The Story of Tom Brennan

Synopsis

A powerful story of love and loss, secrets and revelations – and making sense of a past that once seemed perfect. For seventeen-year-old Tom, life is about rugby, his mates and his family, who are well respected in their small country town. But a night of celebration changes his life forever. Tom’s older brother, Daniel, starts a fight at the ‘sudden death’ pre-final party – then, worse, Daniel is involved in a car accident on the way home. Their cousin, Fin, suffers irreversible spinal injuries, and the two other passengers are killed. Tom’s world explodes as Daniel is sent to jail and the Brennans are forced to leave town. While Tom and his sister, Kylie, adjust to life at a new school, their mother takes to her bed and their father tries to balance the pain of his family with the debt of his paralysed nephew. The past is never far away. Tom is a survivor, but he needs a ticket out of the past just as much as Daniel. He will find it in many forms.

Link here to J.C. Burke website

Penguin Teacher’s Resource on The story of Tom Brennan

Random House support kit for The story of Tom Brennan