Incurable (John Marsden)

This is the second book in John Marsden's Ellie Chronicles, which follow the main character from his Tomorrow, When the War Began series. I loved that series - I was reading it as a teenager when they were being published, and my friends and I would get into frenzy waiting for the next one to come out. So I was excited when I heard Marsden was going to be continuing Ellie's story - although now, I kind of wished that he hadn't.

While I Live, the first book in the series, was not bad - it lacked the excellent writing and plotting that existed in at least the first three quarters of the War series, but it was still fun and exciting, and I liked seeing what he was doing with the characters, now that the war was over. Incurable, though - I think he's completely lost Ellie's voice. She goes off into tangents while narrating a battle, and I thought this book was really badly plotted. Essentially, two things happen, but it's so loose, with so many asides, that this takes up the entire book. There's no progression, with either the characters or the story, really.

Arrgh - I was really unhappy with it. I'm not even sure I'll read the next one... actually, I know I will, but I'm not going to continue buying them. The stories are just frustrating rather than enjoyable. Two out of five.