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28th out of 154 books
—
230 voters
Darkness, Be My Friend (Tomorrow #4)
by
John Marsden
The battle continues as five ordinary kids must journey back into the heart of an epic conflict.
Five months into World War III, Ellie and her four remaining friends have barely escaped the Australian town of Wirrawee with their lives and their sanity intact.
But as the next step becomes clear, they realize they must once again sacrifice their hard-won comfort and safety. A...more
Five months into World War III, Ellie and her four remaining friends have barely escaped the Australian town of Wirrawee with their lives and their sanity intact.
But as the next step becomes clear, they realize they must once again sacrifice their hard-won comfort and safety. A...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
October 1st 2006
by Scholastic Paperbacks
(first published 1996)
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Jun 19, 2012
Mish
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Mish by:
Helen
Shelves:
australian-authors,
fiction,
library-friends-books,
thriller,
y-adult,
challenge-books,
dystopia
This didn’t impress me as much as the others in the series. The book deals with the physiological impact the teenagers are going through as a result of the war. The action scenes are still heavy and fast paced but it’s all starting to sound the same. Not a lot of progress is being made. It is emotional in parts, when we learn a little more of family and friends held at the showgrounds.
Overall I think the series is brilliant and I’ve come too really like the characters. In particular Ellie, I th...more
Overall I think the series is brilliant and I’ve come too really like the characters. In particular Ellie, I th...more
I'm doing a quick re-read through this series, which is probably my favorite YA series of books, if not my favorite in general. Hence the quick review...
DBMF definitely felt like a more quick read than the heavy, emotional prequel, The Killing Frost. Of course any of these in the series pack a wallop of emotion, but I felt like this one was more introspective. The book picks up as the teens are leading the Kiwi soldiers to a new high-profile target in their hometown of Wirrawee.
(view spoiler)...more
DBMF definitely felt like a more quick read than the heavy, emotional prequel, The Killing Frost. Of course any of these in the series pack a wallop of emotion, but I felt like this one was more introspective. The book picks up as the teens are leading the Kiwi soldiers to a new high-profile target in their hometown of Wirrawee.
(view spoiler)...more
This is the fourth book in the Tomorrow series. As with the previous stories, it revolves around a group of Australian teenagers who were camping when their country was invaded and occupied by an Asian (the exact nationalities of the invading coalitions has not been stated) army.
The teens managed to escape to New Zealand in the previous novel. In this one, they have been asked to return to Australia and guide a team of special forces into their home town. Although returning is not something they...more
The teens managed to escape to New Zealand in the previous novel. In this one, they have been asked to return to Australia and guide a team of special forces into their home town. Although returning is not something they...more
Five months after their rescue, Ellie and her friends have been recuperating in New Zealand and trying to deal with the loss of their friend Robyn. Now their rescuers need their help - the New Zealand troops want to go behind enemy lines...and they need local guides. Soon the teenagers are back in Hell, but when something goes wrong the mission becomes fraught with tension and the inevitable question - will they ever escape Wirrawee again.
This is the fourth book in the Tomorrow series (after To...more
This is the fourth book in the Tomorrow series (after To...more
The fourth book in the Tomorrow series, Darkness Be My Friend centers around Ellie and her friends. The book starts off in New Zealand, where the protagonists have been for a few months. They're asked to go back to Wirrawee to help with a mission to attack the air field.
This series is gradually becoming slower in pace. I know some people don't like it - the first book is action packed, and by this one, there is a lot more retroflection and waiting for things to happen. But I think it's very rea...more
This series is gradually becoming slower in pace. I know some people don't like it - the first book is action packed, and by this one, there is a lot more retroflection and waiting for things to happen. But I think it's very rea...more
Plot summary: Now safe in Wellington, Ellie and her friends are adapting to life outside of war-torn Australia. All that is about to change. When they're asked to return to Wirrawee with a team of New Zealand soldiers to undertake guerilla attacks, they reluctantly agree. But when the New Zealand soldiers disappear without a trace, the teenagers must once again fend for themselves, and decide once again whether to hide out or fight for their country.
