The Dead of the Night by John Marsden

This novel is the second of the Tomorrow series by John Marsden. Just as in the first it is following the lives of a group of teenagers who have come back from a camping trip to find their homes and town invaded by a foreign force. With no sign of their parents or friends they decide that the best thing for them to do is hide out in Hell, a secluded area of bush where they had been camping, and become guerrilla fighters attacking the enemy and helping to win this war they have found themselves in. As the second part of the series this book continues directly on from this and Ellie is still the narrator of the story.

Having had one of their friends shot and another take her to the hospital knowing that he would be captured and taken prisoner, there are only six of them left. They hide out in Hell and are faced with numerous challenges, including the weight of death and murder, the blow of not owning their own country as colonists take over their friends' and families' houses and farms and the usual teenage dilemma’s of love and relationships. They struggle to find the strength to make a difference although end up setting fire to a group of houses that seem to be a hive of important activity. Unfortunately they lose another friend who they find at the end of the book. He had been drunk and had gone looking for more alcohol while the rest of them were on a mission; he had flipped the car and laid there for days obviously just waiting to die. Now there is a weight of guilt on their shoulders as they know they should not have left him alone for so long.

This book is for adolescent students who are trying to find out who they are and learning about life and how they are meant to live and participate in it. This book probably should not be read by students under year 9 or 10 as some sexual experiences between some of the characters are depicted in it. The themes and concepts within this book are very much typical of Marsden as it is written for older students, even adults to an extent, and deals with some deep and dark topics such as war, murder, loss of friends, right and wrong and teenage life.