The People of Sparks picks up where The City of Ember leaves off. Lina and Doon have emerged from the underground city to the exciting new world ab...
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Feb 28, 2009
Ally
rated it: 
A sequel that holds true to its original characters, but puts them in a totally different situation and set of adventures. If I had one problem with these books, it would be that I suspect the authour starts writing the books with a "what values can I leave the readers with?" idea in her head. But, to her credit, I usually agree with her values (avoiding crowd mentality, being tolerant, solving problems non-violently) and the story is exciting enough anyways.
Nov 12, 2008
Muzzlehatch
rated it: 
Frustrating but ultimately pretty decent sequel to the fascinating "City of Ember", this picks up right after the finish of the first volume, as the entire populace of the dying underground city make their way out of harm's way, into the upper world. "Sparks" covers the travails of the next few months, as the Emberites encounter a small town struggling to get by, with a population even smaller than the 400 survivors of the underground world. There are two major problems wit
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Jan 24, 2009
Angela
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If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. I enjoyed City of Ember as a fun, quick YA read, but this sequel is just as entertaining, while also being profoundly thought-provoking and insightful.
I loved that the main characters - Lina and Doon - are honest and warm, with realistic struggles: Doon is still working on controlling his temper, and Lina's curiosity and impulsiveness still tend to cause trouble. However, they are both guided by good advice and a strong conscience, pavin More...
I loved that the main characters - Lina and Doon - are honest and warm, with realistic struggles: Doon is still working on controlling his temper, and Lina's curiosity and impulsiveness still tend to cause trouble. However, they are both guided by good advice and a strong conscience, pavin More...
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Jan 16, 2009
Bethany
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Although not as strong as the first book in the series, People of Sparks is an interesting continuation of The City of Ember. Lina and Doon still figure prominently in the above-ground, post-apocalyptic community that is struggling to regain its foothold in the world. Overwhelmed by the Emberians, the outnumbered and unprepared citizens of Sparks begin by taking in the new families and giving them food and shelter, but the situation quickly deteriorates as scarcity and resentment build within
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Sep 02, 2011
Jessie (Ageless Pages Reviews)
rated it:
Jeanne DuPrau's second of the Books of Ember series continues the trend begun in the introductory novel, The City of Ember. Compulsively readable, lively and easy, The People of Sparks was a novel mostly on-par with the levels of excellence from its impressive predecessor. By drastically changing the setting, as well as introducing new characters and ideas allows for an entirely different kind of novel than the first; the author makes a story replete with familiar characters fresh and vivid. Sur
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Jan 14, 2010
dioscurio
rated it:
Kalo City of Ember lebih seperti adventure-novel yg dihias dengan sedikit sci-fic, maka People of Sparks lebih berasa drama dengan banyak kandungan filosofi, dan lebih sedikit adventure.
Ceritanya tetep light, ringan, nggak perlu mikir berat2 karena style penulisan cepat dan lugas, nggak banyak deskripsi membosankan dan filosofi berbelit2..
Semua serba sederhana, tapi disitulah letak keindahan cerita ini !!
Mengapa manusia memulai perang ? Apakah memang insting d More...
Ceritanya tetep light, ringan, nggak perlu mikir berat2 karena style penulisan cepat dan lugas, nggak banyak deskripsi membosankan dan filosofi berbelit2..
Semua serba sederhana, tapi disitulah letak keindahan cerita ini !!
Mengapa manusia memulai perang ? Apakah memang insting d More...
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Apr 03, 2009
Chris
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Last fall I raced through City of Ember and really enjoyed the world and the characters. The ending wasn't a cliffhanger per se, but it really left me wondering what would happen next...so much so that I raced out and bought the next book. Sadly, life got busy and it took me another 4 months to finally read the continuation.
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 More...
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 More...
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Sep 10, 2009
Violet
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3 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 30, 2008
Britt
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 05, 2008
Rebecca
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 06, 2008
Kimberly
rated it:
Please tell me that if there really was a war that killed most of humanity, stupid people would not be left in charge...like they apparently were in The People of Sparks. Truly, the leaders in both Sparks and in the preceding City of Ember are exceedingly elementary in their thinking. Why wouldn't the people of Sparks just look on the Emberites as newly added, contributing members of their society? Instead of isolating the Emberites, why not allow them to work and better the city of Sparks?
