diff --git a/cJSON.c b/cJSON.c
index 7d2c690421e710e23de94e9c623838cc6e1dde0c..0f861c507be8740d220a360f567987741f97641c 100644
--- a/cJSON.c
+++ b/cJSON.c
@@ -468,7 +468,6 @@ static const unsigned char *parse_string(cJSON *item, const unsigned char *str,
     {
         goto fail;
     }
-    item->type = cJSON_String;
 
     ptr = str + 1;
     ptr2 = out;
@@ -607,6 +606,7 @@ static const unsigned char *parse_string(cJSON *item, const unsigned char *str,
         ptr++;
     }
 
+    item->type = cJSON_String;
     item->valuestring = (char*)out;
 
     return ptr;
@@ -1054,12 +1054,11 @@ static const unsigned char *parse_array(cJSON *item, const unsigned char *value,
         goto fail;
     }
 
-    item->type = cJSON_Array;
     value = skip(value + 1);
     if (*value == ']')
     {
         /* empty array. */
-        return value + 1;
+        goto success;
     }
 
     item->child = child = cJSON_New_Item();
@@ -1101,11 +1100,17 @@ static const unsigned char *parse_array(cJSON *item, const unsigned char *value,
     if (*value == ']')
     {
         /* end of array */
-        return value + 1;
+        goto success;
     }
 
     /* malformed. */
     *ep = value;
+    goto fail;
+
+success:
+    item->type = cJSON_Array;
+
+    return value + 1;
 
 fail:
     if (item->child != NULL)
@@ -1297,12 +1302,11 @@ static const unsigned char *parse_object(cJSON *item, const unsigned char *value
         goto fail;
     }
 
-    item->type = cJSON_Object;
     value = skip(value + 1);
     if (*value == '}')
     {
         /* empty object. */
-        return value + 1;
+        goto success;
     }
 
     child = cJSON_New_Item();
@@ -1373,11 +1377,17 @@ static const unsigned char *parse_object(cJSON *item, const unsigned char *value
     /* end of object */
     if (*value == '}')
     {
-        return value + 1;
+        goto success;
     }
 
     /* malformed */
     *ep = value;
+    goto fail;
+
+success:
+    item->type = cJSON_Object;
+
+    return value + 1;
 
 fail:
     if (item->child != NULL)
diff --git a/cJSON.h b/cJSON.h
index 8502048e98b052772f44913ec002b9cf7a969aac..6f371f90d30ad12a7be7b5432b87fb689ef92038 100644
--- a/cJSON.h
+++ b/cJSON.h
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ extern const char* cJSON_Version(void);
 #include <stddef.h>
 
 /* cJSON Types: */
+#define cJSON_Invalid (0)
 #define cJSON_False  (1 << 0)
 #define cJSON_True   (1 << 1)
 #define cJSON_NULL   (1 << 2)
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index b7107c50a5529c6accec0e968f8edad148292885..c372127993a9fd8c1fab049f17d64ae621b2b400 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ if(ENABLE_CJSON_TEST)
         parse_value
     )
 
+    add_library(test-common common.c)
+
     option(ENABLE_VALGRIND OFF "Enable the valgrind memory checker for the tests.")
     if (ENABLE_VALGRIND)
         find_program(MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND valgrind)
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ if(ENABLE_CJSON_TEST)
 
