The People of Sparks (Books of Ember)

This children's novel continues the story of the people escaping from The City of Ember. Jeanne DuPrau examines all the challenges that await as they learn about a completely new world. The People of Sparks also shows how easy it is to start a war and how difficult it is to stop one. Despite the hardships, people are still people with their egos and prejudices. But they also still have their love...more

This children's novel continues the story of the people escaping from The City of Ember. Jeanne DuPrau examines all the challenges that await as they learn about a completely new world. The People of Sparks also shows how easy it is to start a war and how difficult it is to stop one. Despite the hardships, people are still people with their egos and prejudices. But they also still have their love and caring as well as a sense of right. DuPrau gives a good moral without moralizing. Instead, she shows what is important and how it can be achieved. If there is a war between the people from Sparks and the people from Ember, everyone loses.   hide

Honestly it wasn't very interesting.

It's amazing. YOu should read it. No, seriously? Read COE, and then this book. YOu'll love it.

The themes explored in this book are important ones - they could parallel immigration, territory/property, power and conflict. Lina and Doon go through a time of separate roads, which was great to see, especially for their character development. I also liked the new characters that were introduced - the awful kid Torren, the good looking and ambitious leader Tick, the wise and caring...more

The themes explored in this book are important ones - they could parallel immigration, territory/property, power and conflict. Lina and Doon go through a time of separate roads, which was great to see, especially for their character development. I also liked the new characters that were introduced - the awful kid Torren, the good looking and ambitious leader Tick, the wise and caring Maddy. The conflict development between the People of Sparks and the People of Ember seemed to be believable, but sometimes things get wrapped up too nice and tidy, esp with the "villanous" people in this book. Again, Duprau has some really great ideas, explores important themes and has some neat characters, but she does not have a gift for details. I think this book would be much better if the writing was taken to another level.   hide