What do you think?
Rate this book
Tomorrows Child
There is a girl.... lost in despair, alone in a world she doesn’t recognise, bound to a prophecy she doesn’t understand and a destiny she refuses to accept... Seventeen year old, Psyche Darnell’s world is in chaos. Everything she once took for granted is gone. Food is scarce, communications are down and fuel is worth more than diamonds. To escape the grief and destruction that surrounds them, Psyche and her mother head north to the small mountain community where Psyche was born. There they find safety with Libby, Psyche’s grandmother and a group of survivors who spent years preparing for the ‘end of days’. Psyche must learn to trust Libby, a woman she barely knows and rely on the support of this strange community. After weeks of grieving, she makes friends with Phoenix, the 19 year old boy next door. Phoenix holds a secret he can’t reveal, but then, it seems that everyone is keeping secrets from her. With her grandmother as teacher, Psyche learns about magick, a family legacy and a prophecy that dates back to the 16th Century. At first, this seems irrelevant, but when Psyche discovers that she has a role to play, she refuses to participate. She doesn’t understand the prophecy and doesn’t believe in magick. However, the prophecy isn’t her only problem and while she thinks it’s all a crazy mistake, she wonders what will kill her first, the beasts who stalk her in the night, the raiders searching for food, or the magic. Psyche is led on a journey of discovery and destiny as she learns the secret to the prophecy. Some secrets are designed to protect us, but the greatest secrets are often held by the people we trust the most.
452 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2012
304 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 31, 2012
Starr West's Book, Tomorrows Child is a very well written book with captivating (dystopian) story lines. Ad it to your To read list.
Seventeen year old, Psyche Darnell’s world is in chaos. Everything she once took for granted is gone. Food is scarce, communications are down and fuel is worth more than diamonds.
Character interview with Psyche From Tomorrows Child
Welcome Psyche. It is wonderful to have you here with us today.
Psyche: Thank you, it is an honour to be here.
Describe yourself in one word :
Psyche: Searching
Describe the world you live today?
Psyche: Broken! Everything I took for granted was basically stripped away. And when I lost my mother – I was left alone in a world that I barely recognized anymore. A part of me just wanted to die too, so I could be with her.
The thing I’ve noticed the most is that it’s quiet, I mean really quiet. I notice the silence all the time, especially at night. I sneak out and watch the sky, just like I used to do with Mum. And there is nothing. Sometimes the frogs are going crazy or the crickets are so loud it makes my head ring. But on other nights you can hear the tiniest sound. Even if you didn’t notice it before, there was always sound, a gentle hum that reminded us that life existed.
Sometimes you don’t notice things until they are gone.
How did your magic come to you and explain to us how it affects you?
Psyche: Magic, at first I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t just dreaming. Sometimes I still do!
How did you meet The Goddess Persephone? What is she like?
Psyche: When I first met her, it was pretty scary. She’s a Goddess after all! And she doesn’t have a reputation for kindness, but I think that has a lot to do with being “Goddess of the Underworld” rather than anything she has actually done. But I owe her my life and she is a lot more normal than I expected. It’s not like we sit around drinking tea and chatting or anything but she feels like a friend and I know I am safe with her around.
What can you share with us about your Hellhound attack?
I try not to think about this too much because fear can paralyse you and stop you living. But, everything happened so fast, I was so scared; my heart was pumping so fast, so loud. I thought this is it, I'm going to die and I'm not going to be able to say goodbye to the people I love… but at least I would get to see my mother again. The scars I carry from that attack are an important reminder that I survived. Being a survivor is the most important thing these days.
Tell us about your training and what the purpose behind it might be?
Psyche: You mean my Warrior training? I loved training. Training gave me confidence. I don’t feel like a helpless victim anymore, a burden to the others. Now I’m fighting back and I am prepared to do anything if it means I never have to feel helpless like that again.
You own a Bedford bus?
Psyche: I love that old Bedford bus. It will always remind me of the days I spend with my mother, and all of our adventures on the open road. It really was such a special time with my mother. A time I treasure.
What is your favourite iTunes song at the moment? and why?
Psyche: Seven Devils all around me by Florence and the Machine. It reminds me that evil is all around and I should always be prepared.
Who is Phoenix?
Psyche: The love of my life. I would be lost without him J
Tell us about where you live and the tribe?
Psyche: Mount Misty – a magical place – the place I call home.Mount Misty is awesome. There used to be this little town perched on the top of a mountain but it’s more like a ghost town these days. There are hardly any people left, but I expect things will get better eventually. The valley, where I live with my grandmother, is surrounded by rainforest. Some of the trees are thousands of years old, I recon. The down side is that it rains a lot; we get a lot of fog and misty rainy days especially in the winter. There are about 10 families in our ‘tribe’. They spent a lot of time preparing for the end of civilization and I am very thankful for this. I guess if it wasn’t for them, I would be dead already. It’s horrifying to imagine what could have happened.
