Blog Entry

Tomorrow, When the War Began

Summary: Tomorrow, When the War Began is about 7 teenagers who go on a trip to Hell, and when they return they find their country has been invaded by an unknown force. They become guerilla soldiers and learn how to survive.

This text deals with the idea of teenagers and responsibility. It challenges our perceptions of the teenage stereotype. Teenagers are seen as immature, unable to deal with terrible situations, lazy about helping others and wild/rebellious.

My opinion of Homer is he is quite realistic as a character. He is someone to respect for the way he deals with what happens. It is easy to see how a character could just cower away and hide, but Homer does not, for example when they have the option of staying in Hell and hiding or fighting back. He flourishes under the pressure, “He walked more confidently.” – Ellie (after the invasion).

I can identify with Homer because I have also been seen as unreliable at times, “the class clown” . Homer represents an immature person which is like most teenagers. I am a teenager and I think that under the same conditions I would also step up. I would stop being unreliable and grow up, just like Homer.

Yeah, Homer is similar to people in my class, specifically a person who comes late to class and causes mischief, disagrees with the teacher. However, I would like to think that like Homer, he will mature.

I think his development was inspiring. He goes from a hooligan, someone that everyone sees as useless and a trouble maker, “he was wild, outrageous. He didn’t care what he did or what anyone thought,” to running a guerilla unit, blowing up bridges and saving lives. For a teenager to do those things, and to be seen in a different light, is impressive. His humble nature, lack of bragging about his actions when he blows up the bridge and adult-like features make him someone to respect.

I would recommend the book if you are interested in hot boys like Homer who challenge people’s perceptions of teenagers and responsibility.