     foreach(unity_test ${unity_tests})
         add_executable("${unity_test}" "${unity_test}.c")
-        target_link_libraries("${unity_test}" "${CJSON_LIB}" unity)
+        target_link_libraries("${unity_test}" "${CJSON_LIB}" unity test-common)
         if(MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND)
             add_test(NAME "${unity_test}"
                 COMMAND "${MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND}" ${MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND_OPTIONS} "./${unity_test}")
diff --git a/tests/common.c b/tests/common.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..65ef97c039c5a8a5a9ef3e437b22c6568911f2d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/common.c
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2009-2017 Dave Gamble and cJSON contributors
+
+  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+  in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+  to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+  copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+  furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+  all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+  IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+  AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+  LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+  OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+  THE SOFTWARE.
+*/
+
+#include "common.h"
+
+extern void reset(cJSON *item)
+{
+    if ((item != NULL) && (item->child != NULL))
+    {
+        cJSON_Delete(item->child);
+    }
+    if ((item->valuestring != NULL) && !(item->type & cJSON_IsReference))
+    {
+        cJSON_free(item->valuestring);
+    }
+    if ((item->string != NULL) && !(item->type & cJSON_StringIsConst))
+    {
+        cJSON_free(item->string);
+    }
+
+    memset(item, 0, sizeof(cJSON));
+}
+
+extern char *read_file(const char *filename)
+{
+    FILE *file = NULL;
+    long length = 0;
+    char *content = NULL;
+    size_t read_chars = 0;
+
+    /* open in read binary mode */
+    file = fopen(filename, "rb");
+    if (file == NULL)
+    {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    /* get the length */
+    if (fseek(file, 0, SEEK_END) != 0)
+    {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+    length = ftell(file);
+    if (length < 0)
+    {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+    if (fseek(file, 0, SEEK_SET) != 0)
+    {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    /* allocate content buffer */
+    content = (char*)malloc((size_t)length + sizeof('\0'));
+    if (content == NULL)
+    {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    /* read the file into memory */
+    read_chars = fread(content, sizeof(char), (size_t)length, file);
+    if ((long)read_chars != length)
+    {
+        free(content);
+        content = NULL;
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+    content[read_chars] = '\0';
+
+
+cleanup:
+    if (file != NULL)
+    {
+        fclose(file);
+    }
+
+    return content;
+}
diff --git a/tests/common.h b/tests/common.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d5c8def69243787c6c8a1fdb6ac96616c22c099f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/common.h
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+  Copyright (c) 2009-2017 Dave Gamble and cJSON contributors
+
+  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+  in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+  to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+  copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+  furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+  all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+  IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+  AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+  LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+  OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+  THE SOFTWARE.
+*/
+
+#ifndef CJSON_TESTS_COMMON_H
+#define CJSON_TESTS_COMMON_H
+
+#include "../cJSON.c"
+
+extern void reset(cJSON *item);
+extern char *read_file(const char *filename);
+extern cjbool assert_is_invalid(cJSON *item);
+
+/* assertion helper macros */
+#define assert_has_type(item, item_type) TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(0xFF, item_type, item->type, "Item doesn't have expected type.")
+#define assert_has_no_reference(item) TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_IsReference, 0, item->type, "Item should not have a string as reference.")
+#define assert_has_no_const_string(item) TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_StringIsConst, 0, item->type, "Item should not have a const string.")
+#define assert_has_valuestring(item) TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->valuestring, "Valuestring is NULL.")
+#define assert_has_no_valuestring(item) TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->valuestring, "Valuestring is not NULL.")
+#define assert_has_string(item) TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->string, "String is NULL")
+#define assert_has_no_string(item) TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->string, "String is not NULL.")
+#define assert_not_in_list(item) \
+	TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->next, "Linked list next pointer is not NULL.");\
+	TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->prev, "Linked list previous pointer is not NULL.")
+#define assert_has_child(item) TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->child, "Item doesn't have a child.")
+#define assert_has_no_child(item) TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(item->child, "Item has a child.")
+#define assert_is_invalid(item) \
+	assert_has_type(item, cJSON_Invalid);\
+	assert_not_in_list(item);\
+	assert_has_no_child(item);\
+	assert_has_no_string(item);\
+	assert_has_no_valuestring(item)
+
+#endif
diff --git a/tests/parse_array.c b/tests/parse_array.c
index 306964caf30e94c8aaf1a5aaf7c58df3a781a9a5..5364739b98e39e9d2bebe1354a5d914483ee077a 100644
--- a/tests/parse_array.c
+++ b/tests/parse_array.c
@@ -26,28 +26,28 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.c"
+#include "common.h"
 
 static cJSON item[1];
 
 static const unsigned char *error_pointer = NULL;
 
