A master storyteller, John Marsden is Australia's best known writer for young adults. Marsden first found success with the publication of So Much To Tell You. Since then he has gone on to publish many popular and well-recognized titles, including those in the Tomorrow Series and The Ellie Chronicles. In his books, Marsden explores adolescents caught in a world of opposites, of innocence and guilt, idealism and realism, and joy and despair. Marsden's world view and his faith in adolescents serve as the backdrop for John Noell Moore's critical readings of Marsden's major novels. In John Marsden: Darkness, Shadow, and Light, Moore investigates the full spectrum of Marsden's work, beginning with the author's life as a teacher and writer. Throughout the book, Moore weaves together Marsden's recurring themes, chief among them writing and storytelling as ways of constructing identity in the transition from childhood to adulthood and the ability of young adults to endure hardships and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. The book is a valuable addition to the current scholarship on young adult literature and will be welcomed by middle and high school English teachers and students alike.
I found Ellie's voice quite unexpectedly, as I drove back from the tip one Saturday afternoon. I was in an old Landrover, just 500 metres from home, and suddenly I could hear Ellie talking... " In his fiction John Marsden explores the lives of the guilty, the inarticulate, the crazy, the brave and the resourceful. Read about his ideas and his experiences in Marsden on Marsden - a frank, behind-the-scenes look at what John was really thinking about when he wrote books like "Letters from the Inside" and the internationally acclaimed Tomorrow Series.
Well-known Australian author discusses his thoughts when he was writing his popular children's novels such as 'So Much to Tell You', 'Letters from the Inside' and tne Tomorrow series. Gives details of the sources and inspiration for his novels and describes the way in which they developed. The author's other publications include 'Take My Word for It' and 'The Great Gatenby'.
The follow-up to the bestselling Tomorrow series BOOK 2 IN THE ELLIE CHRONICLES TRILOGY "Addictive reading" Sydney Morning Herald "Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian Packed full of action and high-drama, John Marsden delivers another fast-paced adventure that will thrill old fans and new readers alike. "I held my line. I knew from the war, if not from shooting rabbits, that we were safe enough for the first moments. It is too impossible to hit a target like us from a helicopter that's rocking and rolling and trying to find its target. But maybe this guy had new equipment or maybe he was a brilliant shot or maybe he was just plain lucky. Bullet holes tore through the ute like a huge metal-punch was suddenly and roughly slamming a simultaneous line of them from our rear to our front." Ellie has struggled to put the war behind her and lead a normal life. Although what's normal about your parents having been murdered; trying to run a farm and go to school; and bringing up a young boy who's hiding terrible secrets about his past? Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.
Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian She has parents, a brother, friends and a dog. Sometimes the dog seems like the only one she can trust. Her life is about to fall apart. The dog is Checkers. The book is unforgettable. Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.
The author of A Killing Frost continues his bestselling series. “Marsden’s style is as surefooted as his independent band of teens.”—School Library Journal Ellie and her friends had been rescued. Airlifted out of their own country to the safe haven of New Zealand, they’d arrived burnt and injured and shocked, with broken bones, and scars inside and out. They did not want to go back. But five months later the war is not over, the nightmares continue, and there are two compelling reasons for them to return: a planned sabotage of the air base in Wirrawee and, most important, the families they left behind. In this episode of the tale begun in Tomorrow, When the War Began and continued in The Dead of Night and A Killing Frost, John Marsden takes us back to Hell, the outpost for a group of teens in a war-ravaged country. “Ellie is a solid narrator whose no-nonsense approach to love, war, and friendship makes her an unusual and impressive female protagonist. A personalized war novel that is apocalyptic yet open-ended enough for another sequel, Darkness benefits from not being limited to fitting into any one genre, but satisfactorily including aspects of several.”—Booklist “Contains as much riveting suspense and cliffhanger chapter endings as the first three.”—The Horn Book
From John Marsden, the highly-acclaimed and bestselling author of Secret Men's Business, comes a practical guide to help single mothers enjoy and celebrate raising their sons. Drawing on his years as teacher and mentor to young people, John Marsden follows the child from baby to young man and identifies 101 important steps in fostering a boy's developing masculinity. Written with humour and compassion, John understands what it means to be a boy and how to help a boy grow into a well-adjusted man. RECENT STATISTICS from the Australian Bureau of Statistics: - Out of Australia's 4.6 million children aged under eighteen, 1.1 million children live with only one of their natural parents, usually as a result of relationship or marriage breakdown. - The vast majority of children, who had a natural parent living elsewhere, were in the sole care of the parent with whom they lived, while 3 per cent of children had parents who shared care more evenly between them. - In April 1997, there were 978,000 Australian children who were living with one natural parent and who had a natural parent living elsewhere. The vast majority (88%) lived with their natural mother in either one-parent families (68%) or in step or blended families (20%).
