This story is about a group of children who camped out during a national holiday only to find that their home was invaded by enemy soldiers on their way back and now they have to navigate their way through the new world and employ every method of survival they know to either run or fight. Ellie and her best friend Corrie decide to skip the commemoration activities of that year for a camping trip and gives invitations to a specific group of friends to join them. They give invitations to Homer, who happens to be Ellie's childhood friend and her neighbor at the present, Fiona who is her classmate, her friend Robyn, her classmate Lee and Corrie's boyfriend Kevin. Ellie at this time, has already expressed her potential interest towards Lee but she wants to get to know him better. The group go to a rocky area in the woods known as Taylor's stitch and drop down a valley which is known and has its own back story. They see planes overhead over the next few days which go back. They stop at Ellie's house where they see the dogs tied up but they are all dead. They go down to Homer's house which is the nearest and also find it deserted. This is the first time they admit to themselves that something is horribly wrong.
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They wait until dark to go to their home town of Wirrawee to see what is going on. Ellie, Corrie and Kevin are shot and they see that people are being rounded up and imprisoned. They escape just barely when the situation turns against them and they regroup at Corrie's house. As they are trying to collect their minds, a helicopter does rounds outside their home and the dog starts to bark which points to inhabitants. Soon a jet flies over and destroys the house as they hide out in the shearer's place. They find that a rescue for their families is too risky and they start to disguise the trail so that it is not detected by the soldiers.
They also take more supplies into the camp over the next few days and hide them in various locations so that they have equal chances of survival if they are on the run. They decide to start employing guerrilla tactics and Lee, Homer, and Fiona blow up a bridge to cut off the enemy supply lines. Kevin takes Corrie to hospital believing the enemy will help her in her serious condition while the rest pair off and settle in their guerrilla mode trying to learn everything about the enemy.
Best part of story, including ending:
I like that the story is about a group of inexperienced but capable teenagers that are hit by tragedy and make the best out of it, by being brave and resourceful.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene is Chapter 6 when Ellie first came upon her house and she saw that the dogs were tied up and dead. That was the first time that anybody knew something was wrong. They had returned to their world and realized that it was not the way they left it.
Opinion about the main character:
I like that Ellie, is a teenager and is able to unite in a sense the group who are mostly her age and make them into a team of warriors that can fight against such a large and unknown enemy.