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Mar 24, 2011
Lucy
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The people of Ember have made it out of their dying underground city. But now, faced with the prospect of life aboveground after living their whole lives without ever seeing the sun, they are practically helpless. When they stumble across the village of Sparks, they are relieved, and at first, the people of Sparks offer them shelter and food and aid. But as the weeks grow longer and it becomes clear that the people of Ember can’t fend for themselves and aren’t leaving any time soon, tempers b
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Jan 01, 2009
Ryan
rated it:
338
I thought the 1st book was more of an adventure. This book deals with different groups trying to survive and how small differences can become big deals. This book is probably more realistic, in that it deals with the day to day survival of 700 or so people (400 from and city of ember and 300 from the city of sparks). Both groups are trying to survive, with the people of ember depending on the good will of the people of sparks. This dependence takes its toll on both of the grou More...
I thought the 1st book was more of an adventure. This book deals with different groups trying to survive and how small differences can become big deals. This book is probably more realistic, in that it deals with the day to day survival of 700 or so people (400 from and city of ember and 300 from the city of sparks). Both groups are trying to survive, with the people of ember depending on the good will of the people of sparks. This dependence takes its toll on both of the grou More...
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Feb 26, 2009
Orpha
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Very interesting book. The people from the city of Amber finally make it out into the world. A world unknown to them. Good reading.
Oct 12, 2008
Holly
rated it:
I really enjoyed the simplified concepts of war in this book. It discussed how war begins and how to stop it before it goes to far. Choosing good is hard and even harder when we are physically or emotionally hurt by someone else. It made me think about making the right choices in tough situations. It's nice that you learn small bits about the "disaster" but that is not the focus of the book. I liked the way Lina and Doon both carried on through this book. They went there separate
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Jan 12, 2009
Barky
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Dec 07, 2008
Rachel
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Jan 29, 2012
Liz
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Can't we all just get along? That's the theme of this book, and an extremely heavy-handed one at that. From the moment the refugees of Ember show up at the town of Sparks, all the way to the clichéd ending, it feels like we're beaten about the head with the age-old aphorism of "Do unto others...." Not that it's wrong in any way or a bad message, it just gets old and tired when it's repeated again and again page after page. No excuses about it being a "kids" book, either; kids
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Jan 15, 2012
Stephanie
rated it:
The guide and I entered by that hidden path, to return to the clear world: and, not caring to rest, we climbed up, he first, and I second, until, through a round opening, I saw the beautiful things that the sky holds: and we issued out, from there, to see, again, the stars.
So says Dante in the final canto of the Inferno. And this is how Jeanne DuPrau’s The People of Sparks begins as well. Having emerged, blinking into the light after hundreds of years of living below the earth’s surf More...
So says Dante in the final canto of the Inferno. And this is how Jeanne DuPrau’s The People of Sparks begins as well. Having emerged, blinking into the light after hundreds of years of living below the earth’s surf More...
Jan 02, 2012
Robotbee
rated it:
*This review is somewhat dependent on my review of the City of Ember. Incidentally, the entirety of the review below is also stuck to the bottom of my review of the City of Ember, if you would rather read them together*
This book addresses similar issues of desperation in the face of deprivation, as well as some interesting group psychology and the idea of "otherness." In The People of Sparks, the people of Ember join the people of Sparks, a town of fellow Disaster survivors. More...
This book addresses similar issues of desperation in the face of deprivation, as well as some interesting group psychology and the idea of "otherness." In The People of Sparks, the people of Ember join the people of Sparks, a town of fellow Disaster survivors. More...
Aug 28, 2011
Ival
rated it:
The second installment of The Books of Ember series is a spectacular sequel to the first! I was completely hyped-up as I read it for the first time, but the second was even better. DuPrau adventures further into the realm of morals, leaving a satisfied reader with another clear message: War can bring nothing good and as easy as it is to achieve, it is hard to escape. I am absolutely fond of this book, zealous even. The People of Sparks is not just an awesome adventure, but a thought-provoking an
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May 16, 2011
Diane
rated it:
I remember I read the first book, City of Ember, in highschool and I loved it. It was the first dystopian novel that I read and I was amazed by the world that DuPrau has envisioned. An underground city that was built to preserve the human race from armageddon was so amazing to me that time that I obsessed about this sequel for weeks. I was really disappointed to know that my highschool library don't have this. A year ago, I found The People of Sparks in the Sale section of National Bookstore, ha
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Feb 19, 2011
Audiaa
rated it:
3.5 stars
This book started with the people of Ember already outside of Ember and with knowledge of the world and the other people living there. The story that I was excited to read about after reading City of Ember would have been about how the people of Ember reacted to the note from outside, the conflicts that ensued and how they eventually got out. All of that was skipped over and told with a very short flash back. The mayor and the bad people fell into the river and were never seen a More...
