The Night Is for Hunting
by John Marsden
In the penultimate installment of the internationally bestselling Tomorrow series, Ellie and her friends look after a gang of orphans whose wild behavior reveals the true impact of war.Amidst a brutal war with no end in sight, Ellie and her four remaining friends discover that their hidden refuge becomes a crowded place when they decide to care for an uncooperative crew of orphans. Things only get worse when Ellie and Homer learn that mysterious visitors have discovered their sanctuary. Has the enemy found them out?Five ordinary teens brave the worst in this electrifying continuation of their battle to stay safe and sane in a war zone that was once their home.From Publishers WeeklyThe adventures of five Australian teenagers continue in the sixth installment in the Tomorrow series, The Night Is for Hunting by John Marsden. While trying to care for a group of ungrateful orphans, Ellie and her friends struggle to survive against enemy invaders. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalGr 7 Up-Marsden continues the saga that began in Tomorrow When the War Began (Houghton, 1995), in which Australia was invaded and occupied by an unknown enemy and a group of teens organized a guerrilla campaign against the invaders. New Zealand has since been drawn into the war, but the setting of this sixth installment is largely in "Hell," a part of the Australian outback used by the young partisans as a safe haven when they aren't launching attacks against the enemy. Ellie and her comrades take in "ferals," children who have been left to run wild in the streets of a nearby town. The kids are not receptive to being cared for, and the teens' attempts at building a sense of community and family sometimes allow for a few lighthearted moments. The war, of course, is never far away. There are plenty of dramatic, fast-paced battle scenes with lots of action and carnage, which is vividly depicted. Ellie wrestles with her conscience throughout the story. Does she have the right to kill others in order to survive? Marsden offers no definitive answer to such questions, leaving readers to make up their own minds. Although this story picks up where Darkness, Be My Friend (Houghton, 2001) left off, it stands on its own well enough for readers unfamiliar with the series to appreciate it. The main audience for the book, however, is likely to be those who have followed the war from the beginning.Edward Sullivan, White Pine School, TNCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.