The Dead of Night

by John Marsden

Overview

Australia has been invaded. Nothing is as it was. Six teenagers are living out their nightmare in the sanctuary of a hidden valley called Hell. Alone, they make their own rules, protect what is theirs, and struggle for courage and hope in a world changed forever. Seeking supplies, allies, and information, the friends make forays into enemy territory, drawing on nerve and resourcefulness they never even knew they had. As the risks become greater, so too do the sacrifices they must make. Intense, passionate, and compulsive, The Dead of Night continues the frighteningly real story begun in Tomorrow, When the War Began.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547528151
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/29/1997
Series:	Tomorrow Series , #2
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	741,258
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
File size:	447 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

John Marsden’s highly praised series concludes in this thrilling installment that will bring readers to the edge of their seats and keep them there until the last page is turned. John Marsden is one of Australia’s best-known writers for young adults. His work has received critical acclaim and has earned a cultlike following worldwide. The popular Tomorrow series has been translated into seven languages and has sold over one million copies in Australia alone.

Editorial Reviews

This action-filled sequel to the Australian import Tomorrow, When the War Began picks up just where its predecessor left off-and the reader will need to do likewise; for the uninitiated, the background may unfold too slowly. In conversational tones larded with Aussie slang (a glossary is included), Ellie, the narrator of Tomorrow, recounts the further adventures of her group of friends, who previously returned from a camping trip in the bush to discover that an unnamed foreign army had invaded the country, imprisoning all of the locals and laying sinister plans for the future. Ellie and friends here persevere in their attempts at guerrilla warfare against the occupying forces. Romantic relationships continue to develop, and perils of many kinds persist. In a subplot that promises to fuel still another book, the teens briefly hook up with a group of adults who have also managed to elude the enemy, but the adults' leader turns out to be as villainous as the invaders. While Marsden's writing is as taut as ever, the excitement of the original premise wears off in this installment, replaced by a less satisfying emphasis on the teens' maneuvers. Though it's still a superior adventure tale, it lacks the provocative edge and hard-hitting moral challenges of the author's very best work. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 6-10--Marsden picks up right where Tomorrow, When the War Began (Houghton, 1995) left off. A few months have passed since Ellie and six of her friends returned from a camping trip deep in the Australian outback to find their country invaded by an unidentified, non-English-speaking nation. The Dead of Night opens with a brief recounting of what happened in the previous novel; two members of the group, Corrie and Kevin, are still missing. Homer, a self-appointed leader, rallies the others together to track them down. They discover that Kevin has been imprisoned, and Corrie is alive, but in a coma. The teens continue their guerrilla activities and, by the end of the story, have lost Chris, another comrade. As in Tomorrow, Ellie narrates and keeps a written record of the group's activities and experiences. She is a fully realized character who grows considerably in the story. She is a thoughtful, realistic protagonist who wrestles not only with the brutalities of war, but also with her own adolescence. Her feelings for Lee are particularly well done. She wants to have sex with him, but worries about the complications that could result. These realistically depicted human conflicts make the book much more than just an exciting apocalyptic adventure. In the end, only four members of the original seven remain, but they are still committed to fighting the enemy. Hope is alive. Although this sequel can stand on its own, readers of Tomorrow will find it far more satisfying.--Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

"Once again, Marsden's story is riveting because he makes it feel so real. . . . Thoughtful explorations of the nature of fear, bravery, and violence . . . add depth and balance to the edge-of-the-seat action." Horn Book

"Once again, Marsden's story is riveting because he makes it feel so real. . . . Thoughtful explorations of the nature of fear, bravery, and violence . . . add depth and balance to the edge-of-the-seat action." Horn Book Guide

From the Publisher