-static void assert_is_array(cJSON *string_item)
+static void assert_is_array(cJSON *array_item)
 {
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item, "Item is NULL.");
-
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->next, "Linked list next pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->prev, "Linked list previous pointer is not NULL");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(0xFF, cJSON_Array, string_item->type, "Item type is not array.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_IsReference, 0, string_item->type, "Item should not have a string as reference.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_StringIsConst, 0, string_item->type, "Item should not have a const string.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->valuestring, "Valuestring is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->string, "String is not NULL.");
+    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(array_item, "Item is NULL.");
+
+    assert_not_in_list(array_item);
+    assert_has_type(array_item, cJSON_Array);
+    assert_has_no_reference(array_item);
+    assert_has_no_const_string(array_item);
+    assert_has_no_valuestring(array_item);
+    assert_has_no_string(array_item);
 }
 
 static void assert_not_array(const char *json)
 {
     TEST_ASSERT_NULL(parse_array(item, (const unsigned char*)json, &error_pointer));
+    assert_is_invalid(item);
 }
 
 static void assert_parse_array(const char *json)
@@ -56,21 +56,13 @@ static void assert_parse_array(const char *json)
     assert_is_array(item);
 }
 
-static void reset(void)
-{
-    if (item->child != NULL)
-    {
-        cJSON_Delete(item->child);
-    }
-    memset(item, 0, sizeof(cJSON));
-}
-
 static void parse_array_should_parse_empty_arrays(void)
 {
     assert_parse_array("[]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(item->child);
+    assert_has_no_child(item);
+
     assert_parse_array("[\n\t]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(item->child);
+    assert_has_no_child(item);
 }
 
 
@@ -78,39 +70,39 @@ static void parse_array_should_parse_arrays_with_one_element(void)
 {
 
     assert_parse_array("[1]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child);
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, cJSON_Number, item->child->type);
-    reset();
+    assert_has_child(item);
+    assert_has_type(item->child, cJSON_Number);
+    reset(item);
 
     assert_parse_array("[\"hello!\"]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child);
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, cJSON_String, item->child->type);
+    assert_has_child(item);
+    assert_has_type(item->child, cJSON_String);
     TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("hello!", item->child->valuestring);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 
     assert_parse_array("[[]]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child);
+    assert_has_child(item);
     assert_is_array(item->child);
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(item->child->child);
-    reset();
+    assert_has_no_child(item->child);
+    reset(item);
 
     assert_parse_array("[null]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child);
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, cJSON_NULL, item->child->type);
-    reset();
+    assert_has_child(item);
+    assert_has_type(item->child, cJSON_NULL);
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_array_should_parse_arrays_with_multiple_elements(void)
 {
     assert_parse_array("[1\t,\n2, 3]");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child);
+    assert_has_child(item);
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child->next);
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(item->child->next->next);
     TEST_ASSERT_NULL(item->child->next->next->next);
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, cJSON_Number, item->child->type);
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, cJSON_Number, item->child->next->type);
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, cJSON_Number, item->child->next->next->type);
-    reset();
+    assert_has_type(item->child, cJSON_Number);
+    assert_has_type(item->child->next, cJSON_Number);
+    assert_has_type(item->child->next->next, cJSON_Number);
+    reset(item);
 
     {
         size_t i = 0;
@@ -137,7 +129,7 @@ static void parse_array_should_parse_arrays_with_multiple_elements(void)
             TEST_ASSERT_BITS(0xFF, expected_types[i], node->type);
         }
         TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(i, 7);
-        reset();
+        reset(item);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/parse_examples.c b/tests/parse_examples.c
index 8232e8a1967ee48c600c30b2b5413761bb7be3e1..7562c4572b98a0aa0f53a982c2e3fc5c83e19223 100644
--- a/tests/parse_examples.c
+++ b/tests/parse_examples.c
@@ -26,63 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.h"
-
-static char *read_file(const char *filename)
-{
-    FILE *file = NULL;
-    long length = 0;
-    char *content = NULL;
-    size_t read_chars = 0;
-
-    /* open in read binary mode */
-    file = fopen(filename, "rb");
-    if (file == NULL)
-    {
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
-
-    /* get the length */
-    if (fseek(file, 0, SEEK_END) != 0)
-    {
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
-    length = ftell(file);
-    if (length < 0)
-    {
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
-    if (fseek(file, 0, SEEK_SET) != 0)
-    {
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
-
-    /* allocate content buffer */
-    content = (char*)malloc((size_t)length + sizeof('\0'));
-    if (content == NULL)
-    {
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
-
-    /* read the file into memory */
-    read_chars = fread(content, sizeof(char), (size_t)length, file);
-    if ((long)read_chars != length)
-    {
-        free(content);
-        content = NULL;
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
-    content[read_chars] = '\0';
-
-
-cleanup:
-    if (file != NULL)
-    {
-        fclose(file);
-    }
-
-    return content;
-}
+#include "common.h"
 
