The City of Ember Complete Series: The City of Ember; The People of Sparks; The Diamond of Darkhold; The Prophet of Yonwood

by Jeanne DuPrau

The story of a whole city of people who are living underground and don't realize it. Their ancestors moved there because an apocolyptic event was about to occur. A teenage girl and boy join forces to figure out the mystery of Ember.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Childrens, Kids

839 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2016

About the author

Jeanne DuPrau is an American writer, best known for The Books of Ember, a series of science fiction novels for young people. She lives in Menlo Park, California.

Reviews

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read the complete story. The “City of Ember” movie got me to read these 4 stories. Very glad I did.

[Soňa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunner:-) amazing, enjoyed story, twists in plot and how they moved from one part to another, building of characters and how it all went:-)
as well the message of how it could look like in post-apocaliptic world.
Worth of every page to turn and read:-)

[Thomas Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will be reading these to my kids. As for my favorite, i think it's a tie between #1, The City of Ember, and #3, The Prophet of Yonwood. I love the mystery and adventure in Ember, but Yonwood has some very important themes and covers them very well (I mean they all do, Sparks especially). Darkhold covers the least theme-wise, but gives an excellent conclusion to four excellent books.

[BrUcEq]

I loved how the people of ember especially Doon and Lyra found out about the diamond rings with electricity and used it.

[Erin]

only read the first two but really amazing books!

[Christi Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good for what it was - a middle grade book. The writing was a little basic but the story/plot was interesting.

[Giulia Pellegrino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine großartige Erzählung - einfach rundum menschlich, "leichtfüßig" und dennoch voller Tiefe erzählt, mit einer klaren Botschaft, die jedes Kind versteht - und so mancher Erwachsene nicht mehr in sich selbst vernehmen kann. Einfach nur schön und so, so wichtig!

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just remembered I read this series in middle school and was OBSESSED I made this my whole personality especially when the movie came out WOW what a throwback moment. Such a cool concept!!! I eat upppp dystopian vibes

[Karie Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this series. they are an easy read, but keep your attention very well. it is such an interesting story line too; people living underground their whole life...cool.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are very unique, but I really enjoyed them. After reading the hunger games, this series was a good, fun follow-up for me.

[Jillian B. 8A]

This series was a quick read for me, even if I read this years ago.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Two--Lina and Doon escape Ember and send back message telling the other people in the city to join them. Eventually, all 400 of them arrive in Sparks, an agrarian town of 322. Clearly, they need help and at first, the people of Sparks do help but eventually, they become resentful bc the citizens of Ember have no skills applicable to life in Sparks.

Really good middle-reader book about the plight of immigrants and citizens, but it is also a good story about leadership, adaptability and how civilization might devolves after wars and plagues (quite eerie that one of the plagues was this mysterious flu-like thing........)

Book Three: Diamond of Darkhold
Lina and Doon return to Ember bc they get a tattered book from a roamer and the book tells them there is something important still in Ember. They encounter some dreadful people but the lesson here is that the strong and good-hearted survive. More implications of too much war and disease and most folks have lost the ability to read, and they lack any sort of intellectual curiosity.

Book Four: the prequel
How it all began and how the builders made the decision to create Ember. In this book, we actually have people who believe in God. But the brink of war and the threat of plagues are too hard for ordinary folks to grasp. Kind of a cool ending to the series (even though it's a prequel)

[Jared Pangier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last night, I completed the Book of Ember series.

Without a doubt, Jeanne DuPrau created a world of intrigue through these four connected Young Adult stories.

While the stories were worth my time, as they provided me another lens into the Young Adult genre, I still prefer reading something more along the lines of Artemis Fowl.

Regardless, I enjoyed the ongoing character development, the creative weaving--using sequels and one prequel--and the counter-factual journey into the What-ifs of world-encompassing conflict.

At an elementary to middle school level, this is a worthy book to show the importance of growing conflict-resolution skills and self-control.

In short, forgiveness trumps all. Sorry for the choice of words.

#HISReads
#Book-a-Week Challenge
http://teaching.jaredpangier.com/his-...

[Margaret Menkus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book in the series about survival of a nuclear war. Civilization goes underground to survive this event, so the themes of these four books is survival and the recreation of society.

The series addresses so many factors of this evolution: The need for these people to explore the surface of their planet, the encounters with other people who survived this devastation, and the need to branch out and repopulate the planet. The final book is the prequel - how this even started and how man's nature led us to this state.

While the writing is easy to read, the topic is a bit 'dark' and sad, even though the stories are about the survivors - the ones who make it through this trying time. I recommend this book to someone who likes insights on dystopian society, and how this might play out in the future. A bleak tale - one I hope never happens!

