The People of Sparks

Title: The People of Sparks
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Series: The City of Ember, book 2
Major Themes: Dystopian, Friendship, Adventure
Synopsis: Now that the Emberites have found their way out of the city, they must figure out how to live in the new land they’ve discovered.

After reading The City of Ember last year, and especially after hearing from my brothers that it was worth reading the sequels, I picked up The People of Sparks recently. It was so much fun being back with these characters that I’d grown to love and get to see their progress as they started to explore the new world they found themselves in. Although this wasn’t my favorite book of the series, it was still a fun read.

Publisher’s description:

My thoughts:

Lina will likely always be a favorite character for me. I love watching her take care of her sister and others around her, and I also love her zest for life and determination to try to make the world a better place and find the answers those around her need. It was interesting seeing her in this new context, exploring her new world and trying to figure out the new culture she found herself in.

One thing this book had that wasn’t nearly as apparent in the first book was the dystopian aspect of the story. Here, the world as we know it is just about completely gone—there are still things like lightbulbs around, but electricity is a mystical memory passed down many generations. I found it fascinating to follow along with Lina as she and some other characters explored this now-destroyed world.

I enjoyed reading The People of Sparks, but I doubt I’ll ever go back and re-read it. It was fun to imagine what our world might look like to people who have never seen sunlight or trees, but I didn’t find the story as gripping as the first book, and it felt a little more modern in some of its thinking, too. The main theme of the book revolves around people learning to care for and share with others, and though human nature comes through the story, it seems to give the idea that we can fix all our differences if we try hard enough. While that can be true to an extent, I believe we need the Lord’s help to bring about permanent change. This was not intended to be a Christian story, so I don’t blame the author; that’s just something I’ve thought about since finishing the book. Overall, this is a good story, and if you enjoyed reading The City of Ember, I believe you’d probably enjoy this book, as well.

BONUS! Mini-review of The Prophet of Yonwood, book 3 in the series:

I read this book earlier this year, and while I enjoyed aspects of the story, I didn’t enjoy it enough to give it its own page on this website. The Prophet of Yonwood is a prequel to the first two books in the series, as it follows the early years of one of the women who became a mother/grandmother figure when the city of Ember was founded. I enjoyed her different adventures as a youngster—including adopting a dog and meeting a young friend who had a fascination with raising snakes. I also found it fascinating to consider how fear can drive people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise consider. An interesting commentary on human nature, but in the end, either I just wasn’t in the right mood, didn’t understand the significance of some things, or this wasn’t the book for me, as I came away from it feeling like it fell flat.

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Related posts:

The City of Ember The Wheel on the School The Boxcar Children Lunch Money