The Year My Life Broke

by John Marsden

You move into the most boring street in the most boring town in Australia. Tarrawagga is a hole. Its only ambition is to be a crater, and it has every chance of getting there.

The last thing you expect is to have action all around you, dangerous strangers in the backyard, and bullets flying past your ears.

At your new school, everyone thinks you're the biggest loser in Grade 6. Little do they know. When they realise the truth, teachers and students alike are in for the shock of their life.

Funny, gripping and full of surprises, The Year My Life Broke could be the most real book your read this year.

WARNING: This book is not a fantasy. It contains no superheroes, wizards, dragons, time-travel, aliens or magic.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, School, Contemporary

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

There is more than one author with this name in the database, see f.e. John Marsden.

John Marsden was an Australian writer and school principal. He wrote more than 40 books in his career and his books have been translated into many languages. He was especially known for his young adult novel Tomorrow, When the War Began, which began a series of seven books.
Marsden began writing for children while working as a teacher, and had his first book, So Much to Tell You, published in 1987. In 2006, he started an alternative school, Candlebark School, and reduced his writing to focus on teaching and running the school. In 2016, he opened the arts-focused secondary school, Alice Miller School. Both schools are in the Macedon Ranges.

Reviews

[Sharyn O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a talent John Marsden is.
I read this to get aquainted with middle-grade books again.. potential writing project, and enjoyed it much more than expected.
I hate cricket, but Marsden had me barracking for the team and enjoying every bowl along the way.
I listened to the audio book read by Marsden himself.

[Lachlan Zissis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year my life broke is a book that focuses on a kid who has a hidden talent for cricket. He changes schools and doesn't play cricket until he discovers how good he is. It is a good book and worth reading.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, a bit young for me. I don't play cricket but could generally follow along with what was going on.

[Erika]

I'm definitely not the target market for this book (children around grade 6 age, give or take a few years, and children who like cricket) but as a John Marsden tragic and teacher of children in the target market I thought I'd best read it. Of course it was nothing like his other books. To me it felt like he was telling, not showing, and not delving into his normal deep territory. It seemed like a series of plot points stuck together. "This happened, then this happened, and suddenly this happened." I will have to get some of my students to try it (ones who like cricket).

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read from John Marsden. Josh and his family are forced to move from their expensive home and lifestyle to a small country town. Josh pretends he's a loser & can't play cricket at all when in fact he's a cricket legend at his old school. A little bit of mystery and quite a bit of cricket. Year 5 to Year 8.

[Sandi Faulconbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read. I'm not a cricket person myself but the mix of sport, family life, suspense and John's use of teen Aussie language made for a great book.
This would make a really good read-aloud for upper primary school, and be enjoyed by year 6 and upwards readers for their own reading.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book for Grade 4-6 boys. Especially if they are in to sports.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

When his family is forced to move after a bit of a scandal leaves then broke, Josh takes one look around and instantly hates everything about the new place. At school he clashes with his PE teacher and decides he's not going to tell anyone he's really good at sports. It's a chance to find out who he is without being the cricket star. Turns out he's a bit of a loser outcast. He really misses the sport though, and plays cricket with his "annoying" little brother, or Harriet who sometimes lives next door (divorced parents). The other neighboring house is just...weird. There are armed men, and people who hardly ever go outside. His parents don't want to talk about it either, other then telling him to let them know when he sees people watching the place. Eventually Josh joins a cricket team. But when they play a team that has Red throwing (? The book completely failed to make cricket any clearer for someone who's never played or watched it), his cover is blown. Red goes to his school, is in his final year and really wants the school team to win something for a change. He's understandably angry that Josh "lied" when he could have been their school team's best player. When one night Josh sees someone sneaking around and bullets start flying next door, Josh (and his dad) rescue Woody (not his real name), the ten-year-old who sometimes was allowed to climb the fence and play with Josh and Callan. The very late and exhausting night is bad timing, because Josh has to play the final cricket game the day after. And apparently cricket goes on for hours, so he's pretty exhausted. After some miscommunication results in a broken arm, Josh manages to stay upright looking enough for Harriet to do her best batting ever, and they get their heroic win. Back home his parents finally tell him the house next door is a police safe house, it's not going to be used as a safe house again after what happened. Josh concludes that, although the new town is still shitty, the school and the people in it are pretty ok and life is looking up.

Written in first person diary/story style.

[sminismoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was forced to read this to help Jasper with his Year 5 comprehension exam (so I could write sample questions). I'm definitely not the target audience, as this book was about boys and cricket and mystery houses. Nevertheless, you've got to admire John Marsden's talent for perfectly pitching his setting, characters and writing style to the tween market.

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as compelling as his other books, no sense of urgency or mystery. Feel like it's a repeat of Looking for Trouble. I'm not a fan of cricket though, so if you are then maybe it's not a slow read.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, solid writing that tells a nicely plotted story with skill. And even makes cricket exciting!

