John Marsden's Books
John
Marsden has published many novels for teenagers. His first book was So Much To Tell You,
which won the 1988 Children's Book Of The Year
award, the Allan Marshall Award, the KOALA Award and, the Christopher Medal.
It has become so popular that one in twenty Australian homes now owns a copy.
The story is the diary of Marina, a girl at boarding school, who after being
involved in an accident is mute and does not talk. The book was so
successful that in 1992, a sequel Take My Word For It was
published. Take My Word For It was the diary of Lisa, a character
from So Much To Tell You.
John Marsden's second book was called The Great Gatenby, and was quickly followed by The Journey, and the book for younger readers, Staying Alive In Year Five. He then published Out of Time.
John Marsden's next book was Letters From The Inside. The story
of two young girls who form a close friendship through letters, it was based on
a number of incidents, including a newspaper article of a girl who found out
that her father had murdered her mother, an interview with a girlfriend of a
murderer, and John's own experiences in prison. The book was controversial,
with some labelling it too strong. However, many other people found it to
be a moving novel, with Robert Cormier describing it as being
'shattering'. In 1995 it was named as one of America's outstanding teenage
novels of the year, and was runner-up as Dutch Children's Book of the Year.
In 1993, John published Looking For Trouble, and Everything I Know About Writing. Everything I Know About Writing was a non-fiction guide of John's best tips on how to improve writing skills. It also included 500 writing topics, and it's second edition contained 600 writing topics.
In 1994, John published Tomorrow, When The War Began. The
story of seven teenagers who go bush walking only to find on their return
that their homes have been invaded by foreign enemies and the country is at
war. Although, originally a trilogy, with the novels The Dead of The
Night, and The Third Day, The Frost, making up other two books, the
series eventually finished in 2000 with The Other Side Of Dawn, the
seventh book in the series. Tomorrow, When The War Began won the
Australian Multicultural Children's Book Award, and the New South Wales Talking
Book Award. The other books in the series have also won a number of
awards.
John Marsden has also published Dear Miffy, a novel about a young man
who writes 
letters to his former girlfriend. The novel shocked some
people, at its offensive language and violent nature. Checkers, is the
story of a young girl in a psychiatric hospital, which was published in
1996. Secret Men's Business, is a guide for young men on growing
up. Cool School, and Creep Street are both 'choose your own
adventure' type books aimed at a younger audience.
Essay
Links
Review (Checkers)
About John Marsden
Email me (jezzamiff@hotmail.com)
