Showing posts with label John Marsden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Marsden. Show all posts

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Review: The Third Day, the Frost - John Marsden

Their country ravaged.
Their families taken.
Their solution - fight.

Ellie and her friends have achieved more than they ever thought possible as an unarmed bunch of teen fighters. But still the war continues. Hiding back in Hell, the gang face the inevitable question - what to do next?

When Kevin returns armed with a knowledge of explosives, the answer becomes clear - launch an attack on the enemy stronghold of Cobbler's Bay. But in their attempt to pull it off, what will the gang have to sacrifice?

Tomorrow Series:
Tomorrow, When the War Began
The Dead of the Night
The Third Day, the Frost
Darkness, Be My Friend
Burning For Revenge
The Night Is For Hunting
The Other Side of Dawn

Visit John Marsden's website for more information

Review:
The Third Day, the Frost is the third book in the Tomorrow series by John Marsden and therefore this review may contain spoilers for previous books. This is a series I would highly recommend but I think you really need to read the books in order so if you're not up to date with the series then look away now.

The story picks up a couple of weeks after the ending of The Dead of the Night and we see our teenage heroes hiding out in Hell after their latest attack on the enemy. The boredom of remaining hidden is starting to wear on them all and the loss of yet another member of the group has left them all feeling depressed and out of sorts. In the end they decide that they need something to occupy them and start to plan another attack in Cobbler's Bay. When they manage to break Kevin out of a work camp so he can rejoin them things start to look up. Kevin has a new knowledge of explosives and that gives them all the incentive they need to launch their biggest attack yet. But their biggest attack is going to have the worst consequences and they may not all survive the backlash from the enemy.

I have been thoroughly enjoying this series and am very pleased that I still have another 4 books to read. I have absolutely no idea where the story will go next though, I just can't quite see how it will have a happy ending after the events we've already witnessed! Ellie, Homer, Lee, Robyn, Fi and Kevin are all such brave characters - they have all had to make difficult decisions and I'm pleased that the author doesn't hold back on showing how they have been effected emotionally by the things they have been through. They may be proud of their efforts to disrupt their enemy but they are also horrified by some of the things they have done. This is war and war isn't pretty, their world is a harsh one that is full of danger, death and destruction. I wouldn't cope anywhere near as well as they have if I was in their situation!

The ending of this book was absolutely heartbreaking and left me desperate to get my hands on the next instalment. I can't recommend this series highly enough - it is violent, hard hitting and at times makes for disturbing reading but that is what makes it so compelling and makes it stay with you so long after you've finished reading. I guarantee that these books will leave you questioning yourself about how you would cope if you were in this kind of situation and you might not be comfortable with the answers you come up with.

Source: Received from Quercus in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Thursday, 16 February 2012

Review: The Dead of the Night - John Marsden

Would you give up everything?
Would you fight?
Would you sacrifice life itself?

When their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight high school teenagers band together to fight.

Seventeen-year-old Ellie and her friends have survived the invasion, but Kevin is imprisoned and Corrie is alive, but in a coma.

Homer and Ellie are determined to get them back and to continue their campaign against the enemy.  As the pressure grows, can Ellie work out her conflicted feelings for the brilliant, arrogant Homer and the strong, gentle Lee?

As war rages, and the enemy closes in, Ellie and her friends must once again fight for their lives . . . but how many of their band will be left?

A truly involving story about the incredible challenges of warfare, amid the intensity of first love.

