The Night is for Hunting by John Marsden

Title: The Night is for Hunting

Author: John Marsden
Publisher: Pan
ISBN: 978-0-330-36136-1
Pages: 252
Series: Tomorrow #6
Type: Young Adult Action/Adventure
Source: Gift
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Ellie and her friends have decided that it's time for them to leave Stratton and return to the safety of Hell. Their time in Stratton has given them a chance to heal, but also a chance to betray and be betrayed. Still reeling from Lee's actions, Ellie becomes determined to rescue a group of feral orphans. What Ellie hasn't counted on is that the orphans may not want to be rescued.

This is the sixth book in the Tomorrow series (after Tomorrow When the War Began, The Dead of Night, The Third Day, the Frost, Darkness Be My Friend and Burning for Revenge) and it takes a somewhat gentler tone than previous books. When the orphans were introduced in the previous book I found them to be a bit annoying and distracting so I was a bit apprehensive of reading this. However I'm glad I did.

The pace picks up quickly and stays at quite a high level for the majority of the book. There is a slower paced section where the teens arrange Christmas for the orphans, but unlike slower parts of previous books this doesn't drag. There is still a lot of action based around fights with the invading troops, but the kids also provide more story and an opportunity for the teens to act more maturely. The orphans are also well developed as characters, each having a different backstory that explains their behaviour.

The ending of the book caught me completely off guard. It is cleverly done and leads neatly into the next (and final) book without having a cheesy cliffhanger ending. Instead a few new questions are raised, along with the possibility of an end to the war.

All in all this was a great read and I'm looking forward to seeing how the series ends in The Other Side of Dawn.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 48/50