This book started with the people of Ember already outside of Ember and with knowledge of the world and the other people living there. The story that I was excited to read about after reading City of Ember would have been about how the people of Ember reacted to the note from outside, the conflicts that ensued and how they eventually got out. All of that was skipped over and told with a very short flash back. The mayor and the bad people fell into the river and were never seen a More...
Jan 28, 2011
Kulsuma
rated it:
The People of Sparks is the post-apocalyptic continuation of the first in the series, The City of Ember. I highly enjoyed The People of Sparks as I really wanted to know what happened to the Emberites after they left their underground home and this book began where the first book left off and for that I was glad as I didn’t miss anything.
Lina and Doon remained strong, independent characters. In this book, they seemed to have their own journeys to take and they grew in different ways More...
Lina and Doon remained strong, independent characters. In this book, they seemed to have their own journeys to take and they grew in different ways More...
Jan 24, 2011
Ara
rated it:
"The People of Sparks", the sequel to "The City of Ember", was a fantastic read. It is about people from Ember who have escaped their underground home because of the youngsters Doon and Lina. They discover the real world unfamiliar with almost all of their surroundings. They would not have survived without the help of the people of Sparks. The plan was that they would stay in Sparks for six months to learn how to create their own town with farms and live on their own. But as
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Jan 14, 2011
Heather
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 01, 2011
Yolanda
rated it:
This was a seriously great book! I watched the movie CITY OF EMBER a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I debated whether to borrow the book to read before this one, but in the end decided to just move onto the sequel. Sometimes, if I read the book after watching the movie it gets a little weird.
I'm glad I read this one! The premise is an interesting one: what happens when over 400 people from an underground city suddenly arrive in a small town of about 300? The instant answer is More...
I'm glad I read this one! The premise is an interesting one: what happens when over 400 people from an underground city suddenly arrive in a small town of about 300? The instant answer is More...
Dec 06, 2010
The People of Sparks:
A Story With a Thick Plot
What would you do if your village suddenly encountered four hundred people from an unknown land? Well in Jane Duprau’s The People of Sparks this is the case. Lina and Doon have just escaped their underground city. They are childhood friends and now they have found a city that is willing to take all the city of Emberin and house and feed them. This book takes place after what appears to be after a World War 3. The preponderance of all manki More...
A Story With a Thick Plot
What would you do if your village suddenly encountered four hundred people from an unknown land? Well in Jane Duprau’s The People of Sparks this is the case. Lina and Doon have just escaped their underground city. They are childhood friends and now they have found a city that is willing to take all the city of Emberin and house and feed them. This book takes place after what appears to be after a World War 3. The preponderance of all manki More...
Aug 29, 2010
Tricia
rated it:
I noticed that the back cover lists this book as reading level 5.5. Presumably that is a grade level. Now that I know that, I can forgive some of the seemingly simplistic presentations of deep concepts. I'm not saying that 5th graders can't grasp complex concepts!
I really did like the story, even though parts of it verge on hit-you-over-the-head-with-the-moral obvious. Because hey, we're talking about 10 year olds. Although in my family, the 10 year olds were way above 5th grade rea More...
I really did like the story, even though parts of it verge on hit-you-over-the-head-with-the-moral obvious. Because hey, we're talking about 10 year olds. Although in my family, the 10 year olds were way above 5th grade rea More...
Jul 07, 2010
Bailey
rated it:
SPOILERS AGAIN!!!
I don't think I liked this one as much as the first. I found myself frustrated at times. I liked certain things though and it did keep me entertained for the most part. I will continue to read the series.
I really liked how there were two different story lines. Lina's & Doon's. I loved reading about the people of Ember seeing the sun and grass and things like that for first time. However I found myself frustrated with how little they knew. I found myself More...
I don't think I liked this one as much as the first. I found myself frustrated at times. I liked certain things though and it did keep me entertained for the most part. I will continue to read the series.
I really liked how there were two different story lines. Lina's & Doon's. I loved reading about the people of Ember seeing the sun and grass and things like that for first time. However I found myself frustrated with how little they knew. I found myself More...