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Well written, funny more than suited for both kids and adults, though it helps if they like cricket.

Review on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzNdA...

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this and I feel year 6 [10 yrs ] up to 12 yrs [and other ages if they were super keen on cricket] would be attracted to this book.
It involves a boy who has to move house as his parents' financial situation has deteriorated drastically and they are offered a house to rent in another town which belongs to the main character's grandfather. So a well plumbed situation but the rest has novelty, excitement, mystery going for it. The main character has been a rep cricket player back home but decides as he's in a new town to see if people will like him for other reasons - not just because he is good at cricket. However the school team desperately needs him so he shows fairly soon that he is talented, is picked for the team and helps rescue their self esteem. The mystery involves the next door neighbours and gets quite hairy. A bit of insulting behaviour occurs on the cricket field which I believe is called sledging and is disapproved of generally - was surprised this was included. Plus a bit of swearing that isnt really suitable for the age group. There are some sections or references that were so obviously the adult author's viewpoint/attitude/knowledge - wondered why an editor hadn't changed them. .... and you do have to be willing to read a lot of detail about cricket - but maybe learn something.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a huge cricket fan, nor in any way familiar with the game, yet I still found this book enjoyable to read. I may not have understood all the cricket references, but the energy in the story was well conveyed. Marsden created some good characters and a few great action scenes. I liked the explicit mention that it was unusual for girls not to be included in the cricket team. The book ended, however, just when I wanted to know more! I wanted to see what happened next!

A fun book that I would happily read with grade five or six.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh is sporty, popular and living a great life until his parents become bankrupt and they shift to a dodgy new town. At his new school, Josh becomes a total outsider, even hated by the PE teacher, until events at school and home start to take on their own extraordinary momentum. Fast and funny! Another amazing story from John Marsden.

[Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I would rather watch paint dry than read about or watch cricket, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is funny, real-life, well-written and has a good message. I bought a set of them for school to use as a text!

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, got totally involved, even with all the cricket parts. A really good book for grades 4- 6 as it has issues you could discuss and humor. Would read this to a class as a read aloud.

[Linette · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fun, if predictable story-line. Shame John Marsden felt the need to put too much swearing in. You can tell a good story from the point of view of a 13 year old boy without having that many rude words.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for older kids. Lots of suspense, but disappointed about the amount of swearing in it.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cheeky little novel from a great Australian children's / Young Adult writer. Good sense of humour - will especially be liked by cricket affectionardos.

[Archie]

I liked it because it was about cricket and sport and lots of other cool things.

[Danni Hofinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much cricket talk for me to stay interested..

[Alexander Tzokas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I recommend it to anyone.

[Aaron Smith]

Your life turns upside down when you move to the most boring town you could think of, Tarrawaga this place was called. Nothing ever happened to Josh until new people move in next door and something seems strange. The Year My Life Broke by John Marseden is a great novel and very captivating and a thrill ride for young readers. John Marsden has been honoured for being one of Australia’s best children author with writing over 40 books and has sold over 5 million copies around the world. He has started a school of his own called Candlebark School and an arts focused high school, Aller Miller High school. He decided to start these schools because of his time at school being not so great, he wanted children to experience the 400 hectares of bush that the school is situated on and to have a joyful and fun schooling experience. Not like one that he was faced with, with a hard transfer between schools. The Year My Life Broke is one of many John Marsden books and many have been honoured for his brilliant skills.

Josh a young boy who is in year 6 is faced with a tough move to a town called Tarrawaga. Before the move Josh was very popular and well-known for his amazing talent of cricket. When things take a turn and the move to a new town and school is tough, He says to all his teachers at school that he is no good at sport, wishing to be known for other attributes. On one side of his house there is a police constable living with his daughter Harriet who later Josh and her become friends. The other side of his house is a quite run down house which has been vacant from the time Josh has been in Tarrawaga, But one day he notices an eye looking at him behind the curtain. For days he sees no sign of life in the house until a large bulky man peaks over the fence and asks if Woody the boy next door could play some cricket with him. As Josh is playing with the boy he notices he is very quiet and shy, also that there was always something weird with him having to climb the fence and be watched by the man at every moment. But one night Josh woke to loud piercing screams and large bangs, But the rest is for you to read. The pace of this novel is rather quick due to it being fit into 170 pages, The setting tells us why Josh is unhappy with the move because of how in depth Tarrawaga is portrayed to us as a dump. This was a great novel and another great book based around the love of sport and the challenges faced by many people. My favourite part would definitely be the last intensity of the end of the book after Josh wakes in the middle of the night to screams and loud noises.

This was a great book and it would be most enjoyed by younger teens and people who enjoy an intense family story. It is a great book for all of its features, Suspense, sport and an all round family book, which is only about 170 pages long. I would give this book a 4/5 for the thrill ride it took me on and would highly recommend to others.

[Bruce]

audiobook

[Dante Zulli]

I LOVE IT!!!