Rating: 
Summary: A worthy successor to City of Ember
Review: 'The People of Sparks' is an excellent sequel to 'City of Ember' although the setting is not quite as original. Jeanne DuPrau deftly avoids the trap that many new authors fall into of trying to replicate the format that succeeded in the first book. While 'The People of Sparks' presents a more familiar setting than 'City of Ember', she still manages to paint a landscape unlike any we know.
If the author had stayed with that and limited herself to showing us her vision of a post-apocalyptic world then I would have been disappointed. As it is she gives us a whole new story. What would happen if a village of 300 mostly good people find themselves faced with the challenge of taking care of 400 starving refugees without the skills and resources to fend for themselves? Tensions would build as resources dwindle and us/them divisions would be sure to arise. Is this a small-scale version of the same conflicts that brought about the global cataclysm of the misty past? It's a good story and the reader might just finish it a little wiser.
Rating: 
Summary: People of Sparks
Review: After reading The City of Ember, I waited with anticipation to read The People of Sparks. While I enjoyed the story, I was a little disappointed by the quality of writing. I felt there were parts that were incredibly profound regarding hate and violence, how they begin and where they lead. At other times though I found the writing to be mediocre. I still liked the book overall and felt that the message regarding solving problems was excellent. I will happily recommend this book to my class of fifth graders.
Rating:
Summary: Lightning strikes again
Review: Although this is a very different book than The City of Ember, it is a perfect sequel, and not disappointing in the least. While The City of Ember may have been more inventive, in terms of an underground city that was on its last leg, this is infinitely more profound.
It's still inventive, though. A terrible Disaster has befallen the Earth, and the Emberites learn that they were sent to live below the Earth, in the event that the Disaster did, in fact, occur, and so that one day they could return to the surface and repopulate the world. If that isn't a terrific idea, I'm not sure what is.
The Emberites luckily find themselves in one of the more prosperous towns. As most in the town of Sparks are good and decent people, they agree to feed these strange newcomers for a certain amount of time, and while doing so teach them basic survival skills. As one can imagine, no Emberite possesses the skills to survive on the surface. All they knew was Ember, and the simple rules that governed survival in that city.
Sparks has its own governing rules, and Ms. DuPrau really shows a deft hand at creating intriguing cultures. It's obvious that she gave considerable thought to a post-apocalyptic world, and her vision of it is refreshing and true.
Sadly, greed raises its ugly head, on both sides, and the cultures have a terrible clash. But an important lesson is learned. It may seem trite to some, but it really is a powerful message. Paraphrased, it goes something like this: If someone does something mean to you, instead of doing something mean in return, try and do something good for them. The opportunity for such a deed presents itself, and we see this good faith effort in action. If I say more, it will be too revealing.
The ending of the book caused odd salty drops to fall from my eyes, because it brought the entire sequence full circle. The Emberites, we see, had something to teach the people of Sparks - and perhaps the whole world. Together, they are stronger than they are apart.
It's a heartwarming and beautiful story. I look forward to her next book with immense anticipation.
Rating:
Summary: A Spark of Inspiration!