Thoughts: This is the book where the emotional...more
Thoughts: This is the book where the emotional...more
**check out my review for Tomorrow, When the War Began for my take on the series as a whole**
Probably the slowest of the series so far, but by no means unworthy of the 5 stars rating. The feel of this book and the style are a bit of a departure. There is less action and craziness and way more internal dialogue for Ellie. I noticed a lot more “I remember when...”, and Ellie will often stop midway through a conversation or action sequence to share an anecdote with the reader. I can see how this m...more
This entry in the Tomorrow series was actually a lot better than I remember it being. I know some readers are disappointed that it isn't as action-oriented as the previous books, but I like the direction that Darkness goes - indeed, it is all about darkness but this time it is darkness of the soul. Ellie is suffering from PTSD and it is affecting her relationships with her friends and her conduct in the world as she becomes reckless and disregarding of her own safety. I like that this shift has...more
May 12, 2013
Georgie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
survival-fiction,
aussie-ya
Another brilliant instalment in the 'Tomorrow' series. After escaping from occupied Australia to New Zealand, Ellie and her friends have been living there and getting back something of a 'normal' life - they have real beds, hot food and showers, a bit of school, and they're undergoing therapy. Despite all this however, they are all still struggling with what they've seen and experienced, and of course their families are still prisoners back home. They agree to return to Australia to lead a small...more
Spoilers in this review. This was the first book from the series I hadn't read, I had previously read 1-3. I was really disappointed. Before this book I really felt like everything that happened could possibly happen because of the chaos of war. But I don't believe an army would send 5 teenagers back into a country where they had been previously arrested and sentenced to death & 20-35 years in prison. Sorry, I don't buy it. What help could they really be? They were sent back with 12 professi...more
This installment of the Tomorrow series wasn't quite as great as the rest, but it was still very good. It felt shorter than the rest and was a bit like a filler, though I actually appreciated the content and felt that it was necessary for the story. Don't ready further if you don't want any spoilers. I liked that everything basically failed in this book. Thus far the characters have been very successful in their "missions" with some problems thrown in there of course. I think it was important to...more
The 4th book in the Tomorrow series finds the surviving teens in the relative safety of New Zealand. They get the brief break that they were seeking when they were captured towards the end of the third book. With more people around, their tight group bonds break down a little as each deals with PSTD in their own way. But that critical interlude is soon over when they are asked to serve as the guides for a commando team.
The first three volumes amped up the action, danger and personal jeopardy in...more
The first three volumes amped up the action, danger and personal jeopardy in...more
John Marsden continues to capture my attention with his series about a group of Australian teenagers who turn into guerilla fighters when their country is invaded and colonized by an unnamed nation. In the last book the group finally made it out of the country with the help of New Zealand military forces. Now, after a couple of months of R&R and a lot of time thinking about what they've been through, they're asked to return to guide Kiwi soldiers. Once again Ellie is our narrator. She's smar...more
As the fourth book in the series, I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. The last book finished with the teenagers finally escaping from Australia into relative safety. Despite having lost three of their friends, they were finally in a position where they could start to heal. Except, of course, that their families were back in Australia, and they'd lost their homes, their country, and their futures.
I was curious how they would be dragged back to the conflict, and concerned that it would fee...more
I was curious how they would be dragged back to the conflict, and concerned that it would fee...more
Darkness, Be My Friend is the continuation of the story of a group of teenagers inadvertently caught up in a war zone, but luckily not caught by the enemy like the rest of their community. In this story, the teenagers are happily being teenagers in New Zealand, until the NZ defence forces decide to try hijacking the foreigners and use our heroes as their guides. Sadly, things don't go as planned and this group of friends are once more stranded and left to their own devices in their native countr...more
If you haven’t read the other books in the series, BEWARE. There will be spoilers in this review.
As the story begins, Ellie and her friends, Lee, Homer, Kevin, and Fi, are enjoying a little R & R in New Zealand. After receiving some much needed medical treatment, they get to enjoy a couple of months of good food, soft beds, and even a little hero treatment. Stories are published in newspapers about all of their accomplishments. Everyone knows them.