With Tomorrow, When the War Began, John Marsden wrote the most powerful novel for teenagers ever published in this country. Now he has written the most powerful non-fiction work ever made available to young men. Where Steve Biddulph's bestselling Raising Boys talks to parents and teachers, Secret Men's Business talks to young men themselves, in the way that only John Marsden can. It sets out, in direct, honest language, the things every young man needs to know... And the things young men aren't being told. Young men who read this book will learn how to be strong, how to be honest, how to confront their fears. They'll understand how to deal with men and women, parents and teachers, male friends and female friends. They'll get a sense of the integrity that every true man needs. They'll find ways to resolve problems without being destructive or self-destructive. They'll have their questions about sex answered... In clear, straightforward language. As John Marsden says: "In one way all you have to do to become a man is to stay alive. Physically you'll grow into a man. But to become a man who is mature, independent, responsible and wise, you'll need to do more than just have birthdays.
James, a strange, silent boy, makes the acquaintance of old Mr. Woodford, a physicist who constructs a mysterious black box, but when the box comes into the boy's possession, it draws him into a magical and dangerous world, in and out of time.
From Hell to Stratton isn’t an easy trip, especially when the enemy’s headquarters lies somewhere in between. And that’s exactly where Ellie and her friends unwillingly find themselves—smack in the middle of the Wirrawee airfield. With only five of them against hundreds of armed soldiers, escape seems like a suicide mission. The odds aren’t good, and Kevin’s nervous breakdown isn’t helping matters. Ellie and her compatriots are back, battling to stay alive and struggling to stay together in John Marsden’s latest book in the TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN series. High-speed truck chases, unexpected river journeys, and treachery by one of their own are just a few of the problems these Australian teens face in this gritty tale of war and survival.
John Marsden is not just one of Australia's most successful writers of all time; he's also one of our best teachers of writing. "Highly recommended" Sun Herald "The most exciting, interesting and useful book on the teaching of writing" Australian English Teacher The ultimate "get off your bum and do it" book, Everything I Know About Writing will motivate anyone to write. It's a lively, funny guide to writing, as readable as a novel, but packed front to back with ideas and insights. This new edition has one other great feature: 600 extraordinary topics, guaranteed to have you or your students writing before you know it. Everything I Know About Writing is the most painless way into writing - ever.
Is there a geographical centre of Islam? What was Australia’s political crisis in 1975? Are swinging seats found in a playground or in Australian politics? And why is gravity so heavy, man? John Marsden, Australia’s bestselling writer for teenagers, turns his attention to the inside of the human brain and answers these and other vital questions. From Germaine Greer’s politics and the belief systems of Buddhists and Christians to what Harry said when he met Sally and other movie moments that have become myths, The Head Book is an entertaining collection of bite-sized pieces of vital information, wit and wisdom, and interesting and useful facts.
The relationship between two teenage girls who become acquainted through letters intensifies as their correspondence reveals some of the terrible problems of their lives.
We were halfway up the spur when we heard it. Homer and Gavin and I, just the three of us… I’d say there were fifteen shots in the first volley, evenly spaced, lasting about twenty-five seconds… All the way down the spur I’d heard the scattered shots, getting closer as I got closer, and all the way down I tried to think of reasonable explanations for them, and I couldn’t think of a single thing that made sense." The town of Wirrawee is emerging from war, slowly, like a flower after a cold snap. Businesses are starting to reopen, the school has commenced classes once again, and local farmers are gradually repossessing their land. But it's not the same Australia as before the war. A new nation exists just a few miles away, a new border that separates Australia from its invaders. Or does it? For Ellie Linton, being back on the farm with her parents is what makes the terrible things that happened during the war – the things she, Homer, Lee, Fi and the others had to do – all worthwhile. It's where she belongs. But the war won't let her go. A devastating tragedy has shattered any hope she ever had to reclaim her life, or herself. It's a new kind of fight. And the enemy isn't always from the other side of the border.
Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian Lisa Morris could be the girl next door. She could be your cousin. She could be sitting behind you in class. She could be you. But Lisa, cool and beautiful Lisa, remote and private Lisa, has more going on in her life than anyone imagines. Only her journal knows the truth about her life. Only her journal - and you. Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.
