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I really enjoyed the first three books in the series, but after the third book, it kind of felt finished. Since I was reading a book containing the first books all in one, I knew it had to continue one way or another, but I was still a bit disappointed in the way they made it happen. After all, they might have been acting as rebels, they are not soldiers.

The action is still very fast-paced but the story is less big than the previous books. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the series, also in the second part. ( )

Na 5 maanden in het veilige Nieuw-Zeeland te hebben gewoond gaan de tieners weer terug naar het bezette Australië. Dit keer samen met een groep van 12 Nieuw-Zeelandse militairen, die zij moeten leiden naar het vliegveld van de stad, dat van een klein vliegveld uitgegroeid is tot een militaire vliegveld.
Al snel raken de twee groepen elkaar kwijt, en besluiten de tieners om de militairen te zoeken.
Als na een poos blijkt dat het vliegveld niet is opgeblazen gaan de tieners er van uit dat de aanslag mislukt is en proberen de opdracht zelf maar uit te voeren. Dit mislukt echter en ze zijn gedwongen om te vluchten. Ondertussen krijgen ze een klap te verwerken als blijkt dat Carrie is overleden.

Kunnen ze nog meer tegenslag aan?

( )

I understand wanting to continue the story, but this plot is a bit convoluted. I have a difficult time believing that any army would send untrained teenagers back into a warzone form which they'd just been rescued. However, once back in Australia, the teens find out the status of their families and find themselves abandoned by the adults meant to protect them. Despite my incredulity, I'm still very interested in what happens next. ( )

Darkness, Be My Friend by John Marsden is the fourth book in the series about a group of teens who return from a wilderness camping trip to find their country has been invaded and their families taken prisoner. With very few options they become guerrilla fighters, but after a particularly dangerous mission they found themselves being hunted down.

After a perilous rescue at the end of the last book, Ellie and her friends have been living safely for the past five months in New Zealand. Even though they have suffered terrible losses and are sick with fear at the thought of returning, when they are asked to go back, they know there is only one answer.

This is an excellent YA series that really takes a hard look at war and what it can do to the individuals who are swept up in it’s tumult. As there is a lot of hiding and waiting in this particular volume, the book delves into Ellie’s feelings about being responsible for the death of others, even though they are enemies and how she and the others are coping with the overwhelming grief they feel over the loss of loved ones. I have been rooting for this group since the first book and these books are ones that I look forward to reading. ( )

259 pages , Fiction. This the 4th book of 7 that chronciles the stories of a group of kids during the invasion of their homeland. The book is diary of their experiences.