The People of Sparks (City of Ember Book 2)

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But it's also the most satisfying thing she knows how to do. So she keeps doing it. So far, she has written four novels, six books of nonfiction, and quite a few essays and stories. Because this is an industrial space it just comes alive, it’s so great. When I first scouted this place I’d just wander up the stairs and take flash images and look at them. But there’s so much you can work with. All the pipes you just walked through are all us, but large parts of this were here.” DuPrau's characterization of Doon is one dimensional. His spurts of rage create the only complexity in an otherwise flat character. Lina, on the other hand, rings true as a 12-year old throughout the book, with one exception: when her grandmother dies, Lina’s grieving process is so brief it feels like the author has ignored something very important. Jeanne DuPrau doesn't write every minute of every day. She also putters around in her garden. She lives in California, where it's easy to grow everything from apples to zinnias. Sutton, Roger (May–June 2003). "Jeanne DuPrau The City of Ember". Horn Book Magazine. 79 (3): 343. ISSN 0018-5078.

Well, that’s not exactly true because, to be completely honest about it, before HG there were the Japanese novel (1999) and then movie (2000) Battle Royale from which only the blind would say that HG isn’t based upon or at least heavily inspired by. Which, don’t get me wrong, is totally fine; inspiration comes in every shape and form, and if a great book/movie inspired HG author Suzanne Collins to write a great series, then more power to her and more fun to us readers. So all is good;-) The plot in this story is interesting. While still continuing with some aspects of the first book, different problems arise, and along with that comes a variety of different characters, who influence the main characters in different ways.The City of Ember is a post-apocalyptic primary-to-middle-grade science fiction novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. The story is about Ember, a city threatened by aging infrastructure. The young protagonist, Lina Mayfleet, and her friend, Doon Harrow (the second protagonist), follow clues left behind by the original builders of the City of Ember, to safety in the outside world. This is a sequel to New York Times bestselling dystopian The City of Ember. The first book, Ember, was a story of setting and plot, while Sparks is a story of characters and relationships. The author has done good job of capturing the tensions involved in a refugee situation, especially one where there aren't enough resources to go around--a better job, I think, than most adult books on the topic. I found a lot of the build-up of conflict (to set the stage for the peace message) between the People of Ember and People of Sparks pretty dull. Still, it's decent for fans who want more of Lina and Doon--and it provides some mind-flipping concepts for the upper elementary set, which is fun.

This was that book. He'd read it with his mom a over a month's worth of bedtimes. Then, of his own volition while walking through the hallway, he'd pulled it off the shelf, sat down, and started to read it again.You can read our full interviews with director Gil Kenan here and with Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway here! Spiritual/Worldviews: Maddy briefly mentions that she doesn't believe humanity (or life in general) will ever be wiped off the face of the earth forever. She believes that whatever sparked life to begin with will spark it again even if everything and everyone died off for a little bit. She keeps this comment vague and does not specify what exactly she thinks sparked life and does not reference any specific real world belief system.

I wish this didn't preach quite so much, but I will read the last book in the trilogy because I want to see where it goes. Lina and Doon have led the citizens of Ember to an exciting new world. They’ve been given safe haven in a small village called Sparks, a place filled with color and life. But they’re not out of danger yet. Although Sparks seems like the answer the long-suffering Emberites have been hoping for, tempers soon escalate. The villagers have never had to share their world before, and it only takes a tiny “spark” to ignite a battle between the two struggling groups. Lina and Doon will have to work together to avoid a disaster not only for their people, but also for the people of Sparks. Because this is a dystopian series, it is repeated that the modern world was destroyed in some sort of disaster many years ago. Lina learns that the Disaster was a combination of events: several plagues and then some wars caused by leaders of the separate nations. Wouldn't it be strange, she thought, to have a blue sky? But she liked the way it looked. It would be beautiful - a blue sky.” Lina seeks out Clary and asks her to come look at the Instructions. She tells Clary everything about Mayor Cole and the room in the Pipeworks. Clary sighs that there’s darkness everywhere in Ember, even inside the people. In people, the darkness manifests as greed. Clary also notes that Lina’s seed sprouted. When Clary looks at the Instructions, she suggests that the title is “Instructions for Egress”—Instructions to leave the city. Lina shares this with Doon and they decide to announce their discovery at the Singing celebration in two days. The next day, Doon sneaks Lina into the Pipeworks again. Following what they can read of the Instructions, they discover a ladder down to the river and a door. Inside are boxes marked “matches” and “candles,” and when Lina and Doon figure out that candles are moveable lights, they’re thrilled. Using the candles, they can see that the room contains hundreds of boats, which are supposed to float on the river and carry them out of Ember.

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Enjoyable book, though not as good as the first. I did like watching the people of Ember encounter the outside world for the first time, but I didn’t really feel the tension between the two groups. It seemed like a somewhat lifeless conflict. And it just kept going. We were just reading the same thing over and over again. Yes, they are not getting along; let’s get to the point please. Lina and Doon escape with Poppy by boat and, after reaching the river’s end, see a sign from the Builders, welcoming refugees from Ember. They then ascend a steep passage that emerges into a vast wilderness lit with moonlight and other natural wonders they have never before seen. As Lina and Doon read a journal left near the river’s end by one of Ember’s first inhabitants, they can finally make full sense of Ember’s mystery: The Builders, a group of concerned scientists and engineers, created the city as an underground refuge for humans, believing the earth was in great peril at the time. Now, centuries later, Lina and Doon feel unsure if anyone is still alive on the surface. In Sparks there are some rather significant changes to the plot dynamics which allow for some intriguing new commentary on humanity and social interactions. We're given a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity is trying to recover and rebuild. This high level genre is compounded by being seen primarily through the eyes of children and also by making the Emberites ignorant of the disasters that befell humanity or even of human history at all. In fact, through the entire first book, they had no knowledge of any other human culture at all and thought their microcosm to be the extent of humanity.