Describe Libby, your grandmother, to us please.
Psyche: Libby is a survivor. She has spent most of her life preparing for mankind's stupidity. Libby never took anything for granted. I thank the Goddess everyday for Libby.Libby is amazing, she knows so much about everything. I love that she has kept all those old books and family diaries. The only thing that’s annoying is that she is always teaching me things. Every day is like being at school but I guess it’s because I have so much to learn and Mum isn’t here to teach me anymore.
What are your dreams and hopes for the future?
Psyche: To see a world free of war, starvation, sickness, greed. And perhaps one day, to have a family. But it is hard to think about bringing a family into a world that is so broken.
Maybe the best we can hope for is that tomorrow will be a little better than today.
Your favourite thing in the world?
Psyche: In the old world, I had heaps of favourite things! Every day I had new favourites. These days are much simpler – hot water for baths are high on my list and our gatherings are really cool.
Who is your idol?
Psyche: Definitely Phoenix
What message do you have for us?
The earth is fragile. It should be handled with care if we want our children to have a future where their day is full of laughter instead of the sounds of war. Where they can eat until their bellies are full. Where a long life free of sickness is a given, not a luxury. A world where there is abundance and "greed" is an endangered species.
Take notice of the little things and find joy in simple things; take off your shoes and walk on the earth – get your feet dirty and go outside and hug a tree. I mean that literally, really! Wrap your arms around tree and feel the emotions that flow. You will be amazed. Thanks for having me here today! This was so much easier than Libby’s magick training or my warrior training.
Seventeen year old, Psyche Darnell’s world is in chaos. Everything she once took for granted is gone. Food is scarce, communications are down and fuel is worth more than diamonds.
Character interview with Psyche From Tomorrows Child
Welcome Psyche. It is wonderful to have you here with us today.
Psyche: Thank you, it is an honour to be here.
Describe yourself in one word :
Psyche: Searching
Describe the world you live today?
Psyche: Broken! Everything I took for granted was basically stripped away. And when I lost my mother – I was left alone in a world that I barely recognized anymore. A part of me just wanted to die too, so I could be with her.
The thing I’ve noticed the most is that it’s quiet, I mean really quiet. I notice the silence all the time, especially at night. I sneak out and watch the sky, just like I used to do with Mum. And there is nothing. Sometimes the frogs are going crazy or the crickets are so loud it makes my head ring. But on other nights you can hear the tiniest sound. Even if you didn’t notice it before, there was always sound, a gentle hum that reminded us that life existed.
Sometimes you don’t notice things until they are gone.
How did your magic come to you and explain to us how it affects you?
Psyche: Magic, at first I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t just dreaming. Sometimes I still do!
How did you meet The Goddess Persephone? What is she like?
Psyche: When I first met her, it was pretty scary. She’s a Goddess after all! And she doesn’t have a reputation for kindness, but I think that has a lot to do with being “Goddess of the Underworld” rather than anything she has actually done. But I owe her my life and she is a lot more normal than I expected. It’s not like we sit around drinking tea and chatting or anything but she feels like a friend and I know I am safe with her around.
What can you share with us about your Hellhound attack?
I try not to think about this too much because fear can paralyse you and stop you living. But, everything happened so fast, I was so scared; my heart was pumping so fast, so loud. I thought this is it, I'm going to die and I'm not going to be able to say goodbye to the people I love… but at least I would get to see my mother again. The scars I carry from that attack are an important reminder that I survived. Being a survivor is the most important thing these days.
Tell us about your training and what the purpose behind it might be?
Psyche: You mean my Warrior training? I loved training. Training gave me confidence. I don’t feel like a helpless victim anymore, a burden to the others. Now I’m fighting back and I am prepared to do anything if it means I never have to feel helpless like that again.
You own a Bedford bus?
Psyche: I love that old Bedford bus. It will always remind me of the days I spend with my mother, and all of our adventures on the open road. It really was such a special time with my mother. A time I treasure.
What is your favourite iTunes song at the moment? and why?
Psyche: Seven Devils all around me by Florence and the Machine. It reminds me that evil is all around and I should always be prepared.
Who is Phoenix?
Psyche: The love of my life. I would be lost without him J
Tell us about where you live and the tribe?