 static cJSON *parse_file(const char *filename)
 {
diff --git a/tests/parse_hex4.c b/tests/parse_hex4.c
index 286157f63063f0abc2989fff88c1c95e75abab6f..59b07eecc2119f2c0daa03d737c2b35b9379224f 100644
--- a/tests/parse_hex4.c
+++ b/tests/parse_hex4.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.c"
+#include "common.h"
 
 static void parse_hex4_should_parse_all_combinations(void)
 {
diff --git a/tests/parse_number.c b/tests/parse_number.c
index bfd09142d4ad15faf12fc6e4203bce16d968e2be..73f5538e50179ce1e00bfd361595e1881b984a15 100644
--- a/tests/parse_number.c
+++ b/tests/parse_number.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.c"
+#include "common.h"
 
 static cJSON item[1];
 
@@ -34,14 +34,13 @@ static void assert_is_number(cJSON *number_item)
 {
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(number_item, "Item is NULL.");
 
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(number_item->next, "Linked list next pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(number_item->prev, "Linked list previous pointer is not NULL");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(number_item->child, "Child pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(0xFF, cJSON_Number, number_item->type, "Message type is not number.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_IsReference, 0, number_item->type, "Item should not have a string as reference.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_StringIsConst, 0, number_item->type, "Item should not have a const string.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(number_item->valuestring, "Valuestring is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(number_item->string, "String is not NULL.");
+    assert_not_in_list(number_item);
+    assert_has_no_child(number_item);
+    assert_has_type(number_item, cJSON_Number);
+    assert_has_no_reference(number_item);
+    assert_has_no_const_string(number_item);
+    assert_has_no_valuestring(number_item);
+    assert_has_no_string(number_item);
 }
 
 static void assert_parse_number(const char *string, int integer, double real)
diff --git a/tests/parse_object.c b/tests/parse_object.c
index 3031851eddbb0ed562bd740f41b7855b6c085c39..e8ede1d1506555aafa8a1678a351566af6e84005 100644
--- a/tests/parse_object.c
+++ b/tests/parse_object.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.c"
+#include "common.h"
 
 static cJSON item[1];
 
@@ -36,13 +36,12 @@ static void assert_is_object(cJSON *object_item)
 {
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(object_item, "Item is NULL.");
 
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(object_item->next, "Linked list next pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(object_item->prev, "Linked list previous pointer is not NULL");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(0xFF, cJSON_Object, object_item->type, "Item type is not object.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_IsReference, 0, object_item->type, "Item should not have a string as reference.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_StringIsConst, 0, object_item->type, "Item should not have a const string.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(object_item->valuestring, "Valuestring is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(object_item->string, "String is not NULL.");
+    assert_not_in_list(object_item);
+    assert_has_type(object_item, cJSON_Object);
+    assert_has_no_reference(object_item);
+    assert_has_no_const_string(object_item);
+    assert_has_no_valuestring(object_item);
+    assert_has_no_string(object_item);
 }
 
 static void assert_is_child(cJSON *child_item, const char *name, int type)
@@ -56,6 +55,8 @@ static void assert_is_child(cJSON *child_item, const char *name, int type)
 static void assert_not_object(const char *json)
 {
     TEST_ASSERT_NULL(parse_object(item, (const unsigned char*)json, &error_pointer));
+    assert_is_invalid(item);
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void assert_parse_object(const char *json)
@@ -64,21 +65,15 @@ static void assert_parse_object(const char *json)
     assert_is_object(item);
 }
 
