The People of Sparks

Story picks up where City of Ember ends. DePrau portrays a very realistic future world. In this novel, she shows how well she understands human nature -- the good and the bad -- the fears and prejudices, as well as the the hopes and aspirations. A good, clean and wholesome tale for all ages. Loaded with adventure and suspense. The conclusion of the story is especially wonderful.

The first book in this series was very imaginative and a unique idea. This book isn't. It is simply a way to get an idea of ethics and morality dealing with immigrants and those being invaded by immigrants. To what extent should you help your fellow man? To what extent should you tolerate the bigotry of those who have taken you in? If you know the answer, you don't need to read this book. However, if you really want to try to enjoy it, just remember it's written for kids.

I liked this follow up story to the "The City of Ember". Now you follow the "refugee's" of Ember into a world they've never dreamed of. Light comes from the sun, not a bulb. The temperature get's hot, food is not provided, and most importantly, there are inhabitants in this new world... Inhabitants that have barely survived in a barren world, that aren't so happy to see newcomer's. Especially those that are hungry and have no knowledge of how to care for themselves during the fast approaching winter. Civilization on a small scale. The narrator is a bit harsh, but the story is really good.

A very well-written piece but, I found myself saying,"Duh," often. I dont't reccomend this piece if your over 12 because of it's childish air. But if your looking for something fun and easy to follow go ahead, buy.

The person who read this book is probably our least liked of any audiobook we have listened to. The story was great, but the reader made it lack a bit.

Doon not going along with Tick and the others who wanted war.

We would prefer not, but are going to be listening to The Diamonds of Darkhold and we haven't looked to see who is reading. Hoping it's not her!

Not as much as others we have listened to.

I loved the City of Ember so I decided to listen to the sequel. I absolutely loved the storyline but the reader was horrible. It sounded like she was twenty feet away, and I have great headphone, so that wasn't the problem. There was also static and she had a horrible voice.

A nice story for kids - I'd say targetted at about the 11 year old set - makes for a good listen in the car for them.

This is book 2 of 4 in the "Ember" series which describes a post-apocalyptic earth in hopeful terms. I like that part of the series' approach, though the overall style can be a little pedantic (in my adult opinion) for moral lessons. However, the target audience is juvenile readers so I think the clarity and overt description of moral connections is likely appropriate. All middle and elementary schoolers I have spoken to about this book have really enjoyed it.

SPOILER ALERT: This book starts out roughly where The City of Ember (book 1) leaves off, giving a satisfying story of how the people of Ember struggle to learn about a new world. New words for new concepts are a nice touch, and describing the difficulties that two groups of people with different frames of reference have in relating to each other is educational.

The City of Ember is the first book and The People of Sparks is the second.

The People of Sparks are "put upon" by more than the whole population of their own town when 417 people arrive in one day, all needing shelter and food and water. Good intentions wear thin with hardship and the reader is shown the difficulty of both sets of people. The argument for difficulty and impossible expectations are well defined and so reasonable it's easy to see how any of us would feel the same in either position.

This story also teaches how wars start -- on a small scale. It shows that people do not have to be evil in order to have both misunderstanding and fear coalesce into a dangerous mob without much to urge it on.

It is also a story of forgiveness and courage, as well as the way to stop war.

Taken together this is far more than just a story of a post-apocalyptic world. There is not much description of the "Disaster" though it is simply explained. The astonishing thing about these two books is the depth of wisdom and insight about people. How we function, how we respond to uncertainty, strangers, new places, and how easy it is to believe that our own way of life is the only way, even if it isn't the best way.

This story is written from and seen through the eyes of children between the ages of about 9 to 13 and has the resulting success of answering all the questions the reader would have.

Wendy Dillon's voice is soothing as well as flexible. Her rendition of the different people is almost unnoticeable it is so smoothly done.

This is an amazing book when combined with it's predecessor The City of Ember. If I could give my grandchild only 2 books, I would give him these two.

This is actually the second time I listened to this entire series. It would be great for the whole family to enjoy while on a long car trip or whenever audio books are enjoyed!