Circle of Flight: The Ellie Chronicles

I have journeyed through the ten Ellie works, now. The journey began because my teenage daughters were reading them for school. I guess that makes me fall outside Marsden's planned audience demographic, but he's smart enough to know that once-young readers would be amongst his converts.

John Marsden has done for adolescents as J.K. Rowling has for primary children. He has created a reason to read. The "Tomorrow" series were breath-taking in action, but there were sub-narratives, too, of character development and human integrity, of what theologians call "harmartiology" and "theodicy", the studies respectively of human short-falling and suffering.

Those sub-narratives became the dominant narrative of the Ellie Chronicles. Should Marsden show more have stopped with the war's end? Never in a thousand years, because his demographic was not a past-tense case like this reader, but an adolescent audience who had to learn not only how to be grasped by words, but how to grow with words - and to grow with feelings and intuitions and values and philosophies of life.

Marsden has created a ten volume miracle. He has ended with hope - not unlike the resounding "Yes" that Joyce have to the world in Ullyses, or the "shantih" of Eliot's Wasteland.

I wish I could shout him a beer. The biggest damn beer around. show less

Circle of Flight is the third and final book in the Ellie Chronicles, which in turn continued the story that began in YA Tomorrow series. I have been reading these books for some time now, and was sad to say goodbye to the characters, especially Ellie Linton. I have followed them through the invasion of their country and now, the rebuilding.

In this final offering, Ellie goes through some major changes as first terrorists from across the makeshift border raid the farm and take Gavin prisoner. Ellie finds herself going under-cover into enemy territory in order to rescue him and bring him home. Things go badly and she finds herself trapped and helpless, but of course, her friends are not going to abandon her. Secondly, the child services show more have finally gotten around to checking up on orphaned Gavin and are not at all positive about his guardian being seventeen year old Ellie. This involves another fight although this time in a court room.

Circle of Flight managed to bring resolution to many of the problems that Ellie was facing and by the end of the book, she had made some major decisions about how to move her life forward. I am glad that I read the Ellie Chronicles, but didn’t love them as much as the Tomorrow series, in which Ellie and her friends become involved in fighting a war to save their country. show less

I've read other reviews saying that the Ellie Chronicles are not as good as the TWTWB series. Something about the trilogy not having as much action and that Ellie is not as strong as she was. But I think the portrayal of Ellie is perfect. She doesn't win every time anymore, but she never ever stops giving life everything she has. And in the end, she realizes what all strong people must, that not everything can be number 1 priority.
Ellie is forced to make a choice between loyalty to the dead and loyalty to the living. She has the strength to make the choice and to step forward without regret.

I don't have much to say really, as this book meets and exceeds the standard John Marsden has set with the Tomorrow series and other Ellie Chronicles. And I have already complimented those books passionately in other reviews.
I realised something towards the end of this book, when Ellie was making a big romantic decision- I realised that I have total confidence in Ellie. Whether she is in the middle of a guerilla operation, or choosing between two guys, I trust that she knows what she's doing, and if she makes a mistake along the way she will pull through. I then tried to think of any other heroes/heroines that I felt that way about, and came up blank.

The ending of the book was perfect. It tied up all the loose ends of the series, and show more left me very satisfied.

So thankyou John Marsden, for creating this beautiful series, which I have just thought of a nice word to describe- heartfelt. The series had a hell of a lot of heart, and it felt incredibly sincere. I look forward to re-reading it again and again and again. :) show less

I’ll be honest, it’s not my favourite amongst the ten books that make up the two series, and there are signs that ideas and enthusiasm were reaching their natural stopping point, however there was a high standard to follow in the series, and just because it doesn’t quite reach those dizzy heights does not mean, it is not an excellent read in itself. And it is an entirely appropriate ending for the series.

Read and comment on my full review at:
http://www.bartsbookshelf.co.uk/2009/02/26/circle-of-flight-by-john-marsden/

How satisfying. I've finished the final book of the Ellie Chonicles, which, with the Tomorrow series, has to be a group of the finest Australian young adult books I've ever read. Or will ever read, for that matter. My adventure with Ellie and her gang is over, and I loved every moment of it.

I rate this one 4 1/2 stars.

This last book in the Ellie saga contained all the excitement of the others along with a sastisfying conclusion. I am sad that there will be no more Ellie books. After spending so much time with Ellie and her friends I just want to keep in touch with them, kind of like you do with good friends. John Marsden did well with this series. I loved the entire thing.