-static void reset(void)
-{
-    if (item->child != NULL)
-    {
-        cJSON_Delete(item->child);
-    }
-    memset(item, 0, sizeof(cJSON));
-}
-
 static void parse_object_should_parse_empty_objects(void)
 {
     assert_parse_object("{}");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(item->child);
+    assert_has_no_child(item);
+    reset(item);
+
     assert_parse_object("{\n\t}");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(item->child);
+    assert_has_no_child(item);
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_array_should_parse_arrays_with_one_element(void)
@@ -86,19 +81,19 @@ static void parse_array_should_parse_arrays_with_one_element(void)
 
     assert_parse_object("{\"one\":1}");
     assert_is_child(item->child, "one", cJSON_Number);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 
     assert_parse_object("{\"hello\":\"world!\"}");
     assert_is_child(item->child, "hello", cJSON_String);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 
     assert_parse_object("{\"array\":[]}");
     assert_is_child(item->child, "array", cJSON_Array);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 
     assert_parse_object("{\"null\":null}");
     assert_is_child(item->child, "null", cJSON_NULL);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_object_should_parse_objects_with_multiple_elements(void)
@@ -107,7 +102,7 @@ static void parse_object_should_parse_objects_with_multiple_elements(void)
     assert_is_child(item->child, "one", cJSON_Number);
     assert_is_child(item->child->next, "two", cJSON_Number);
     assert_is_child(item->child->next->next, "three", cJSON_Number);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 
     {
         size_t i = 0;
@@ -144,7 +139,7 @@ static void parse_object_should_parse_objects_with_multiple_elements(void)
             assert_is_child(node, expected_names[i], expected_types[i]);
         }
         TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(i, 7);
-        reset();
+        reset(item);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/parse_string.c b/tests/parse_string.c
index b121eff28f1b8876d801343452f2420aebb1dfa9..67d78c4269bcef4ee0c3d0e08396e0cc886fe973 100644
--- a/tests/parse_string.c
+++ b/tests/parse_string.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.c"
+#include "common.h"
 
 static cJSON item[1];
 
@@ -36,14 +36,13 @@ static void assert_is_string(cJSON *string_item)
 {
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item, "Item is NULL.");
 
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->next, "Linked list next pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->prev, "Linked list previous pointer is not NULL");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->child, "Child pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(0xFF, cJSON_String, string_item->type, "Item type is not string.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_IsReference, 1, string_item->type, "Item should have a string as reference.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_StringIsConst, 0, string_item->type, "Item should not have a const string.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->valuestring, "Valuestring is NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(string_item->string, "String is not NULL.");
+    assert_not_in_list(string_item);
+    assert_has_no_child(string_item);
+    assert_has_type(string_item, cJSON_String);
+    assert_has_no_reference(string_item);
+    assert_has_no_const_string(string_item);
+    assert_has_valuestring(string_item);
+    assert_has_no_string(string_item);
 }
 
 static void assert_parse_string(const char *string, const char *expected)
@@ -55,6 +54,12 @@ static void assert_parse_string(const char *string, const char *expected)
     item->valuestring = NULL;
 }
 