Review: EMBER was a gripping novel. As soon as I finished it, I emailed the author begging to know what happened next. She wasn't telling, of course. "You'll have to wait for the sequel," she said. Man, was it worth the wait. I rarely tell people that they have to buy a book, that they must not let another week go by without reading a particular title. Literature is very subjective, after all. What I love, another reader may find uninspiring. SPARKS is an exception to this. Three chapters in, I was literally teary-eyed at the lyricism of Duprau's writing. Six chapters in, I couldn't put it down. I lost SLEEP to finish this book - my ultimate testament to a really good read. THE PEOPLE OF SPARKS is a post-apocolyptic view of the world, after wars, plague and famine have wiped out most of the human race and the few people left are struggling for survival. In the first book, THE CITY OF EMBER, the City Builders have constructed a small city deep underground and stocked it with supplies in vast storerooms, then sent 100 couples with two children each to live there. The Builders know the wars, etc. are coming, and this is how they will save us all. After 200 years, the city infrastructure is crumbling and the city leaders are corrupt, supplies are running out, and the massive generator that keeps the lights on is failing, about to doom the Emberites to permanent darkness, but two young people find the way out, the way to the surface. This leads us to book two in the series. The kids have dropped a message back down to the people of Ember telling them the way out, but will anyone come? They do. And they inundate a small settlement, falling on the mercy of the people who live there, a bedraggled lot, starving, exhausted, unable to move on, and without the skills to be useful members of the new community, the tiny village of Sparks. The Emberites have never seen trees, you see, or birds, or large fields of cabbages, or adobe houses, and fire is a terrifying thing. What ensues is a fantastic story of generosity, deprivation, jealousy, and violence that may lead to the destruction of both communities. The lesson: there are no winners in war, and making peace means taking giant risks. This book has been haunting me for the two days since I finished reading it. If there were a world-wide cataclysmic event, who would survive? Would anyone? Will we ever learn that war only leads to war, violence only to more violence? Can we do something that will take us off the course of self-destruction? Is there hope for the human race? Buy this book. Buy a copy for your local library. Buy a class set and donate it to your kids' school. It's that good.(...)
Rating:
Summary: I SMELL A MOVIE!
Review: i cannot say as much as the first one is better or anything because the two flow together so evenly that it's almost the same book. now that maybe to me because i picked up book 2 the day after finishing THE CITY OF EMBER and enjoed the both tremendously.
i work in Borders Bookstore and saw the stacks and stacks of copies for THE CITY OF EMBER a school had ordered. i picked up one copy of out of curiousity and could not put it down. We only had 2 copies of the sequel just sitting on the shelf. i already bought one, the second sold two hours later.
THE CITY OF EMBER had the classic puzzle-like mysteries with a satisfactory ending while the second book allowed a moral point to shine through in an alternate reality. For the author's first books, she's really outdone herself... i smell a movie (or two).
Rating:
Summary: Another Amazing Book
Review: I did not enjoy this book as much as The City of Ember. It ties up some loose ends from the first story, but it's just too predictable for my taste. My students really enjoyed the first book and I couldn't wait for this one to come out in paperback to add it to our library. I was disappointed by it and so were they.
Rating:
Summary: A fun-filled adventure
Review: Maddie and I read this as a read aloud. Much fun. A great sequel to the City of Ember. Lina and Doon are imperfect and terrific characters that everyone can relate to. Also, the other characters were well developed, too. Wouldn't it be great if there was another book coming...
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful sequel !
Review: Sparks is an amazing and wonderful sequel to The City of Ember, with a fascinating and fast paced story line and truly interesting and memorable characters. I was worried that Sparks would not be as great as Ember, but I loved it just as much (if not more) and was so sorry to come to the end. This brilliant and imaginative book will appeal to children and adults alike, and I'm sure will be read for many years to come. Please, Ms. DuPrau, write more!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing but not bad
Review: The book begins with the people of the City of Ember coming up and out into the real world, a world they never knew existed. Everything is new and scary even the wind and the sky. Soon they encounter the people of Sparks, and are invited to stay for a short six months to learn the skills they will need to go out into the world and create their own place. The story goes on to explore the difficulties adjusting to new people in a new environment. The City of Ember was one of the better books I have read in the last few years. It had a setting the was unique, and that is saying a lot today. That being said I expected a lot from the sequel. I have to say I was disappointed. While the writing style itself is good and the plot still fast moving, the story itself is just not as interesting. The problem with this story is that it has been done. I felt like I could be reading any story about any post apocalyptic world and the hardships that world creates. I expected better from an author whose first book was so amazingly creative and thought provoking. All in all it wasn't bad, but I wanted more.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Sequel
Review: There is no doubt that Jeanne Duprau's first book, The City of Ember, was my favorite of last year. The wait for the sequel seemed like an eternity, but it was worth it! I loved the characters Lina and Doon, the tension brought about by little provisions, and of course, the twist at the end. I'm looking forward to more books by Jeanne Duprau. I hope the wait isn't too long.
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