The Night Is for Hunting

It seems the general opinion of this is that it's the worst of the series, since it's more about Ellie and the gang looking after the feral kids instead of attacking the enemy. I really enjoyed it, though, still had the 'oh man I just can't put this down' feeling. Just as good as the rest of the series. An excellent build up to the last book, which I'm fighting myself from opening right now: The Other Side of Dawn. I think I'm going to find myself disappointed there aren't more books when I finish the Tomorrow series! Although, I also have the Ellie Chronicles to read.

John Marsden's Tomorrow series is one of the best Australian young adult series ever written. It follows the experiences of a group of teenagers who go camping in a serene clearing called 'Hell' and return to find their homeland invaded, their beloved pets dead and their families held prisoner at the local showground. After the initial shock and fear, they decide that it wouldn't do just to sit tight and hope for the best - better to fight. With realistic action and the conflicting emotions that come from war (at one point Ellie wonders how many people it is OK to kill just to keep herself alive), this series will have you thinking about what you would do if you were in their shoes. The Tomorrow series is neither pro or anti war. It show more simply tells what happens and leaves the reader to judge. If you don't read this series you are missing out on something great. show less

This is definitely one of the slower books of the series. Not much happens in the grand scheme of the war they are fighting until the end but for the most part I was okay with that. The book never felt like it dragged and there were some incredible character defining moments. I think it really struck me how amazing and strong these teenage characters are during their journey. Watching how they become guardians and take responsibility for kids younger then themselves was the most heroic they’ve ever been in the series for me and also resulted in one of the darkest moments.

Tomorrow series meets Baby-sitters Club.

Oh how I loathe the add-a-cute-kid plot device. Exponentially worse to add FIVE cute AND damaged kids.

Not my favorite book in the series, but Ellie's character development remains strong, and the final showdown in this book was great. Can't wait to see how this story wraps up.

The Night Is For Hunting by John Marsden is the 6th book in his YA Tomorrow series. The books deal with an unnamed country that is very much like Australia being invaded by an unidentified enemy. The group, that were high school seniors when the invasion occurred have been fighting and evading the enemy for some time now. In this book, they rescue a group of children that were living wild in a city and bring them back to the relative safety of the bush.

After the five previous books, the story is far from fresh, yet I have come to care for these characters and the story-lines always engage me. Living under these harsh conditions has forged a closeness for each other and the addition of having young children to care for makes them even show more more determined to fight on for a future. They vow to never surrender, to keep fighting as long as they are able, and to protect each other whatever the cost. With extra mouths to feed, they find themselves having to venture out on raids which leads to Ellie and her friends putting themselves in grave danger.

This particular book is the second to last book in the series and there is a lot of action at the end of the book setting up the 7th book to be an exciting end to the series. The Tomorrow series is compulsive, addictive and makes for a great escape from the everyday routine. show less

The second of my birthday books gone - only one more to go!

The problem with the Tomorrow series is that the books are like action movies. The car chases, suspense and other action sequences are exciting, but oh, so inevitable. Each new adventure seems to be a case of "what can do this time that will be different enough to shock and amaze? How can we top the last one?"

Fortunately, John Marsden is a fantastic storyteller and there's enough balance that I don't mind the action sequences. And this one, with its emphasis on children, adulthood and responsibility, has its own special pace. Each book contributes a different aspect of living in a war. This one was a bit of a surprise - but then they all are.

And this time, the book ended on a show more cliffhanger that quite clearly signalled the finale - the final climax. It is clear that there were never intended to be more than seven books. But now I have to wait for another year to find out "what happened?" How does the war end? Does Australia win? Or do they have to accept that Australia belongs to someone else now? Only a year to go before I find out... show less

These are very enjoyable reads about six teens in Australia who are camping when their country is invaded. Circumstances force them to become partisans. Marsden writes with good suspense, action and leaving you looking forward to the next volume. My two main complaints are: we never really find out who invaded Australia and the group never accumulates although they have numerous clashes with th enemy.