6 by John Marsden (Tomorrow When the War Began series)

A while back, I reviewed Tomorrow When the War Began, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Over the last month or so, I've read the entire series.  I enjoyed them all; Australian author John Marsden's series is thoroughly entertaining.  Even though it was time for the series to end, reading the last one made me sad that I wouldn't be able to continue the adventures of Ellie and her friends.

And yet...there are The Ellie Chronicles yet waiting for me, and that makes me happy.

Yes, I'm still working on reviewing 2010 books, so I'm grouping all 6 in one post.

OK, so here are the rest of the books in the series:


The Dead of Night - book 2 -  Begins with brief overview of the invasion and how the teenagers on a camping trip escaped capture.  Corrie and Kevin are no longer with the group; Kevin has taken Corrie to the hospital after she was wounded, and then finds himself imprisoned.  Ellie continues writing about their experiences, their guerrilla warfare, and her own personal thoughts about the war, her own role, and those of her friends.  Through Ellie's eyes, we see the courage and the consequences of the groups actions.  Once again, terrific, fully realized characters, lots of action, lots of suspense, and the coming of age of young people thrust suddenly into a world completely different from anything they have previously known or even considered.

A Killing Frost - The group's acts of sabotage continue, but surviving becomes more difficult.  Characters continue to evolve.  Homer and Ellie continue to be the dominant leaders, but Lee, a talented musician and a more reserved character, grows in his capacity as courageous loner.  The original group shrinks once again--a loss that was harder to deal with than the previous ones.


Darkness Be My Friend - The group's resourcefulness continues, but the events continue to take their toll on their individual psyches.  More suspense, more action, more soul-searching.


Burning for Revenge - Because of their flaws and failures, as much as for their courage and their successes, the group of friends continue to keep a grip on this reader.  Marsden does such a great job with the character development, the imagery, and with the action.  I especially love sequences in which Ellie's previously mundane life on a sheep and cattle farm (mundane to her) help keep images of what WAS normal in mind as well as provide some of the means of the group's survival.


The Night Is for Hunting - In addition to attempting to evade capture and find food, this books introduces them to "the ferals," young children who have somehow escaped capture and have a tendency toward violence, having had to survive on their own for nearly a year.

The Other Side of Dawn - Ahh, the conclusion.  It was time, but I still wasn't ready.

This is an excellent series!   Highly recommended.

Fiction.  YA/ Adventure.