The Story of Tom Brennan

The Story of Tom Brennan

Author	J.C Burke
Country	Australia
Language	English
Genre	Young adult fiction
Publisher	Random House Australia
Publication date	2005
Pages	284
ISBN	978-1-74166-092-0

The Story of Tom Brennan is a 2005 Australian young adult novel written by J. C. Burke. It was named as book of the year for older readers by the Children's Book Council of Australia.^[1] The story follows Tom Brennan, a 17-year-old boy known for his football skills. An accident involving his brother forces the family to move towns, and the novel shows the various Brennan family members changing after the accident and how it affected them.

The story involves issues relevant to teenagers such as alcohol, relationships and fitting in. This novel is often studied in Australian high schools as it is accessible to most readers.

Plot

For Tom Brennan, life is about rugby, mates and family—until a night of celebration changes his life forever. Tom's worlds explodes as his brother Daniel is sent to jail and the Brennans are forced to leave the small town Tom's lived in his whole life. Tom is a survivor, but needs a ticket out of the past just as much as Daniel.

The novel is based around the aftermath of the incident that leads to the Brennan family leaving the town of Mumbilli and is written from Tom's perspective. Beginning in the present, Tom is at his grandmother’s house and hating every minute of his new life, we soon begin to see glimpses of the events in Tom's recent past: the "sudden death" football party where all the trouble begins, and the terrible, tragic events of that night and days that follow. The novel involves teenage issues such as alcohol, drink driving, relationships, and moving on after your world turns upside down.

References