The Dead of Night

March 29, 1999
In this sequel to Tomorrow, When the War Began, the teenagers continue their guerrilla warfare against the invading foreign army. PW said, "Though it's still a superior adventure tale, it lacks the provocative edge and hard-hitting moral challenges of the author's best work." Ages 12-up. (May) r

November 1, 1997
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

September 29, 1997
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.