Tomorrow When The War Began Essay

Ellie and her friends all decide they want to go on a camping trip.

They packed up the truck, said good bye to their mums and dads and left to go to the hills for a few days. When they come home their lives have been rearranged and turned inside out as their country was invaded and has now been thrown into a war. Their parents have all been taken so its only the 7 of them left.

The ideas worth learning about in this novel were how the teenagers were forced to grow up quickly and the changes the characters go through.

The first idea I found interesting in the novel was the teenagers being required to become adults and more mature than they would have to have been in there normal lives. This forced them to grow up and think more in depth about their actions, it also made them become very mature as they know that if they make the wrong decision that they could either be captured or killed. I know that if I was put into this situation I would not be able to handle the pressure of becoming an adult so quickly. The quote Weve got to become completely nocturnal and triple-check everyone, we should get more supplies and make it a proper headquarters, organising rations and living off the land This shows the character Homer is very serious about the situation and knows that they need to be organised and prepared in order for them to survive. Which is a very big transformation from the immature little boy described by Ellie in the quote The guy who wasnt even trusted to hand out the books for school.

The character I found interesting in this novel was Ellie. I could relate to Ellie as a character because she likes to control situations and have a say on what happens and how they happen, she is outspoken and doesnt care what people think of her which is a characteristic I know that I have. But I dont think I could be as unemotional as she is throughout the book. I started this book off not being able to relate to the characters because they all live on farms but as the book went on I found that Ellies personality gradually became more and more like mine. Her character develops into a complex thinker the author shows this in the quote Hell wasnt anything to do with places, Hell was all to do with people. Maybe Hell was people.

Another idea I found important was the change the characters have through in the book. The quote Weve all had to rewrite the scripts of our lives these last few weeks shows the physiological change felt by the characters. By this idea I think that the author is showing the change in the mentality of the characters and by saying script it is showing the maturity and depth of the thought Ellie is having. The change in the character makes the book more relevant to everyday life because we all will and have gone through changes that make us who we are today and will most likely alter the way we look at a situation or our outlook on life. The portrayal of the terror felt in the warzone made me think of Iraq and how they would be physiologically damaged having to think every plane; every loud noise could be death awaiting them.

The setting of the book is intriguing because it is set in a place called Hell. This is where the 7 teenagers go to camp for the week. The name Hell makes it sound like an ugly, dry, twisted and repulsive place but as they travel deeper into the wasteland it becomes beautiful with lush green trees, and a little stream that they explore. The descriptions of Hell made me want to climb into the book and go there to see it for myself.

I enjoyed this book because it has so many twists and turns and you never know if someone is going to get shot captured or injured. I never wanted to put it down. It has humour, imagination and really makes you stop and think about war and how many people it truly affects. Whether it is children whose parents have died or parents whose children have been taken from them you see the horror everywhere surrounding everyone like a big dark cloud damping a sunny day. We are so lucky to be living in New Zealand where we dont have half the problems of other countries all over the world.

I would recommend this novel to teenagers who enjoy fiction that keeps you hanging on the edge of your seat making you wonder when the next twist is coming along. Tomorrow when the war began is such a good book and I enjoyed it so much that Im going to read the rest in the series of 7.