Naomi and Nick are staying the night with their friends Sam and Lucy when they hear a sound that disturbs them. A light beneath Sam's bed shows a ladder that leads down, down, down ... into the land of magic. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.
Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian Winter is sixteen. It's time to come home. For twelve years Winter has been haunted. Her past, her memories, her feelings, will not leave her alone. And now, at sixteen, the time has come for her to act. Every journey begins with a single step. If Winter is going to step into the future, she must first step into the past. Winter is an intense, emotionally rich book that you will want to read not just once, but many times. Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.
A book for all people. And all who read it will be changed by the experience. ". . . an extraordinary book. . . I would commend it to everybody." Terry Lane, ABC Radio The Journey is a story of young people in a world so different and yet so like our own. It is a world in which young people must undertake a journey of discovery on their way to becoming adults. Fourteen-year-old Argus sets out on his journey away from his valley and his parents, never knowing what adventure will befall him next. He learns how to survive in the wild until he meets with a travelling fair, which he joins, becoming a friend of Mayon the storyteller, of Lavolta and Parara - twins who share the same body - and many others. But it is with the sweet and wise Temora that he learns some of the deepest secrets. All journeys must find an end. Argus leaves the fair and travels on alone, until his last and greatest adventure beckons him home. There he tells, for the approval of his elders, the seven stories which are now his story. But all is not done. There is one more chapter to be lived out in the story of Argus. Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.
From the multi-award winning and bestselling author of the Tomorrow series It's your first day at your new cool school.By lunchtime you could have gone into the wrong toilets, gatecrashed the staff room, blown up the science block, been hypnotised by the principal, asked for a date, broken every bone in your body. . . It's up to you. You could have felt joy, fear, love, revenge, rage, embarrassment. . . It's up to you. You could have become your school's biggest hero. . . or its biggest loser. . . You make it happen.
The Dane as never seen before -- in a daring, dazzling, sexy prose retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy by best-selling author John Marsden. (Age 14 and up) Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, but Hamlet can’t be sure what’s causing the stench. His rage at his mother’s infidelities -- together with his greed for the sensual Ophelia and his dead father’s call to revenge a "murder most foul" -- have his mind in chaos, and he wants to scatter his traitorous uncle’s insides across the fields. But was it really his father’s ghost that night on the ramparts, or a hell-fiend sent to trick him? "Action is hot," he tells Ophelia, who lives shut up in a tower with her longings and lust. "Action is courage, and reflection is cowardly. Picking up the knife has the colors of truth. As soon as I hesitate. . . ." In this dark, erotically charged, beautifully crafted novel, John Marsden brings one of Shakespeare’s most riveting characters to full-blooded life in a narrative of intense psychological complexity.
The follow-up to the bestselling Tomorrow series BOOK 3 IN THE ELLIE CHRONICLES TRILOGY "Addictive reading" Sydney Morning Herald "Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian "Skilfully paced, brimming with well-rounded characters whom you can believe in" The Age You jam on the brakes and stop the ute right at your front door. You jump out. Not for the first time you run into a house that could be full of guns, with death waiting for you. You don't even think of that until you're crossing the threshold... You already know what you're going to find. Underneath the fear and horror and panic there's a cold realisation that Gavin's body will be somewhere in the house. You can picture what those bullets will have done to his little body It is a time of profound change for Ellie Linton. Enemies are everywhere. Some come crawling over the hills; others drive in and knock on the front door. Sometimes her friends are there and sometimes they are not. Ellie fights every inch of the way. But when courage and imagination are not enough, when she is trapped and helpless, Ellie must face the end of life as she knows it... standing alone, sustained only by her own strength. Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.
The Australian YA adventure trilogy “comes to a thrill-a-minute conclusion as the teen heroes continue their guerrilla tactics against totalitarian foes" (Publishers Weekly). It's been nearly six months since Australia was invaded and Ellie’s life changed forever. Once normal teenagers, she and six of her friends are now trapped in a war zone where every moment is a struggle for survival. Living in the woods to evade capture, Ellie has become an expert in fear, hunger, sickness—and improvised explosives. Ellie and her friends are learning to fight back, attacking the army that stole their land, abducted their families, and destroyed their future. But to wage a war, they must strike their enemy where it hurts—and risk everything they hold dear. Concluding the story that began in Tomorrow, When the War Began and The Dead of Night, John Marsden “offers an unflinching look at living in war-torn Australia” (Kirkus Reviews).
While trying to care for a group of abandoned young children, five Australian teenagers continue their struggle for survival and their resistance against the enemy invading their homeland.
