The People of Sparks

March 1, 2004
At the end of The City of Ember
, DuPrau's spellbinding debut, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, having made it safely out of their underground city, toss a message down through a chasm. This ambitious sequel opens as a boy, Torren, spies the survivors of Ember heading toward him, and he's "terrified." Torren's reaction foreshadows those of his fellow citizens. After Lina and Doon and the 417 people of Ember arrive in the town of Sparks ("We have not been aware of any post-Disaster settlements nearby, much less a city," their leaders claim), its citizens share their food and shelter, and they train the people of Ember to work in the fields with the goal of helping them set up a town of their own. But two lone acts of sabotage begin to eat away at the fragile trust between them. DuPrau takes on a sprawling world on the surface of the planet, and once again skillfully and confidently develops the idea of scarcity and how human beings react to a depletion of resources. However, the characterizations here take a back seat (for instance, Lina never visits Clary, an adult friend who played a pivotal role in Ember
; and Sadge Merrall and Mrs. Polster, both with strong personalities in Ember
, melt into the masses while virtually invisible citizens such as Tick become major players). Lina stows away in a wagon headed for the city (to see if it could be the one she drew in Ember
); her experience at its ruins result in an epiphany for Lina that, oddly, has little impact on the rest of the novel. DuPrau offers a thought-provoking novel about brinkmanship and the way societies can plant the insidious seeds of war. Her overall message is ultimately uplifting, but it comes at the expense of the development of characters that made Ember
so memorable. Ages 8-12.

April 11, 2005
In this ambitious sequel to The City of Ember
, "DuPrau offers a thought-provoking novel about brinkmanship and the way societies can plant the insidious seeds of war," according to PW
. Ages 8-up.

May 24, 2004
At the end of The City of Ember, DuPrau's spellbinding debut, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, having made it safely out of their underground city, toss a message down through a chasm. This ambitious sequel opens as a boy, Torren, spies the survivors of Ember heading toward him, and he's "terrified." Torren's reaction foreshadows those of his fellow citizens. After Lina and Doon and the 417 people of Ember arrive in the town of Sparks ("We have not been aware of any post-Disaster settlements nearby, much less a city," their leaders claim), its citizens share their food and shelter, and they train the people of Ember to work in the fields with the goal of helping them set up a town of their own. But two lone acts of sabotage begin to eat away at the fragile trust between them. DuPrau takes on a sprawling world on the surface of the planet, and once again skillfully and confidently develops the idea of scarcity and how human beings react to a depletion of resources. However, the characterizations here take a back seat (for instance, Lina never visits Clary, an adult friend who played a pivotal role in Ember; and Sadge Merrall and Mrs. Polster, both with strong personalities in Ember, melt into the masses while virtually invisible citizens such as Tick become major players). Lina stows away in a wagon headed for the city (to see if it could be the one she drew in Ember); her experience at its ruins result in an epiphany for Lina that, oddly, has little impact on the rest of the novel. DuPrau offers a thought-provoking novel about brinkmanship and the way societies can plant the insidious seeds of war. Her overall message is ultimately uplifting, but it comes at the expense of the development of characters that made Ember so memorable. Ages 8-12.

July 1, 2004
Lina, Doon, and four hundred others have safely escaped from their imperiled underground City of Ember (rev. 5/03), but the town they find to take them in offers only conditional haven. For six months, they are told, the people of Sparks will help them, but relations between the two groups unravel well before the deadline. Fans of the exciting first book will surely want to continue the adventure here, but this sequel is comparatively uneventful and talky, and Lina and Doon don't have enough to do. DuPrau's characterization of the Sparks community, however, is as considered as her picture of Ember was in the first book. Ember had plumbing and electricity but few natural resources; Sparks supplements its agrarian subsistence with the scavenging of rubbish from the civilization (ours, one infers) destroyed generations before. The contrast and conflict between the groups are interesting in a social-sciences kind of way, so while the book is less story than situation, there's plenty to discuss.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 15, 2004
Gr. 5-7. In this engrossing sequel to " The City of Ember " (2003), young Doon and Lina have led more than 400 people from the underground city of Ember to Earth's surface, where they find the hardscrabble town of Sparks and ask for help. Everything is strange and fascinating to the Emberites, and while the people of Sparks feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of the newcomers, they agree to help them as best they can. Things seem to go smoothly for a while, and then tempers rise: the Emberites feel overworked and under fed, and the Sparks inhabitants feel put upon for having to share their few resources. The tension grows until violence threatens to break out. Once again, Doon and Lina play a large role in events. DuPrau develops the growing distrust between the two groups in a natural manner and convincingly portrays the Emberites' struggle to adapt to so much that is completely new to them. A satisfying follow-up to the first book. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2004
Lina, Doon, and four hundred others have escaped from their imperiled underground "City of Ember", but the town they find to take them in offers only conditional haven. For six months the people of Sparks will help them, but relations unravel well before the deadline. While this sequel is less story than situation, fans of the exciting first book will surely want to continue the adventure.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2004
Gr 4 -9-In this sequel to The City of Ember (Random, 2003), DuPrau continues the adventures of Lina and Doon, who have led the 400 residents from the underground city of Ember to the unfamiliar world above. The refugees are tentatively welcomed, housed, and fed by the people of Sparks, located near the wasteland left by the long-ago Disaster that destroyed most of civilization. Conflicts arise between the two groups, mainly due to the differences between the sheltered, electric-powered life in Ember and the low-tech, farming-based existence in Sparks. As conflicts and violence escalate, Lina explores the wasteland and Doon finds himself caught up in the rhetoric of the militaristic and charismatic Tick. A dramatic conclusion brings the characters together and gives hope for the future of both groups, resolving the current conflicts but leaving room for future adventures. While remaining true to her characters and the building tension of the story, DuPrau clearly explores themes of nonviolence and when to stand up for oneself. The text smoothly involves new readers and fans of the first story, creating a range of three-dimensional characters in both the Ember and Sparks groups. While less gritty and mechanical than Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines (HarperCollins, 2003), and more interpersonal than Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993) and Gathering Blue (2000, both Houghton), this title will hold a similar appeal for readers who enjoy speculative fiction. This novel will make them stop and think, and its immediacy and drive make it a good choice for even reluctant readers.-Beth L. Meister, Yeshiva of Central Queens, Flushing, NY

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.