Tomorrow Series - Reception

Reception

Upon publication, the series was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews. Critics praised the series for its insightful look at a wide range of issues and suspense filled narrative.The Age proclaimed the series "the best series for Australian teens of all time..." and said "like ancient myths the stories confront the purpose of life, death, betrayal, killing, love, hate, revenge, selfishness, sacrifice and... faith". The Horn Book Magazine found the series "riveting" and said "thoughtful explorations of the nature of fear, bravery and violence add depth and balance to the edge-of-the-seat-action and intense first person narration". Georges T. Dodds from the SF Site described the series as "an elevation of adventure literature to heights that are only achieved once or twice in a generation". He praised Marsden's depictions of combat stress and action sequences, which he found reminiscent of John Buchan’s work in The Thirty-Nine Steps. Viewpoint, Australia's major Young Adult fiction review journal, described the series as "a war story told with storytelling skills that Alistair Maclean used to display". Gregory Maguire of the New York Times found the series to be "intense" and "compulsively readable", but criticised the books for their episodic structure.

Five of the seven books in the Tomorrow series (excluding Tomorrow, When the War Began and The Night is for Hunting) were listed by the Children's Book Council of Australia as a notable title for older readers for its respective year of publication. The first novel is recommended by the New South Wales Board of Studies as a text to be studied in English classes during Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10).

The series has also received accolades from outside Australia. The American Library Association recognised Tomorrow, When the War Began as one of the best young adult novels published in the United States in 1996, then again in 2000 as one of the best 100 books for teenage readers published since 1966. In 1999, The Third Day, The Frost won the Buxtehude Bull, a prestigious German prize for young adult literature. In 2000, the Swedish Government arranged for the translation and distribution of Tomorrow, When the War Began to every child of appropriate age in the country because it was thought the book would be enjoyed by reluctant readers.