Nighttrain

by Judith Clarke

Only Luke hears the night train. Threatened at school, pressured by his parents, paralyzed by anxiety about his finale exams, Luke begins to doubt himself. Is the night train real, or is it only in his mind? If it's real then he's all right; then, no matter what, he can start all over again....

Genres: Mental Health, Mystery, School

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Judith Clarke was born in Sydney and educated at the University of New South Wales and the Australian National University in Canberra. She has worked as a teacher and librarian, and in Adult Education in Victoria and New South Wales.

A major force in YA fiction both in Australia and internationally, Judith Clarke's novels include the multi-award-winning Wolf on the Fold, as well as Friend of my Heart, Night Train, Starry Nights, One Whole and Perfect Day, and the very popular and funny Al Capsella series. She is unsurpassed in her ability to convey complex emotional states with acute understanding and compassion.

Reviews

[Sen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think a lot of people are really missing the focus of this book. The writing isn’t brilliant and it’s aimed toward a younger audience, but the message is one that gets swept under the rug all too easily. I don’t believe this book is about a so-called messed up kid or inexperienced parents. It’s about a faulty education system that is so futile to escape. A system that refuses to bend to meet individual’s needs and wants to turn students into numbers and profit margins.

I have never lived in Australia and the particular educating system isn’t something I’m familiar with, but it’s a really common grain in education that college is everything and personal value is little more than career or income. The constant switching of perspective in the novel seemed to be implying that no single person believes they are at fault and the mistakes of each just pile up to perpetuate all of this. This book was really painful for me to read and its predictability is almost a testament to how common this process is.

[Trinity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly it was a lot better than I expected. I was unsure when I found this book discarded at my schools library, but I got hooked in after only a few pages. I'm glad I finished it.

Nighttrain tackles a lot of issues such as the education system, bad parenting, and ocd briefly, without doing so in a jarring matter. They were hidden well among the plot but it still made a statement and wasn't pretentious. This book was haunting. (In a good way). It was an important statement that should be read by people everywhere. Nighttrain is ridiculously underrated, and it makes me so angry.

The writing was plain and simple but still got the point across. It was not very different from the style of Suzanne Collins. There could have been more description and the plot could have been fleshed out more. The ending felt rushed and was over within a few paragraphs, with little aftermath. I did not like the fact that the main plot point was revealed at the start of the book. Some would say it was effective in pulling you in, but that could have been implied without being spelled out for you.

Speaking of being spelled out for you, basically everything in this entire book was delivered to you without requiring much thought or contemplation. There was so much potential wasted for a deep, thought-provoking novel. The morals were important and it was refreshing to see such matters covered, but there was so much more that could have been done. The characters were very realistic, and I feel like they could have carried the plot in some really great ways.

Without giving anything away, I just have to say this about the ending. It was extremely rushed and muddy, I had to read the few paragraphs multiple times to make sense of the jumble of characters and incidents. There was another bit in the story like this earlier on, where Luke walks home with Rosa Brennan. They did not mention she was his teacher until later on, and I had to go back quite a few pages to read it again because it wasn't even slightly implied.

Nighttrain is a quick, easy read that would probably be best suited to preteens. Which is sad, considering the main character is in year 12. Despite its flaws I highly recommend this novel, as it portrays important messages and relatable characters.

[Phoebe Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the most-underrated-can-be-found-in-secondhand-bookshops-gem type of book. It was a very light read but nonetheless, it still managed to deliver a deep understanding and perspective from the mind of a emotionally challenged individual. Definitely worth the read.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this YA family drama which was shortlisted for a CBCA award. I have really enjoyed all of the books by Judith Clarke that I have read as she depicts such real and usually damaged characters.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel was prescribed reading when I was in my first year of high school as a twelve year old. It impacted me substantially with its themes of suicide, disaffection, isolation and despair. I cannot imagine a more malignant text in which to steep a young impressionable mind on the cusp of adolescence. I still remember this book some twenty four years later for the impact it had on me as a child being forced to read it in a classroom context during a time characterised by poor mental health literacy in which young people were often scorned for experiencing depression. This was a harmful text and I would strongly discourage young readers from engaging with it. Adult prescribers of such material should be aware of suicide contagion effects in young people and refrain from promulgating harmful narratives around youth mental health and suicide through this shallow and hopeless text.

[Jace Halter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly this book confused me a lot.

[ivana · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading this book, I had nightmares where the world had literally turned upside down. I woke up crying and couldn't sleep for days.

Read this book if you're interested in what it's like to have a mental disorder (it's accurate,) if you want to feel awful for no reason, or if you want to see what you get by riding the night train.

I would not recommend it if you're purely curious, and you don't have any other motives. Yes, I know that you're mature and can take some things, but this isn't a book that is plot-driven.

It's well written and very apt, but what's most terrifying about this book is that these things actually happen. And that just makes my heart break.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly predictable.
Exactly the kind of book I hope other parents, my adolescent daughter, her peers, and my middle level students throw in the waste bin as it perpetuates the woe-is-me, nobody ever listens to me BS people use for an excuse when they are unwilling to attempt to communicate with one another.

[Huma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Depressing.
But that was the point. This is trying to show how some people end up feeling.
Honestly, thought the main character, Luke isn't even that bad. Its his parents that really messed with me. His mother was utterly passive, his father was avoiding everything...
His little sister, possible had OCD.

[Susan Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Train, Judith Clarke, The author discusses several interesting points. The quality of our educators, the difference between what is said and not said, and the need to try and establish a dialogue with our children.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

His family, peers, and teachers despair of eighteen-year-old Luke, who seems to have turned himself into a loser, failing at school, paralyzed with fear and indecision, losing touch with reality.

[TheLibraryOfSarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This described feelings very well! I loved it except the ending was disappointing...

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts out slow, but fantastic ending.

[Nguyen Truc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather good book for parents who have teenage kids going through critical period of their life.

[Koelbel TAB]

This book was terrible. It was depressing and had NO PLOT whatsoever!