Tomorrow Series:
Tomorrow, When the War Began
The Dead of the Night
The Third Day, the Frost
Darkness, Be My Friend
Burning For Revenge
The Night Is For Hunting
The Other Side of Dawn

Visit John Marsden's website for more information

Review:
The Dead of the Night picks up the story a couple of weeks after the ending of Tomorrow, When the War Began and we re-join Ellie and her friends at their camp in Hell.  The loss of two members of their group has been a huge blow to them, especially coming after the high brought by their successful mission to destroy the bridge.  The remaining six have been hiding at their camp licking their wounds but the time has come for them to face the outside world again.  They need to try and discover what has happened to their missing friends, it is time to try and gather more supplies and they are ready to find another way to fight back at the enemy who has invaded their hometown.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series so was looking forward to continuing my journey with Ellie and her friends.  The story continues to be narrated by Ellie who is keeping a written record of events for the future.  Picking up this series is like reading Ellie's personal diary, she is honest to a fault and although everything is her personal opinion she doesn't shy away from the darker things that they all have to do to survive.  Although the others chose Ellie to write their story they aren't all happy with the things she has written and it was interesting to see how the group dynamics changed because of that.

This series continues to put it's main characters into incredibly dangerous situations, they all show a great deal of strength and determination to survive, they each have to face difficult moral dilemmas and have to decide just what lengths they are prepared to go to in order to fight their enemies.  I enjoyed the story for it's action and the creative ways the teens come up with to go into battle but I think what I like most is the fact that it raises so many questions.  The series really makes you think and leaves you pondering what you would do in a similar situation long after you finish reading.

Another thing I'm really enjoying is the setting, I love the Australian slang and getting a feel for the bush and farmland surrounding Wirrawee.  I don't think I've read many books set in Australia, well not ones that give such an impression of the land anyway, so it's making a nice change for me.  I'm really looking forward to continuing the series and finding out what happens to the group next, can they continue to survive when the enemy is surrounding them?

Source: Received from Quercus in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden

The astonishing adventure begins . . .

Seventeen-year-old Ellie Linton wants one final adventure with her friends before the school holidays are over.  Packed in Ellie's parents' Land-Rover, they drive to a famously beautiful camp in the hills.

Returning to their homne town of Wirrawee, the seven teenagers realise that something is seriously wrong.  Their world has changed forever.

Would you give up everything?  Would you fight?  Would you sacrifice life itself?

Tomorrow When the War Began asks the questions you may one day have to answer.

Tomorrow Series:
Tomorrow, When the War Began
The Dead of the Night
The Third Day, the Frost
Darkness, Be My Friend
Burning For Revenge
The Night Is For Hunting
The Other Side of Dawn

Visit John Marsden's website for more information

Review:
When Ellie arranges to go on a camping trip with a group of friends it is supposed to just be a week of fun before they have to go back to normal school life.  The last thing they expect is to come home to a town that has been deserted, the phones aren't working, there is no electricity and their families have all vanished.  As they investigate they soon discover that the town has been invaded and the townspeople have been taken prisoner.  With their country now at war Ellie and her friends must use their wits to survive but should they run and hide or stand and fight?

I've heard so many good things about Tomorrow, When the War Began and I really wanted to see the film when it came out last year but I refuse to watch the film before reading the book.  It's taken me a while but I finally read the story but I'm really glad I did.  As the first book in a series much of the story is introducing us to the main characters.  There is a good selection of different personalities and for once, out of a group of 8 teens, there wasn't a single character that I really disliked.  Obviously some are more likable than others but there was no one I absolutely hated.  I'll admit that the romances that start to develop seem to happen a bit too quickly but I guess if you found yourself in the situation these teens do then you probably would look for comfort wherever you could find it.

The story isn't always comfortable reading, there are times when the group face difficult life or death decisions and the choices that they make will have lasting consequences.  They will have to fight for survival and then deal with the emotional fallout of taking another life to save their own.  The book really does make you think about just how far you would be willing to go to protect yourself and your friends.  What would you do to rescue your family?  There are times when you really feel the danger that they are all in and you start to worry about the chance of them all surviving.

Despite the difficult subject matter I found Tomorrow, When the War Began to be a quick and easy read.  The reason it makes you feel so uncomfortable at times is because it feels so realistic, you are pulled into the story and it becomes easy to imagine that the war has really happened.  When an author is able to make me believe I'm going through things with the characters I know I'm reading a good book.  I'm looking forward to continuing the series to see what happens next and I definitely want to watch the film now too!

Source: Received from Quercus in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

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