The Story of Tom Brennan
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 world 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.
In the end, Tom becomes friends with a girl named Chrissy, which they progress from a friendship into a relationship. Chrissy and others help Tom come to terms with what happened in the past and have a positive outlook on the future.
Characters (main)
- Tom Brennan—Narrator
- Daniel Brennan—Tom's Brother
- Brendan Brennan—Tom's Uncle
- Christina "Chrissy" Tulake —Tom's love interest, later girlfriend
- Theresa "Tess" Brennan —Tom's mother
- Joeseph Brennan —Tom's father
- Kylie Brennan —Tom's sister
- Carmen Healy —Tom's Grandmother
- Aunty Kath —Fin's mother
- Finbar "Fin" —Tom's cousin
Awards[2]
The Story of Tom Brennan has been awarded the 2006 CBC Book of the Year for Older Readers and the 2006 Australian Family Therapists Award for Children's Literature. The book is on the Australian's HSC syllabus list and is studied by high-schoolers in Australia.
References
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- The Story of Karrawingi the Emu by Leslie Rees (1946)
- Shackleton's Argonauts: A Saga of the Antarctic Icepacks by Frank Hurley (1948)
- Whalers of the Midnight Sun by Alan Villiers (1950)
- Verity of Sydney Town by Ruth C. Williams (1951)
- The Australia Book by Eve Pownall (1952)
- Aircraft of Today and Tomorrow by James H. Martin & W. D. Martin (1953)
- Good Luck to the Rider by Joan Phipson (1953)
- Australian Legendary Tales by K. Langloh Parker (1954)
- The First Walkabout by Norman B. Tindale and Harold Arthur Lindsay (1955)
- The Crooked Snake by Patricia Wrightson (1956)
- The Boomerang Book of Legendary Tales edited by Enid Moodie Heddle (1957)
- Tiger in the Bush by Nan Chauncy (1958)
- Devil's Hill by Nan Chauncy (1959)
- Sea Menace by John Gunn (1959)
- All the Proud Tribesmen by Kylie Tennant (1960)
- Tangara by Nan Chauncy (1961)
- The Racketty Street Gang by L. H. Evers (1962)
- Rafferty Rides a Winner by Joan Woodberry (1962)
- The Family Conspiracy by Joan Phipson (1963)
- The Green Laurel by Eleanor Spence (1964)
- Pastures of the Blue Crane by H. F. Brinsmead (1965)
- Ash Road by Ivan Southall (1966)
- The Min-Min by Mavis Thorpe Clark (1967)
- To the Wild Sky by Ivan Southall (1968)
- When Jays Fly to Barbmo by Margaret Balderson (1969)
- Uhu by Annette Macarthur-Onslow (1970)
- Bread and Honey by Ivan Southall (1971)
- Longtime Passing by H. F. Brinsmead (1972)
- Family at the Lookout by Noreen Shelley (1973)
- The Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson (1974)
- Fly West by Ivan Southall (1976)
- The October Child by Eleanor Spence (1977)
- The Ice is Coming by Patricia Wrightson (1978)
- The Plum-Rain Scroll by Ruth Manly (1979)
- Displaced Person by Lee Harding (1980)
- Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (1981)
- The Valley Between by Colin Thiele (1982)
- Master of the Grove by Victor Kelleher (1983)
- A Little Fear by Patricia Wrightson (1984)
- The True Story of Lilli Stubeck by James Aldridge (1985)
- The Green Wind by Thurley Fowler (1986)
- All We Know by Simon French (1987)
- So Much to Tell You by John Marsden (1988)
- Beyond the Labyrinth by Gillian Rubinstein (1989)
- Came Back to Show You I Could Fly by Robin Klein (1990)
- Strange Objects by Gary Crew (1991)
- The House Guest by Eleanor Nilsson (1992)
- Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta (1993)
- The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody (1994)
- Angel's Gate by Gary Crew (1995)
- Foxspell by Gillian Rubinstein (1995)
- Pagan's Vows by Catherine Jinks (1996)
- A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove by James Moloney (1997)
- Eye to Eye by Catherine Jinks (1998)
- Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne (1999)
- 48 Shades of Brown by Nick Earls (2000)
- Wolf on the Fold by Judith Clarke (2001)
- Forest by Sonya Hartnett (2002)
- The Messenger by Markus Zusak (2003)
- Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta (2004)
- The Running Man by Michael Gerard Bauer (2005)
- The Story of Tom Brennan by J. C. Burke (2006)
- Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan (2007)
- The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett (2008)
- Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (2009)
- Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen (2010)
- The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett (2011)
- The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner (2012)
- Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (2013)
- Wildlife by Fiona Wood (2014)
- The Protected by Claire Zorn (2015)
- Cloudwish by Fiona Wood (2016)
- One Would Think The Deep by Claire Zorn (2017)
- Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood And Simmone Howell (2018)
- Between Us by Clare Atkins (2019)
- This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield (2020)
- The End of the World Is Bigger than Love by Davina Bell (2021)
- Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim (2022)
- Neverlanders by Tom Taylor (2023)
- Grace Notes by Karen Comer (2024)
- Picture Book (1955–present)
- Early Childhood (2001–present)
- Younger Readers (1982–present)
- Eve Pownall Award for Information Books (1988–present)
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