Psyche: Mount Misty – a magical place – the place I call home.Mount Misty is awesome. There used to be this little town perched on the top of a mountain but it’s more like a ghost town these days. There are hardly any people left, but I expect things will get better eventually. The valley, where I live with my grandmother, is surrounded by rainforest. Some of the trees are thousands of years old, I recon. The down side is that it rains a lot; we get a lot of fog and misty rainy days especially in the winter. There are about 10 families in our ‘tribe’. They spent a lot of time preparing for the end of civilization and I am very thankful for this. I guess if it wasn’t for them, I would be dead already. It’s horrifying to imagine what could have happened.
Describe Libby, your grandmother, to us please.
Psyche: Libby is a survivor. She has spent most of her life preparing for mankind's stupidity. Libby never took anything for granted. I thank the Goddess everyday for Libby.Libby is amazing, she knows so much about everything. I love that she has kept all those old books and family diaries. The only thing that’s annoying is that she is always teaching me things. Every day is like being at school but I guess it’s because I have so much to learn and Mum isn’t here to teach me anymore.
What are your dreams and hopes for the future?
Psyche: To see a world free of war, starvation, sickness, greed. And perhaps one day, to have a family. But it is hard to think about bringing a family into a world that is so broken.
Maybe the best we can hope for is that tomorrow will be a little better than today.
Your favourite thing in the world?
Psyche: In the old world, I had heaps of favourite things! Every day I had new favourites. These days are much simpler – hot water for baths are high on my list and our gatherings are really cool.
Who is your idol?
Psyche: Definitely Phoenix
What message do you have for us?
The earth is fragile. It should be handled with care if we want our children to have a future where their day is full of laughter instead of the sounds of war. Where they can eat until their bellies are full. Where a long life free of sickness is a given, not a luxury. A world where there is abundance and "greed" is an endangered species.
Take notice of the little things and find joy in simple things; take off your shoes and walk on the earth – get your feet dirty and go outside and hug a tree. I mean that literally, really! Wrap your arms around tree and feel the emotions that flow. You will be amazed. Thanks for having me here today! This was so much easier than Libby’s magick training or my warrior training.
April 11, 2012
Tomorrow’s Child deals with an apocalypse idea by going deep and scrutinising people’s habits, actions and emotions in a way most authors would shy away from.
We meet Psyche Darnell and we know she is special. It takes a while for her to discover why and what she is expected to do with her gifts, her teenage hormones don’t make for an easy ride, but at least she is surrounded by friends. All she has to do is merely accept the truth, because Starr West is right – ‘you don’t have to believe in something for it to be true’.
It’s never easy admitting you are flawed, but here none of the characters are perfect. Despite this, or maybe because of it, you can’t help but feel close to them. There aren’t many without special attributes, so you can’t really mistake them for normal people, but they exude warmth and friendship, a strong sense of right and wrong and they would gladly sacrifice themselves for the greater good - the very essence of humanity.
The story is well written, in a strong and clear voice. There are points of darkness and suspense throughout the plot but it is not a dizzyingly fast carousel of action, and neither should it be. Scenarios such as this require careful consideration. You can’t just skip merrily to the next page without thinking about the problems posed to the last few surviving humans. You can’t not think of all the ramifications, all the what-ifs, all of the what-would-I-dos.
Starr is clearly a people watcher, a very keen observer, and it shows. The way different people deal with their own personal crises is portrayed brilliantly. The outcome is a ray of light, quite satisfying, and the epilogue gives a glimpse of future frictions and even confrontations. We’ll have to wait for book two to see how they unfold.
A good first entry, by a deep-thinking author and a very pleasant read. Just don’t expect to stop thinking about it when you’ve put it down.
We meet Psyche Darnell and we know she is special. It takes a while for her to discover why and what she is expected to do with her gifts, her teenage hormones don’t make for an easy ride, but at least she is surrounded by friends. All she has to do is merely accept the truth, because Starr West is right – ‘you don’t have to believe in something for it to be true’.
It’s never easy admitting you are flawed, but here none of the characters are perfect. Despite this, or maybe because of it, you can’t help but feel close to them. There aren’t many without special attributes, so you can’t really mistake them for normal people, but they exude warmth and friendship, a strong sense of right and wrong and they would gladly sacrifice themselves for the greater good - the very essence of humanity.
The story is well written, in a strong and clear voice. There are points of darkness and suspense throughout the plot but it is not a dizzyingly fast carousel of action, and neither should it be. Scenarios such as this require careful consideration. You can’t just skip merrily to the next page without thinking about the problems posed to the last few surviving humans. You can’t not think of all the ramifications, all the what-ifs, all of the what-would-I-dos.
Starr is clearly a people watcher, a very keen observer, and it shows. The way different people deal with their own personal crises is portrayed brilliantly. The outcome is a ray of light, quite satisfying, and the epilogue gives a glimpse of future frictions and even confrontations. We’ll have to wait for book two to see how they unfold.