You can imagine how hard it was when they fo...more
As the story begins, Ellie and her friends, Lee, Homer, Kevin, and Fi, are enjoying a little R & R in New Zealand. After receiving some much needed medical treatment, they get to enjoy a couple of months of good food, soft beds, and even a little hero treatment. Stories are published in newspapers about all of their accomplishments. Everyone knows them.
You can imagine how hard it was when they fo...more
Marsden keeps hitting them out of the park for me in this series, which take place in a present-time Australia that has been invaded and conquered. In 'Darkness,' Marsden's teenage narrator Ellie is forced out of a sort of retirement in New Zealand after she and her friends accomplished a spectacular act of resistance in 'A Killing Frost.' Perhaps this is best, as Ellie seems at loose ends. After some self-destructive behavior at a party, she signs on to return to Australia. As with the previous...more
I feel like Darkness, Be My Friend is the weakest novel so far in an otherwise excellent series. I would still recommend the series on a whole but I hope the next novels are better than this one.
Some people might not have a problem with it but for me there were some issues with the plot that were so far fetched that it had a negative effect on the believability of the entire series, and I already had to stretch my imagination to begin with so that's not a good thing.
Also there was a reference t...more
Some people might not have a problem with it but for me there were some issues with the plot that were so far fetched that it had a negative effect on the believability of the entire series, and I already had to stretch my imagination to begin with so that's not a good thing.
Also there was a reference t...more
May 27, 2012
Liontinx
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-english,
ebook
Fiup Éste libro se ha esfumado en menos de un fin de semana. Esta temporada de exámenes está dándole un buen estreno a mi kindle. Qué contento estoy con él XD.
Al libro se le pueden aplicar todos los halagos que les hice a sus predecesores. Este además me da la sensación que tiene más comentarios humorísticos por ahí en medio. He soltado alguna que otra carcajada, cosa que en los otros ocurría menos.
En fin, la verdad es que me está encantando esta serie. Y pensar que casi la abandono cuando desc...more
Al libro se le pueden aplicar todos los halagos que les hice a sus predecesores. Este además me da la sensación que tiene más comentarios humorísticos por ahí en medio. He soltado alguna que otra carcajada, cosa que en los otros ocurría menos.
En fin, la verdad es que me está encantando esta serie. Y pensar que casi la abandono cuando desc...more
I have to admit that most Australian based novels don't really interest me. However, this series by John Marsden is superb. Even the movie (based on the first book in the series) was RIVETING.
So, I am not scared to admit that having to go to work and having to sleep really does interupt my reading time with this series. But especially book 4. I just can't put this one down and everything else is just getting in the way - including eating. I started this book on Saturday and although I had an am...more
So, I am not scared to admit that having to go to work and having to sleep really does interupt my reading time with this series. But especially book 4. I just can't put this one down and everything else is just getting in the way - including eating. I started this book on Saturday and although I had an am...more
One of the biggest problems I've had with this series is the fact that it is rather obvious that while the narrator is female, the author is himself male. And this has never been more apparent than it was at the beginning of this book, in the situation Ellie gets into at the party with the New Zealand boy. I was seriously pissed off at the way Marsden dealt with it, and I nearly quit the series then and there. It didn't help that he referred to it several more times during the book.
The plot and...more
The plot and...more
only four stars because i think this is the first book that has felt like it was part of a series, in that it felt like filler of some sort.
however, fi and homer and kevin and lee and ELLIE are so freaking awesome. i can't explain how much i adore this series. i also liked audrey, and how ellie is both trying to work through the important things in her head, how her identity is changing and she doesn't know exactly who she is any more or why or if anything has actually changed in her - countere...more
however, fi and homer and kevin and lee and ELLIE are so freaking awesome. i can't explain how much i adore this series. i also liked audrey, and how ellie is both trying to work through the important things in her head, how her identity is changing and she doesn't know exactly who she is any more or why or if anything has actually changed in her - countere...more
Again, Marsden delivers a thrilling, fast-paced book. My only complaint is that when I started it, I thought this book was simply pumped out, that Marsden hadn't intended to write more than three books in this series. But as I got more into the story, I realized this book just has a different feel. It's more desperate, more full of danger and the exhaustion these teenagers are feeling. And it ends just as abruptly as the others, leaving the reader thankful that Ellie and her group made it, but w...more
Had a rough and weird start, but once the Kiwis disappeared it got way better. I was extremely crushed that another person died... :( I wonder how many of Ellie's friends will be still alive by the time the series is over.
