Mum is a rehab counselor for people with alcohol problems. Grandma Raynor lives next door. Dad is a driver for Elgas. Then theres me, fifteen, into a lot of different stuff. Music, surfing, animals, tennis, swimming, computer games. And my sister, Claire, and brother Toby. Were a typical Australian family. Barbeques, footy, gardening, school, Holden Commodores . Then one day things change.
April 26, Dad burns the toast, yells at Toby, thanks me for cleaning the cab of the truck, kisses Mum and Toby, then hes gone .
April 27, the war starts .
May 21, the citys in ruins, blackouts nearly all the time, food is hard to find .
September 13, Dads hears news of a boat. We might get out of here yet .
September 28, its just after dawn. A boat from their Navy has found us. We wave and cry and cheer. But then, slowly, we realise they are shouting at us, telling us to go away .
September 30, we are in a huge prison, with razor wire all around us. The government says theres no room for us. The Prime Minister says that if they let us out into the community itll just encourage other illegal immigrants. The Deputy Prime Minister says were not genuine refugees. The Minister for Immigration says we should have gone through the proper procedures and applied to come here the prescribed way. Apparently there was a queue or a waiting list or something, and we were meant to find an Immigration Office and put our names down to be considered. I guess theyre right. I feel terrible about the trouble weve caused them.
About the Author
John Marsden (Author)
John Marsden is Australias most popular writer of young adult fiction. His books have sold more than a million copies worldwide and he has won, or been short-listed for, every major award for young adult literature in Australia, including the Childrens Book Council of Australia Book of the Year, the National Childrens Book awards and numerous childrens choice awards. The gripping war series, which began with TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, has broken all sales records for young adult fiction and was recently released as a feature film. SO MUCH TO TELL YOU, originally published in 1987, was his first young adult novel.
Matt Ottley (Illustrator)
Matt Ottley is one of Australias most acclaimed childrens author/illustrators and his works have been translated into several languages. He also works as a composer and musician. Matts works include WHAT FAUST SAW, LUKES WAY OF LOOKING (CBCA Honour Book, 2000), REQUIEM FOR A BEAST (CBCA Picture Book of the Year and Queensland Premiers Award for YA Fiction 2008), HOME AND AWAY (CBCA Honour Book 2009) and PARACHUTE (CBCA Honour Book 2014).