A good first entry, by a deep-thinking author and a very pleasant read. Just don’t expect to stop thinking about it when you’ve put it down.
October 29, 2013
Psyche Darnell is a teenager who has survived the apocalypse and returns to the place of her birth with her mother who dies not long after. She is then cared for by her grandmother and becomes a part of her grandmothers tribe. It is then she discovers that she is part of a prophecy along with her soul mate. She must battle creatures of legend in order to fulfil the prophecy and save the world.
I was sadly let down by this book. I don't hate it but I'm certainly not its biggest fan either. It seemed to me that the author was trying to cram as many themes as possible into this book. Mythology and legend, the current state of affairs of the earth, the end of the world, magic(k), and reincarnation. Whilst it sounds good in theory, trying to combine so many elements effectively was always going to be a challenge and this time it didn't work. The storyline jumped from one subplot to the next without any closure on the previous one. There were a lot of times I was left wondering what was going on and where it was heading. In addition to problems with the plot, the characters were very bland. They've been given "edgy" type names but they don't have any real substance. Psyche as the main character had no personality and just seemed to go through the motions. She showed no real emotion or connection to what was going on around her and didn't seem to care about why it was happening. And yet somehow she managed to put everything together at the end and not a jot of it made much sense. It all seemed rather pointless. So reading that back, it may seem like I really dislike this book; but I give it 2 stars for the fact that its set in Australia and had potential to be so much more.
The epilogue made it clear that this would be the first of a series. If that's the case, I won't be reading any more. Harsh, yes, but there are so many other books in this genre that are better.
I was sadly let down by this book. I don't hate it but I'm certainly not its biggest fan either. It seemed to me that the author was trying to cram as many themes as possible into this book. Mythology and legend, the current state of affairs of the earth, the end of the world, magic(k), and reincarnation. Whilst it sounds good in theory, trying to combine so many elements effectively was always going to be a challenge and this time it didn't work. The storyline jumped from one subplot to the next without any closure on the previous one. There were a lot of times I was left wondering what was going on and where it was heading. In addition to problems with the plot, the characters were very bland. They've been given "edgy" type names but they don't have any real substance. Psyche as the main character had no personality and just seemed to go through the motions. She showed no real emotion or connection to what was going on around her and didn't seem to care about why it was happening. And yet somehow she managed to put everything together at the end and not a jot of it made much sense. It all seemed rather pointless. So reading that back, it may seem like I really dislike this book; but I give it 2 stars for the fact that its set in Australia and had potential to be so much more.
The epilogue made it clear that this would be the first of a series. If that's the case, I won't be reading any more. Harsh, yes, but there are so many other books in this genre that are better.
April 9, 2012
Tomorrows child has a touch of it all,
Ive really enjoyed this first book from Starr west, it's well written and easy to read.I cant wait to see where we go next.
The story is set in a world of our own making, what could easily be, in the not to distant future, scarily one that is easily imagined as is by the author,she winds her tale around a group of people trying to survive in a new world by relearning and using all the tools of an era gone by, psyche at 17 is thrown into this new world when her mother takes her back to learn from her grandmother earth magic and a prophecy surrounding her is only the beginning.
Ive really enjoyed this first book from Starr west, it's well written and easy to read.I cant wait to see where we go next.
The story is set in a world of our own making, what could easily be, in the not to distant future, scarily one that is easily imagined as is by the author,she winds her tale around a group of people trying to survive in a new world by relearning and using all the tools of an era gone by, psyche at 17 is thrown into this new world when her mother takes her back to learn from her grandmother earth magic and a prophecy surrounding her is only the beginning.
March 21, 2013
I love the cover. It captures the story's core quite well. I found it somewhat difficult to get into the book, mainly because I didn't connect with the main character at first. But once I had overcome my resistance, the book turned out to be a fascinating read with lots of interesting twists and turn.
A big part of the story focuses on the main character's internal growth and her way to cope with the powers she discovers hidden within. Added is a small love story and lots of interesting and well thought out magic (magic of a different kind, not what you're used to).
The book was well worth the money I spend for it.
A big part of the story focuses on the main character's internal growth and her way to cope with the powers she discovers hidden within. Added is a small love story and lots of interesting and well thought out magic (magic of a different kind, not what you're used to).
The book was well worth the money I spend for it.
April 12, 2012
Psyche is a realistic character. I like the fact that she has hidden magical abilities but acts like a real person. Starr has captured my beliefs as to what our world would be like in the future after total devastation of our planet. I am keen to read her next installment! Great read!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews