The People of Sparks
The Second Book of Ember

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......more

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,......more

Compared to the first book, People of Sparks comes off very one noted. The message--"War is bad." And that message comes across in the most surface of ways. Lena and Doon lose their interesting personalities and instead become silhouettes. Lena screams, "I want to explore" and Doon yells, "No more w......more

This is a lovely series. The kind of dystopia where people actually live with the consequences, instead of, you know, evolving into advanced societies with kings/queens/mutants/totalitarian governments that are obsessed with deathly competitions. Get what I'm saying? This feels real. Hundreds of yea......more

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 mont......more