Live what you believe in... die fighting for it.The third day comes a frost... a killing frost.The enemy spreads across the land, cold and relentless. They invade. They destroy. They kill.Only the heroism of Ellie and her friends can stop them.When hot courage meets icy death, who will win through?The Third Day, The Frost is the third volume in the award-winning Tomorrow series.
One of the greatest medieval warriors Harald Sigurdsson, nicknamed Hardrada (Harold the Ruthless or hard ruler) fell in battle in an attempt to snatch the crown of England. The spectacular and heroic career which ended at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on 25 September 1066 had taken Harald from Norway to Russia and Constantinople and saw him gain a kingdom by force and determination rather than right or inheritance. He was one of the most feared rulers in Europe and was first and foremost a professional soldier, who acquired great wealth by plunder and showed no mercy to those he conquered. ' Harald Hardrada: The Warrior's Way' reconstructs a military career spanning three and a half decades and involving encounters with an extraordinary range of allies and enemies in sea-fights and land battles, sieges and viking raids across a variety of theatres of war. John Marsden's superbly researched and powerfully written account takes us from the lands of the Norsemen to Byzantium and the Crusades and makes clear how England moved decisively from three hundred years of exposure to the Scandinavian orbit to a stronger identification with continental Europe following the Norman invasion.
Australia has been invaded. Nothing is as it was. Six teenagers are living out their nightmare in the sanctuary of a hidden valley called Hell. Alone, they make their own rules, protect what is theirs, and struggle for courage and hope in a world changed forever. Seeking supplies, allies, and information, the friends make forays into enemy territory, drawing on nerve and resourcefulness they never even knew they had. As the risks become greater, so too do the sacrifices they must make. Intense, passionate, and compulsive, The Dead of Night continues the frighteningly real story begun in Tomorrow, When the War Began.
Winner of Australia's Book of the Year Award. Set in Australia and written in the form of a diary, this is the tragic story of the effects of divorce and her parents' anger on a young woman's life. "Remarkable...few readers will come away from the portrait of Marina's ordeal unshaken. "--Publishers Weekly
You move into the most boring street in the most boring town in Australia. Tarrawagga is a hole. Its only ambition is to be a crater, and it has every chance of getting there. The last thing you expect is to have action all around you, dangerous strangers in the backyard, and bullets flying past your ears. At your new school, everyone thinks you're the biggest loser in Grade 6. Little do they know. When they realise the truth, teachers and students alike are in for the shock of their life. Funny, gripping and full of surprises, The Year My Life Broke could be the most real book your read this year. WARNING: This book is not a fantasy. It contains no superheroes, wizards, dragons, time - travel, aliens or magic.
Life is a thrilling adventure. Our children get only rare glimpses of the possibilities. To roam, to dare, to fail . . . these are the rights of children. John Marsden, the award-winning, bestselling author of the Tomorrow series, has spent his life educating kids and teenagers. He is passionate about the need to prepare them in all ways for the demands of adulthood. As the founder and principal of two schools - Candlebark and Alice Miller - John has put his theories to the test and seen the empowering results of his methods. Take Risks is the compelling memoir of a revered author and educator, and a forthright discussion on teaching, parenting and society as a whole.
International best-selling author John Marsden's heartfelt and compelling text speaks to young and old, expressing deeply held hopes and fears that we all recognise. This is a beautiful and provocative book with a universal message.
Ellie and her friends have achieved more than they ever thought possible as an unarmed bunch of amateur teenage fighters. But it's not enough. The war wages on, their families are in captivity and their country is on its knees. Hiding back in Hell, the friends face a big question: what to do next? The gang have another success when they manage to rescue Kevin. He returns to them equipped with a new knowledge of explosives. Suddenly the question of what to do next becomes clear - launch an attack on the major enemy target of Cobblers' Bay. Can Ellie, Homer, Fi, Robin, Lee and Kevin really stage a major military attack on the enemy? And in their attempt to pull it off, what will they have to sacrifice? They have already lost Corrie and Chris; who else will the group have to lose in their desperation to defend their country? The Third Day, The Frost, draws the reader deeper into the struggle of these ordinary teens attempting to survive in extraordinary times. A tense and moving read that will stay with you forever.
Friendships, adventures, problems and excitement. . . stuff that could be you and your friends.And some of the funniest scenes you'll ever read in a book.Tony and his mates are the kids you'd want to hang around with if they were at your school.Even if they are always looking for trouble.Tony and his friends are seriously bored with their lives. They go 'Looking for Trouble'. They find trouble all right-and trouble finds them!
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