I'm also liking Fi more, even though there seems like something off about her. Such a girly girl, but then she has some funny reaction to blowing up stuff. XD Lee I am liking less and less. Even though I feel bad for him, I guess...
A lot of the time its hard (emotionally) to r...more
I'm also liking Fi more, even though there seems like something off about her. Such a girly girl, but then she has some funny reaction to blowing up stuff. XD Lee I am liking less and less. Even though I feel bad for him, I guess...
A lot of the time its hard (emotionally) to r...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
So, I've been slacking off on these book reviews. It's been a while, so I'm just going to combine my book reviews for A Killing Frost, Darkness, Be My Friend, and Burning For Revenge.
A Killing Frost is thus far my favourite book in the series. From what I can remember, I was kept in a suspenseful state the whole time I was reading the novel. That being said, it also made me cry at one point because of something that happened. I read a spoiler at one point, and expected something to happen. It di...more
A Killing Frost is thus far my favourite book in the series. From what I can remember, I was kept in a suspenseful state the whole time I was reading the novel. That being said, it also made me cry at one point because of something that happened. I read a spoiler at one point, and expected something to happen. It di...more
Jul 28, 2012
Sally
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
e-own,
ya,
au-or-dystopia,
war-other,
deadly-peril,
australian,
bush,
series-tomorrow,
author-john-marsden
Oh man am I glad I went right into this after The Third Day, the Frost! I think I can stand to wait a little before moving onto the next book now, but not too long because WHOA.
(view spoiler)...more
(view spoiler)...more
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I believe these books. Every word that comes out of John Marsden through the voice of Ellie I believe wholeheartedly. He has created such a depth of of characters and events that are so realistic and yet so surprising. With each novel in the series I'm more and more drawn in to the story.
I especially like that all the corners of the story aren't rounded off so every little thing fits neatly together. You genuinely don't know if the kids (for lack of a better term) will pull off whatever stunt th...more
I especially like that all the corners of the story aren't rounded off so every little thing fits neatly together. You genuinely don't know if the kids (for lack of a better term) will pull off whatever stunt th...more
Ellie, Homer, Lee, Kevin and Fiona have been through a lot, to say the least. They are safe for now in New Zealand, but they are all still reeling from their time in prison and the death of Robyn. But they are starting to get back into the rhythm of normal life. They are heroes of the war ad are given everything that they ask for. But nothing comes without a price. Colonel Finley needs them to go back. Ellie resists at first, but the call of her family is too much for her, as well as her sense o...more
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His first book, So Much To Tell You, was published in 1987. This was followed by Take My Word For It, a half-sequel written from the point of view of another character. His landmark Tomorrow series is recognized as the most popular book series for young adults ever written in Australia. The first book of this series, Tomorrow When The War Began, has been reprinted 26 times in Australia. The first...more
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“But it was my parents I longed for mostly. I wanted to be a little girl again and cuddle into them, wriggling in between them like I'd done in their bed when I was three or four, snug and warm in the safest place in the world.
Instead I had Hell.”
—
15 people liked it
Instead I had Hell.”
“We had enough years in front of us to be serious and grown-up and respectable. Why rush it? But on the other hand we always complained when teachers and other adults treated us as kids. In fact there was nothing that annoyed me more. So it was a frustrating situation. What we needed was a two-sided badge that said 'Mature' on one side and 'Childish' on the other. Then at any moment we could turn it to whatever side we felt like being and the adults could treat us accordingly.”
—
10 people liked it
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Jun 05, 2012 05:58am
I’m just worried that the action sc...more
updated Jun 05, 2012 03:01pm
I’m listening to book 5 and I think I prefer them on audio. The narrator has a...more
Jun 19, 2012 05:21pm