie wants is for life to get back to normal - living on the farm with her parents, feeding animals, going to school... However, it looks like the story has some other plans for her. She may yet need the skills she acquired in the war to protect her family farm. The Ellie Chronicles: 1 - While I Live 2 - Incurable 3 - Circle of Flight