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Title: The People of Sparks (Book of Ember, #2)
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Published By: Yearling (2004)
Synopsis: When Lina and Doon lead their people up from the underground city of Ember, they discover a surface world of color and life. The people of a small village called Sparks agree to help the Emberites, but the villagers have never had to share their world before. Soon differences between the two groups escalate, and it’s up to Lina and Doon to find a way to avoid war. (Taken from Goodreads)
Review:
In this imaginative, adventure-filled sequel to The City of Ember, the people of Ember have just found the way out. They find themselves in the city of Sparks, where the people are doubtful of their story. As they start to adjust, strange things start happening and tensions rise between the two. Will it be enough to destroy both civilizations? Or will they overcome it?
This book was fast-paced, well built, and intriguing. There wasn’t a definite plot, but rather lots of things going on at once. There were a ton of characters, but rather than feeling overwhelming, it felt more realistic, because in this situation, there would be that many people. Due to the fact this was a more plot-driven book, all the characters were developed to the same level, so there was no true relatability to any of the characters. However, in the case of Sparks, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
A dystopian society without the feeling of a dystopia, the author truly captured her story without the cliche feeling of every other dystopian novel. The themes were very strong, obvious, and well written. I enjoyed reading such a novel, a dystopian yet with so many positive themes built in. That kind of thing is super hard to find!
Overall:
If you liked The City of Ember and were looking forward to the sequel, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a bit slow in the beginning, but once you get past that, it’s everything I expected in an Ember sequel.
Negative Content:
None.
Rating: 4.0
Recommended to: Fans of A City of Ember!