Tomorrow, When the War Began

Tomorrow Series #1

By: John Marsden

Narrated by: Suzi Dougherty

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

While Ellie and her friends are away in the bush, the world changes. Suddenly they are in the toughest situations humans can confront, facing life and death decisions. They are thrown into a world where they find courage, initiative, spirit, and wisdom, or they die.

The first of an enormously popular series that has been translated and published all over the world.

Don't miss the other titles in John Marsden's Tomorrow series.

©1995 Jomden Pty Ltd. (P)1999, 2001 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd, by arrangement with Jomden Pty Ltd.

Critic reviews

"A gripping tale, told with Marsden's customary incisiveness." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fast-paced and provocative, it's a natural for book talking." (School Library Journal)

Could not finish.

I enjoy reading some teen and young adult fiction but this was not all that interesting. I felt that the characters were over developed at the expense of a good story. I gave up with three hours to go.

Engaging read about war and survival in Australia

This is the first book in the Tomorrow series by Marsden. There are seven books in that series and all have been released. This was a well done and engaging book about survival and war.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was really well done. I would definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

The book is about a group of teens who go out to hike the bush in Australia during school break. When they come back they find that their small Australian town has been taken over by a hostile enemy force. The teens struggle to figure out what has happened without getting captured themselves and also work to survive in this new hostile world.

I really enjoyed the characters and the mystery. This story pretty much just introduces the issue and the characters. The reader slowly finds out more about this hostile group, but much of what is happening remains a mystery.

A lot of the story involves the teens as they struggle with how to deal with the future and survive. Both their struggle with longer term issues (food, water, shelter) and short term issues (not getting captured and getting along with each other).

Marsden writes the story in a way that conveys a lot of urgency and is very engaging. Parts of the book had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath wondering what would happen next. There is a lot of interesting survival stuff in here as well. Which is something I always find interesting and enjoy reading about.

Nothing is wrapped up in this book, but I enjoyed it enough that I will probably continue reading the series.

Overall this was a very engaging and exciting story. There is a lot of action, survival skills, and mystery. I would recommend to those who enjoy fast-paced books about apocalyptic events, war, and/or survival. This book doesn’t really resolve anything but it does an excellent job of setting the story up. I enjoyed it enough that I will probably continue reading the series.

Decent listen

I'll get around to the rest of the series at some point, but I dont feel compelled to do so just yet.

loved it

I enjoyed every minute of the story and performance. Have listened to it twice and will probably listen again some time in the future.

I so love this series. Great read

This is my second time reading this series. It never gets old. On to the next book now. Great job to the narrator!

Tomorrow, When the War Began

Our family, including two boys, age 12 and 14, really enjoyed this book on a long summer road trip. The narrator is superb and the story is engaging with great character development.

great author, great narration excellent voice

the voice and accent drew me in to the story. she captured my attention with her enthusiasm and her passion.

This is NOT a Red Dawn look a like!

If you could sum up Tomorrow, When the War Began in three words, what would they be?

Intense, action packed, and absorbing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Tomorrow, When the War Began?

When they venture into town for the first time after coming home from the bush.

What about Suzi Dougherty’s performance did you like?

I liked the voices she used for the different characters, you could really tell who was talking at any given time.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What would you do?

Any additional comments?

So many people have likened this to the 80's classic Red Dawn and just isn't. This goes beyond Red Dawn in so many ways.
I saw the movie, Tomorrow, When The War Began, first decided I really needed to find out if there was a sequel. Found John Marsden, and that there were all these books just waiting for me.
Red Dawn never made me this interested in finding out if there was more to the story.
I listened to the Tomorrow series straight through, then listened to the Ellie Chronicles and now I've restarted listening to them all over again, right after I'd finished the series the first time.
It is a wonderful series full of every emotion and action packed.

Fantastic series...

What made the experience of listening to Tomorrow, When the War Began the most enjoyable?

Extensive car travel with three teen sons! Audible saved our lives every time and the John Marsden series is a series we will always remember. The stories were riveting with great character development and tension a plenty and Suzie Dougherty's reading excellent.

What did you like best about this story?

That it appealed to adults and younsters alike.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story line stirres all emotions. The characters have great successes and terrible tragedies which kept us involved from start to finish with every book.

Any additional comments?

The boys still talk about it. A+++++

Interesting, but a bit tedious

We bought this title to listen to with our 2 teenaged sons. They liked it a lot, particularly when the action was going on. But at times the character whose viewpoint we are hearing from becomes tedious. She goes on a bit long as she tries to examine the relationships among the book's characters. In fairness, we have purchased the 2nd title and are enjoying it as well, although the same criticism applies to it. In my opinion, that's what makes it a 4 and not 5.