Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have never been so captivated by a series of books as I have with the Tomorrow series. I ordered this book from Australia months ago so I could get to the end. It is not necessarily the way I wanted the series to end, but it makes more sense than everything turning out perfectly fine. I will miss the brave characters in these books and will most certainly have to read all 7 again at some point.

Of course, after six books following these teenagers from Australia, I was hoping for the picture-perfect ending. You know, the one where everything goes back to the way it was before the war and there's romance and happiness when they reunite and everything is amazing.

You won't get that. But it's a real ending. If Marsden wanted any shred of credibility at the end of this series, he had to end it the way he did. And because of this, it was the perfect ending. I have absolutely no complaints, except for maybe his choice of words in the last sentence.

I dunno. But if you're even a casual reader of this series, and ESPECIALLY if you're very much into it, you won't be disappointed by a long shot by the finale.

This is the finale of the Tomorrow series. I read "The Other Side of Dawn" slowly, savoring each word. I guess I didn't really want the story to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series reading it in order, a page turner throughout. The Other Side of Dawn is packed with the action we've come to expect in each book, but there is also a lot of reflection by Ellie about everything that's happened. I'll look forward to someday coming back to reread the series from the beginning.

The Other Side of Dawn lives up to the action, tension and reality of the best of the Tomorrow series. The last days of the war are at hand, and Ellie's luck is running out. I won't give anything away, but it's an emotional ride. I put it down at around 2 am hoping to make it last, tried to sleep for a couple of hours, and had to get up and read to the finish.

(I am one of the lucky Australians who could grab it last year in its all-black limited edition cover: just the number 7 on the spine and a string of barbed-wire. It kinda did a Harry Potter - everyone knew what it was even with the blank black cover.)

A must for an teenager who is stuck for something to do during those long hot summer days where hard work seems an immpossiblity!
Note you really must start with the first book in the series to get a grasp of the plot and a feel for the writers style etc for all obvious reasons (to see if you like it).
Hope this helps with your desicion for the book ;)

War is something that effects and hurts many people. It causes young men and women to do and see things that they are not emotionally and physically prepared for.

Ellie and her friends went off to camp for the weekend in this place called Hell. While they were out in the bush, having a good time, they had no idea that while they were sleeping their country was being invaded. They had no idea that their lives had changed forever.

When Ellie and her friends returned home from their camping trip, they knew something was terribly wrong. They then had to learn to avoid enemy soldiers and scavenge for food to stay alive, so they went back into the bush where Hell became their new home. They have also planned dangerous attacks against the enemy to try to help get their country back. But Ellie or some of her friends have had to make the ultimate sacrifice... Their Life.

There are 7 books in this series, by John Marsden. In these books you will learn how war changes the life's of everyone that is involved in it, or even the people that are just around it. You will also learn how the kids that are involved in war, will have to grow up fast, and how they will learn how to survive on their own, without adults.

I strongly recommend this series of books for, both adults and young people. It will teach adults that young people can be independent, and that they can survive on their own. It will also teach young people, that being a kid is the best thing in the world, and that they need to enjoy their youth for as long as possible.

I first discovered this series at 23 when I was living in England, and when I returned to Canada I ended up getting the final two volumes delivered from Australia because I could not wait to read the conclusion.

Several reviewers on this site are disappointed with the ending, but I think it would have been highly unrealistic to have a simplistic, upbeat ending to a war saga. Ellie and her friends do get damaged by their experiences and I was relieved to see that acknowledged. The series is one of the most compelling I've ever read. While the themes do get more mature and the final volume is far more focused on just one character, I found it a satisfying conclusion to a captivating epic.

As a genre label, Young Adult does not have to mean simplistic!

This was a great book and the epilogue didn't really give enough. You felt like the characters were real and you wanted to know what happens to them after. It was a realistc ending though. War brings a lot of pain. This book will be a favorite for years to come. It should be one of the book that we read in school and talk about. This series showed that the bond of friendship is the strongest there is.

I was absolutely breathless with excitement when this book finally arrived. I tried to make it last, but at the same time was so caught up in it that I finally just had to stay up late reading it. Any Tomorrow When... fan must read this book immediately!
As much as I loved it and found it thrilling and exciting, the absence of Homer, Lee, Kevin, and Fi for so much of the book was disappointing. I desperately wanted to know what they were doing.Despite the epilogue, I was left wanting to know more. Surely they couldn't just go back to their lives like nothing happened? And why didn't Ellie's parents want to know more about her experiences? And even though, as another reviewer said, it was probably realistic, I can't handle the thought of the group of them not being close knit for the rest of their lives.
So, as much as I really enjoyed the book, I am left feeling kind of disappointed, whether it's because the series is over or because I feel so badly for the characters, or because I think the epilogue was kind of lame, I'm just not sure.

This is the seventh and last book in the Tomorrow series by John Marsden. The series follows a group of Australian teens who go on a camping trip the same weekend their country is invaded. They do what they can to survive and thwart the plans of the enemy soldiers. In this book, Ellie Linton and her friends are put on a last mission while the New Zealand troops attack the enemies with all they have.

I liked Ellie's character development. A couple times she was in one on one battles and she knew she'd have to kill to save herself. It's crazy because in the first book, she was wondering what was wrong or right, if she could do it, etc. A year and a half has passed, and she's come to the point where she realizes she has no choice. Not to stay she became ruthless or anything like that, she's just changed. At the same time, I think her internal monologues sometimes slow down the prose. She's always thinking back to the farm and stuff. I realize this is how people think in real life, but it was kind of a disjointed narrative.

I'm so sad that this series is over! I really loved it. This book I read in less than twenty-four hours even though I had it for a couple weeks from the library. I was expecting something a little more climatic, though, I felt like the second half was kind of a letdown. I think that's a cool thing about this series, though; he decides on realism instead of entertainment. War is uncontrollable and so is the violence that accompanies it. I also think it was kind of neat to see the prison camp because you can't deny that dehumanization happens in war. It's sad to think this is happening all over the world and has happened for years and years. It makes me think about why we value certain things and what we're willing to do for land and resources.

I'm going to check out the Ellie series, but I don't know whether to have low expectations or not. Not too many great reviews on Goodreads. I really like his writing, and everything goes so fast, so I probably will if the library has it.