[Aleska · Rating 5 out of 5]

The City of Ember, book 2, The People of Sparks is written by Jeanne DuPrau. This book is about a battle between the people of Ember and a town which has volunteered to take care of the people of Ember until they're able to live on their own. This book is amazing with it's awesome descriptions and detail and it's great story line. It was honestly one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. This story seems to show the world a reason why we should take better care of the earth and how we could do that. I would recommend this book to people who have read book one of this series, want to help the world, and really like adventure and fiction.

Aleska
Grade 6

[Nicky Palmans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eindelijk de beste kinderboekenserie ooit uitgelezen. Ik was als 11-/12 jarige WEG van het eerste boek. Ttt werkte mijn logische brein nog niet zo goed en toen ik Prophet of Yonwood las (boek 3) kwam ik er heeeelemaal aan het eind pas achter dat die bij de Ember serie hoorde. Jawdrop. Toen kwam ik 10 jaar later de hele serie in een box tegen en kwam erachter dat er nog een 4e deel was (!!!) excited jawdrop.
Superfijn einde van de serie. Beetje random ding aan het einde wat onnodig leek, iykyk, verder perfect, 11/10, no notes. Kan niet wachten kinderen te maken zodat ik ze deze boeken kan voorlezen

[Goosie Redacted · Rating 5 out of 5]

idk I know I just read a series which is like, at a 3rd grade reading level but it was my favorite series in 3rd grade. I wonder if this is where my deep-seated fear of nuclear collapse came from, and my general consensus on what I believe the next few hundred years will be like. This should be required reading for all children... like the language is simple but honestly the themes are beautifully complex, it's an amazing non-linear story, and the morals it teaches are beautiful. I cried multiple times. I kind of wish there were more books written for adults about optimistic apocalypses, why are all of those for the kids <\3

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent sequel to the City of Ember, this middle grade novel finds the people of Ember have (mostly) followed Lina and Doon to the surface, where they encounter the village of Sparks. The clash of cultures, the pressures of scarce resources, and, again, the way that prominent personalities can make such a huge difference in how a community deals with problems all are explored deftly, intelligently, and with heart. A winner.

[John Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two were great, excellent story told well. The third one was ok, not as good as the first two, but still good. The fourth one, the profit of yonwood, was completely different, and didn't even seem like it was from the same series. Maybe that's because I didn't finish it, but I was having such a hard time staying interested that I just couldn't finish.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mmm, the main characters are rather annoying, hateful, and entitled, but it feels like they're supposed to be read as plucky and heroic.
The prequel is completely unnecessary and uninteresting, while being barely related at all to the rest of the series.
Sporadically intriguing ideas, though they go nowhere.

[Ethan Lee]

Audience: 6-12 (EAL)
Readability: Easy
Subject: ELA
Description:
The Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau is a highly inventive and engaging text. Students are brought into a dystopian world where critical thinking skills are often used. These texts are great for EAL learners as they do not feel like a chore to read. Many teaching resources also exist around these texts.
Copyright: 2016

[Jacquelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique story idea. The writing, however, was very pedestrian. I realize that it's a "youth" categorized book, and I have no problem with that, I've read many Distopian and utopian books that where written for teens. These books seemed to not only be written for pre-teens, but the writing was so unremarkable it read as if a pre-teen WROTE it.

[Jachin Broadbent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very intriguing and exciting. I liked how it was action-packed and showed the conflicts that will happen when rebuilding. I like how it showed teamwork and hardships. I found many lessons as well as humor. It reminded me of life in the 1800s. Great book, 4 out of 5 stars. Page 352.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read as it falls into the YA category. But what really irritates me is the mention of the spaceship traveling to earth and the guy who seemed to be the one to have contacted the ship. But literally nothing further to elaborate on this. I would have loved it if maybe there was a 2nd part to the series that went down that path.

[Kathy Kilboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this series with my granddaughter (who is one book ahead of me) I believe that this book can spark some very valuable conversations. So many themes in this book are relevant today. I am definitely enjoying the conversations with my granddaughter!

[Zoe Archambault · Rating 4 out of 5]

First series that I ever read. I didn't grow up with Harry Potter, I grew up with this series and loved every second of it. Read these in late elementary school so I was like 10? Als the movie really did not do this world justice which was disappointing to say the least.

[Ess Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series pops into my head every few years. And I love to give them a read every time it does. Another lively transport into another world. So descriptive and real, feels like I am there with them every time.

[Kylin Swearingen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this series!
While it is slow in parts, I really did enjoy it. I can’t remember much since I finished it seven months ago, but I remember it kept my interest for hours at a time. Not my favorite, but definitely a worthwhile read.

[Vay P · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book of this series was really good. It was interesting to learn how the people of Ember lived. But the second book got really boring. I just couldn't finish the rest of the series. Definitely for kids around age 8-11.

[Raleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first book, but unfortunately, in my opinion, the books go downhill from there.