Reviews

Darkness, Be My Friend by John Marsden

thewordn3rd's review against another edition

3.0

I’ve been reading this series since May and while I’m committed to finishing the rest of this series, it’s not spectacular. It is a page-turner (or earworm, I’m listening to it so I’m not sure the exact term). When I read it, I was invested in what happened to the characters. That said, I have yet to finish one of these and be desperate to pick-up the next book. It’s good if you’re into YA dystopian books, but it’s pretty run of the mill.

ande13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.75

cathieleyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

verabaetas's review against another edition

5.0

This book blew my mind!! I was expecting another death and another big stunt, instead I got a big failure. It was amazing and refreshing! The depth of the characters, especially Lee and Ellie... this was a rollercoaster. WOW, just wow!!!

jacqui_des's review against another edition

4.0

5-Word Review: (for the series)
Tense, gripping, suspenseful, teenage heroism

Memorable Quotes

"...surely the bigger the fear the greater the courage?"

"I’ve always suspected boys are secret pyromaniacs. They love lighting fires."

"I’d again made the decision that my life was worth more than theirs."

"I had the feeling he didn't want to know about psychological problems. Like a lot of country guys he thought you should be tough enough to cope with anything. He thought guys should have their tear ducts surgically removed at birth."

"I had the feeling that this was the most impor­tant thing I had ever done in my life, that if I didn’t hold him with enough love he would fall apart, or he would slip away and never return, not just to me, but to anyone, to life itself."

"I started to realise that it didn’t really matter, that love could overcome all those stupid misunderstandings; that if someone really loved you, they knew what was in your heart and it didn’t matter if you made mis­takes. They looked past your words and read your heart. If they liked what they saw there, if they recog­nised it as good, they’d forgive just about anything."

"Bushfires aren’t only dangerous while they’re blazing."

"That’s what war does to you. Either kills you in one go or destroys you bit by bit. One way or the other, it gets you."

"Death wasn’t on our agenda. We never mentioned the word. We thought we were indestructible."

"I just wished there was more room in my little body to accommodate all these violent wild feelings that kept screaming around inside me. I already had so much stuff squashed in there – liver and appendix and intestines and heart and all that junk. There was absolutely no room for feelings. But they still managed to squeeze in somewhere. Most of them lived in my stomach – a whole huge mess of them in there – but some kept crawling over my hands, and some stuck in my throat like I’d swal­lowed a doorknob."

"Even in peacetime it’s expen­sive to be the kind of person you want, to live the kind of life you know is right. Well, I’ve learnt this much: it doesn’t matter what it costs, it’s worth paying the price. You can’t live cheap and you can’t live for nothing. Pay the price and be proud you’ve paid it, that’s what I reckon."

trisha_thomas's review against another edition

4.0

This series is just amazing

We've watched these poor kids go from the safety of Hell (a little spot in the bush that has kept them safe when they were off camping) - and sacrificed everything to attack and try to disable parts of the invading armies resources.

They finally get out after losing so much (friends, family, sanity) and now...they are going back.

I think Elle losing it and writing about how hard it was is so dead on and I have so much respect for John Marsden to show Elle really struggling. I don't know how anyone could stand up to this.

I also love how much each character in each book is slowly evolving. Parts of life are just becoming common place. Things that are horrifying to even think for us are just ever day life for them. and Elle is flippant while writing about it - which she should be. It's become their life and they are just struggling to be alive and stay alive.

So much happens in this book, so much action, the story progressing, updates of the hostages and growth from each character.

I can't wait to read the next book, but with each book, I know I'm getting closer to finishing this series. I hope for a HEA for them, but I'm sad to end the series too....bitter sweet

natahliagoss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

caitlinfern's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ellcn's review against another edition

3.0

idk how else to describe australian fiction other than it being such a great pallet cleanser. there’s just something so comforting about recognising the slang and everyday scenery i love it.

alexblackreads's review against another edition

2.0

This was my least favorite book of the series by a longshot. I just don't understand what he was trying to accomplish with this one. Nothing happens, but he also doesn't do a good job dealing with the trauma from the war. A quiet book about their PTSD would have been wonderful, but this felt more like a reset than anything else. Like he wrote himself into a corner and then just found the easiest way to send them right back to the beginning. Nothing about it worked and I was so bored and annoyed the whole time.