The Other Side of Dawn

Book Title: The Other Side of Dawn

Author: John Marsden

Series: Tomorrow #7

Date Started: August 12th 2018

Date Completed: August 20th 2018

Genres: Action, Dystopian

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

It's pretty weird finishing this series since I've been reading it for about eight or nine years. And it was a good conclusion, even if it wasn't exactly what I expected. But then again one of the reasons I've always come back to these books is that I can't really predict what's going to happen.

Marsden's writing is pretty straightforward, so it's accessible for a lot of ages. But there's still a lot of personality in the narration. A lot of that is to do with Ellie herself who narrates the story as she writes it down. But the action is impeccably done, and despite having a very basic knowledge of Australia (mostly from these books) I could picture everything that was happening as it happened. There's a very cinematic flare to it in that way.

Of course, the biggest thing to comment on is the genre. Forget Hunger Games and Divergent, this is how teenagers actually operate in war. They may be resourceful and resilient, but they're people and they're not military trained. What I've always adored about this story (and the film too) is how honest and brutal it is with warfare - without becoming a parade of gore and guts and death and torture. Because there's a lot more to the human experience in horrific circumstances than that, especially if they have the imagination and recklessness of teenagers, and each responds differently.

I have to admit, I was surprised at how docile this was for the final novel. There's no big epic climax or last stand, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Those things don't really happen that much in reality. Instead you have bursts of action packed in the whole way - as this series absolutely does. Sometimes the ending comes as a surprise and a shock all at once, but I think as a reader the relief floods in a lot more when you're expecting it just as little as the character does. The Other Side of Dawn shows how you don't always need a massive final battle to satisfyingly wrap up a story.

For those of you that have read my previous Tomorrow reviews, I'm sure it will come as no surprise that our heroine Ellie gets her own little paragraph. Because, really, she's the the absolute hero, star, idol of these books. Don't get me wrong, there isn't really one character that is underdeveloped or unbelievable, but Ellie is one of the strongest characters I've ever read (let alone the fact that she's a leading lady written by a man, which of course comes with its difficulties). She's so human and messed up and brave. I've rained praises on the realist approach of these books, and Ellie is the cornerstone of that. It's hard to write a character going through so much with such an assertive personality, because she's inevitably going to be reduced to sobbing shell at some point. To write a fiercely loyal person who ends up cursing her closest friends. An intelligent human who we still believe is clever even after they've made some quite crucial mistakes.

The Tomorrow series really should get more praise, it deals with what is a heavy subject with such maturity, grace and excitement. I'm getting quite short tempered with the publishers and readers that call it a kids book (were you paying attention to when they have to kill people, the way in which they do it, and how it haunts them?). I'm definitely going to read the sequel trilogy when I get the chance because, again, I don't know what Marsden has waiting for me.