+#define assert_not_parse_string(string) \
+    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(parse_string(item, (const unsigned char*)string, &error_pointer), "Malformed string should not be accepted");\
+    assert_is_invalid(item)
+
+
+
 static void parse_string_should_parse_strings(void)
 {
     assert_parse_string("\"\"", "");
@@ -64,35 +69,44 @@ static void parse_string_should_parse_strings(void)
     assert_parse_string(
         "\"\\\"\\\\\\/\\b\\f\\n\\r\\t\\u20AC\\u732b\"",
         "\"\\/\b\f\n\r\t€猫");
+    reset(item);
     assert_parse_string("\"\b\f\n\r\t\"", "\b\f\n\r\t");
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_string_should_parse_utf16_surrogate_pairs(void)
 {
     assert_parse_string("\"\\uD83D\\udc31\"", "🐱");
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_string_should_not_parse_non_strings(void)
 {
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(parse_string(item, (const unsigned char*)"this\" is not a string\"", &error_pointer));
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL(parse_string(item, (const unsigned char*) "", &error_pointer));
+    assert_not_parse_string("this\" is not a string\"");
+    reset(item);
+    assert_not_parse_string("");
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_string_should_not_parse_invalid_backslash(void)
 {
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(parse_string(item, (const unsigned char*)"Abcdef\\123", &error_pointer), "Invalid backshlash should not be accepted.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(parse_string(item, (const unsigned char*)"Abcdef\\e23", &error_pointer), "Invalid backshlash should not be accepted.");
+    assert_not_parse_string("Abcdef\\123");
+    reset(item);
+    assert_not_parse_string("Abcdef\\e23");
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_string_should_not_overflow_with_closing_backslash(void)
 {
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(parse_string(item, (const unsigned char*)"\"000000000000000000\\", &error_pointer), "Malformed string should not be accepted.");
+    assert_not_parse_string("\"000000000000000000\\");
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_string_should_parse_bug_94(void)
 {
     const char string[] = "\"~!@\\\\#$%^&*()\\\\\\\\-\\\\+{}[]:\\\\;\\\\\\\"\\\\<\\\\>?/.,DC=ad,DC=com\"";
     assert_parse_string(string, "~!@\\#$%^&*()\\\\-\\+{}[]:\\;\\\"\\<\\>?/.,DC=ad,DC=com");
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 int main(void)
diff --git a/tests/parse_value.c b/tests/parse_value.c
index f0c8b6684b6c35c78a433b2a2ee40d70a6a35dda..bbd52c592b29bbabbd621ab5eec79acefe771046 100644
--- a/tests/parse_value.c
+++ b/tests/parse_value.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "unity/examples/unity_config.h"
 #include "unity/src/unity.h"
-#include "../cJSON.c"
+#include "common.h"
 
 static cJSON item[1];
 const unsigned char *error_pointer = NULL;
@@ -35,12 +35,11 @@ static void assert_is_value(cJSON *value_item, int type)
 {
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL_MESSAGE(value_item, "Item is NULL.");
 
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(value_item->next, "Linked list next pointer is not NULL.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(value_item->prev, "Linked list previous pointer is not NULL");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(0xFF, type, value_item->type, "Message type is not number.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_IsReference, 0, value_item->type, "Item should not have a string as reference.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_BITS_MESSAGE(cJSON_StringIsConst, 0, value_item->type, "Item should not have a const string.");
-    TEST_ASSERT_NULL_MESSAGE(value_item->string, "String is not NULL.");
+    assert_not_in_list(value_item);
+    assert_has_type(value_item, type);
+    assert_has_no_reference(value_item);
+    assert_has_no_const_string(value_item);
+    assert_has_no_string(value_item);
 }
 
 static void assert_parse_value(const char *string, int type)
@@ -49,61 +48,48 @@ static void assert_parse_value(const char *string, int type)
     assert_is_value(item, type);
 }
 
-static void reset(void)
-{
-    if (item->child != NULL)
-    {
-        cJSON_Delete(item->child);
-    }
-    if (item->valuestring != NULL)
-    {
-        cJSON_free(item->valuestring);
-    }
-    memset(item, 0, sizeof(cJSON));
-}
-
 static void parse_value_should_parse_null(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("null", cJSON_NULL);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_value_should_parse_true(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("true", cJSON_True);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_value_should_parse_false(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("false", cJSON_False);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_value_should_parse_number(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("1.5", cJSON_Number);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_value_should_parse_string(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("\"\"", cJSON_String);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
     assert_parse_value("\"hello\"", cJSON_String);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_value_should_parse_array(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("[]", cJSON_Array);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 static void parse_value_should_parse_object(void)
 {
     assert_parse_value("{}", cJSON_Object);
-    reset();
+    reset(item);
 }
 
 int main(void)