The Other Side of Dawn (The Tomorrow Series #7)

by John Marsden

Paperback, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

823.3

Publication

Scholastic Paperbacks (2007), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 336 pages

Description

Ellie and her friends, five Australian teenagers who survived the enemy invasion of their country, use guerrilla tactics to support a major counterattack by New Zealand troops.

User reviews

LibraryThing member seldombites

John Marsden's Tomorrow series is one of the best Australian young adult series ever written. It follows the experiences of a group of teenagers who go camping in a serene clearing called 'Hell' and return to find their homeland invaded, their beloved pets dead and their families held prisoner at

the local showground. After the initial shock and fear, they decide that it wouldn't do just to sit tight and hope for the best - better to fight. With realistic action and the conflicting emotions that come from war (at one point Ellie wonders how many people it is OK to kill just to keep herself alive), this series will have you thinking about what you would do if you were in their shoes. The Tomorrow series is neither pro or anti war. It simply tells what happens and leaves the reader to judge. If you don't read this series you are missing out on something great.

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LibraryThing member Amzzz

A disappointing end to one of my favourite series as a teenager. I think the books went downhill after about number 5, but oh well!

LibraryThing member reakendera

Last book of the Tomorrow series, and what an excellent ending! Ellie and the gang preparing for D-Day and the end of the war. When I really sat down to read this I could not put it down, I read 95% of it in one day. This series really was addictive, kinda disappointed it's over but relieved and

excited by the fact that I'm about to begin the Ellie Chronicles, book #1 being While I Live, which places us after the end of the war and back on Ellie's farm with her parents.

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LibraryThing member Mockingbird-1993

Such an amazing end to a great series. Can not wait to re-read the series while I wait to get my hands on Ellie Chronicles!

LibraryThing member mandochild

At last I reached the very final book in the "Tomorrow" series, and it felt a bit like it was trying to be everything. It covered all the action, then (briefly) the experience of isolation and being a prisoner of war; it covered the courage of the human spirit, the inability of the human spirit to

cope; friendship, relationships that can't cope with the demands placed upon them... It was a great book, and yet somehow, a bit inevitable. It covered what it clearly had to cover, in as action-packed a fashion as a Hollywood movie.

The most frustrating part was Ellie's belief about what happened to her friends, which was so obviously wrong from the beginning, but which got dragged out as long as it possibly could. And the most interesting part was the uneasy settlement: resolution without real resolution. But then, perhaps I should have realised the inevitability of that as well.

It is finished - next year I start on a new adventure.

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LibraryThing member LamSon

These are very enjoyable reads about six teens in Australia who are camping when their country is invaded. Circumstances force them to become partisans. Marsden writes with good suspense, action and leaving you looking forward to the next volume. My two main complaints are: we never really find out

who invaded Australia and the group never accumulates although they have numerous clashes with th enemy.

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LibraryThing member jamespurcell

Good ending to an excellent series.

LibraryThing member ohsillytwigg

I think that out of the series, this is my favorite.

LibraryThing member ABShepherd

This final novel in the Tomorrow series was worth the wait. John Marsden has told an amazing and believable story of what war in a developed and unsuspecting country might be like for Ellie and her friends. I loved the entire series. Thank you John Marsden!

LibraryThing member Sweet_Serenity

Despite some initial reservations, I've grown to love this series. This finale offers the same brilliant action and heartwarming personal stories as the other novels.

The seperation from the ferals was absolutely heartwrenching, and the group went out with a bang in their final contribution to the

war.
However, I was completely disappointed by the ending.

I can see where Marsden was coming from- this was the end of a violent war, and a 'they lived happily ever after' would have been a bit unrealistic. But I think he represented Ellie as too fickle in the end. A girl that suddenly falls out of love with one friend (AGAIN!) and begins to have feelings for another (AGAIN!) (I really thought she was over that drama), and a girl that breaks a promise to a little girl... it just does not feel like the Ellie I admired throughout the series. And beyond that, the cruel splitting up of the group... I understand that their relationships would have a little tension now, but after everything they went through, it just seems bizzare.
And I suppose that somewhat naively, after how independent the group acted for so long, I did not envision them becoming obedient teenagers that follow the decisions of their parents (ie. Fi's move to the city). They just seemed too grown-up for that.

Anyway, this novel is as brilliant as its predecessors, and although I personally hate the ending, if I view it from a distance, I can understand and respect that Marsden's ending stays true to the cold, hard, reality. I think I just got too emotionally involved in the series.

PS. I totally knew that the rest of the group was alive! I was in complete denial when Ellie thought they were dead..it would have been too cruel.

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LibraryThing member Cataloger623

339 pages Fiction. This is a great book. Its is worth conclusion to a series I am sorry to see end. Its no surprise that the war ends in this book. Its the journey and how its told that makes the book worth reading. The book wraps up loose ends in a more than satisfying fashion. See how the war and

the peace changed all that were involved.

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LibraryThing member Karyn_Ainsworth

I was very excited to see the series all wrapped up, and without being completely rosy. My only complaint would be that I never believed that the rest of the crew had died. It pulled me out of the story a bit, because I wasn't as devastated as Ellie was. I'd also still like to know how the New

Zealanders escaped, but I guess you can't tie up all the loose ends.

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LibraryThing member Floratina

READ IN DUTCH

And then it is all over. The final episode of the Tomorrow-series by John Marsden. I've enjoyed reading them, it was an interesting story. I did like the first three books best, they seemed to be the most realistic, and this last book had a few points where I believe they were more

lucky than possible. Just a bit too many coincidences and a feeling Marsden really wanted a happy end at the end of the series. Still loved it.
I would recommend this series to everyone, because I really liked it and wish there were more books than the seven I've read!

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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50

The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden is the seventh and final book in his Tomorrow Series. I’ve been reading this series slowly over the last few years and I am going to miss it, as I have become very attached to the characters but at the same time it was time to end the war and wrap the series

up before it got to repetitive. Luckily, the author has published a trilogy that continues the story of the main character, Ellie.

The series has followed a group of Australian teenagers who became resistance fighters when their country was invaded while they were on a camping trip. It is now the final days of the war and the United Nations and other countries have come to Australia’s aid. This group has been asked to cause as much trouble as they can in order to disrupt the enemy and while causing an explosion at a fuel depot, Ellie becomes separated from the group. She must now move forward toward the end of the war alone, not knowing what happened to her friends.

I thought the author gave the series a realistic yet hopeful ending, things do not go back to the way they were. Many people have been killed and even more have been damaged. The war has brought changes and now Ellie must find her way in a new world. The Other Side of Dawn is the closing of a series about courage, friendship and survival. I now look forward to the trilogy that is about Ellie and her life after the war.

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LibraryThing member RobertaLea

I have really, really enjoyed this series. Sometimes it was a bit over the top, but still very intriguing and well written. I'd recommend it to any young adult who enjoys a page-turning adventure.
After this book, I thought I was done with Ellie and her friends, but there is another series--a

trilogy about Ellie after the war. I will have to find those books and get them read.

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