Customer Reviews

While I Live - The Ellie Chronicles

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

 

 

I grew up reading John Marsden's books. I was well and truly within the target age range when the Tomorrow series first started in the early Nineties. And recently I reread that series and found I enjoyed it even more as an adult. However, then I came to The Ellie Chronicles.

My advice? Avoid it at all costs.

Now, I know John Marsden lives on a farm, and so no doubt much of what he writes is based on personal experience. To that end, I am sure there is a very small portion of society who enjoys reading hundreds of pages of minute detail about how to be a successful cattle farmer. I am just not one of them.

Where was the amazing story I was expecting to dive back into? Why has it been replaced with a book full of information about birthing cattle and renting paddocks?

And then the book well and truly `jumped the shark' for me on page one hundred and fourteen, where Marsden hit rock bottom with his nasty and just plain stupid comments about blonde women.

I was always a little annoyed that the Tomorrow series was drawn out. And out. And out. When an author insists on writing so many books for one story it is bound to lose it, but then I was pleasantly surprised that for the most part the seven books maintained their high standard.

However, towards the end of the series Marsden forced a group of children on us, and our heroes and heroines became little more than babysitters. There was never a more annoying plot point than the introduction of a little boy named Gavin. Yeah, Mr Marsden, I get it. Gavin signifies Ellie's transformation into and adult and a mother figure.

The problem is that I don't enjoy it.

There's that rule in television - don't make your main characters parents because being tied down with children does not make good entertainment.

Unfortunately Marsden seems to have forgotten his target audience in The Ellie Chronicles, and Gavin becomes just about the only person in Ellie's life. For my part, I couldn't care less whether Ellie does a good job of raising a child. I just want the old gang back (and yes, that even means poor Kevin, who Marsden has had a serious bias against since day one).

This book just went on and on, and for the first time in my life I realised reading John Marsden's writing was hard work. He went off on tangents in the middle of dramatic scenes. He started quoting poetry. And yes, there was far too much detail about building fences and rescuing cows.

I'm sorry Mr Marsden, but this book was a disaster.

This has been one of the best books I've ever read. If your a person that likes guerilla warfare, like myself. I garentee you will fall in love with this series. Just like I did. John Marsden takes a girl living a normal life on a farm in Australia and makes her house in the front line. Along with her friends and nieghbors. Mardson describes her new world of fighting and danger so well it makes you feel like your sneaking through the Australien countryside with her fellow companions. I truly loved this book.

John Marsden's WHILE I LIVE creates 'The Ellie Chronicles', continuing the story of a girl who has spent years fighting invaders in her home country, and who is back on her family's farm trying to rebuild her life after years of war. The only problem is - the war isn't really over yet, and when tragedy hits she again finds herself struggling to survive. The same fierce independent spirit displayed in Marsden's 'Tomorrow' series revolving around Ellie and her courageous band of friends continues in this satisfying new series.

While I Live starts with a bomb being dropped on Ellie's life, and follows how she fights to keep her home and still uses the skills she learned as a guerilla fighter. While the story is a testament to how life goes on, even after horrible things happen, it also shows that people can't become complacent and go with the flow.

This book is not as exciting as the main Tomorrow series, but it's still well written, and Ellie is still an amazing person who knows how to make things happen.

When I bought this book (From over seas - couldn't wait for it to be printed in the States) I was worried that it would be jsut hte same as the previous seven - where were.are great, but can get a little tiresome. However, the new series turns a new page in the life of Ellie and her friends. They are trying to begin again - pass high school, start a new life and forget their old one.

However, this is harder than expected. The war detailed in the first seven books is over the effects are still evident. Ellie and the adopted Gavin find it impossible to forget the past, especially when thier farm is attacked because it is close to the border deviding the (still unnamed) enemy and the Aussies.

It's a good book and really begins to show the struggles that Ellie faces in trying to return to not jsut her nromal lifestyle, but her old persoanlity. She is an inspiring charatcer, die hard and determined and reading the books is different enough from the others to feel new and adventurous but similar enough to be enjoyable.

"While I live" is a story of courage, love, despair, betrayal and faith. "While I live" is the first book of a new series, which follows the series "Tomorrow"

In this book we see old characters shine and new characters introduced. We see Ellie struggling on, through school, running a farm, looking after Gavin and fighting the lawyers.

In the "Tomorrow" series, narrated by Ellie, we see her fighting to survive in the bush while playing a major role in the war effort. At the end we see her reunited with her family as life starts again and normality slowly returns.

In the Ellie chronicles, Marsden starts the new series with "While I live" and hardly notice the difference between the two series. There both narrated by Ellie and old characters are constantly mentioned. However, at the same time, you'd never fell your missing anything if you haven't read the other series first.

Ellie's parents are killed by Rebels in a dramatic first chapter. The action continues throughout the book, with love scenes and border raids adding to the action.

Throughout the book you watch Ellie and Gavin fight lawyers as well as there own physical limits to look after themselves, keep up in school, keep the farm and keep the farm running.

Friends, Lee, Homer and Fi all help Ellie with there varying talents: Fi, as a great friend, Homer, as a great family and Lee, with his experience of bringing up four younger siblings, gives Ellie great advice as to how bring Gavin up probably.

All in all, I thought it was an excellent book and book anyone over the age of 10 should read (even Adults!). If you haven't read the "Tomorrow" series first, read it afterwards as it's also very good.

This is just terrible.

I am not interesting in cattle farming. John Marsden is. Very, VERY interested. His war stories have been replaced by details on how to birth cattle, and what kind of timetable farmers follow.

Then he gets bored with that and starts making discriminatory blonde jokes.

And that's not to mention the endless tales of the world's most stupid and annoying child: Gavin.

Do yourself a favour and avoid the follow-ups to the Tomorrow series.