Reviews

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

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izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

2.0

WHen I started reading this book I was excited to see what happened to the citizens of Ember. Though about 150 pages into the book I got a little annoyed by the apocalyptic theme.

nandaaxxx's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

izzyraesantiago's review against another edition

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Feel the same about the 2nd as I did the 1st lol…. Onto the 3rd (thanks Libby).

alex_watkins's review against another edition

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3.0

I can sum up this book as The Road for kids. At first I doubted the book's ability to capture the magic of the first, or to have an equally great ending. That I think was the strongest part of the first book, and the end of this book was almost as satisfying. Great endings have been unfortunately missing from many of the more mature books I have been reading. I'll say it right now, this book has a better ending then The Road. Yes the message is heavy handed, but there were legitimate surprises in the story. The series continues to be much darker than most kid's books. Although not literally like The City of Ember. Set a landscape that is bears a striking resemblance to the Bay Area (corroborated by my discovery that the author lives in Menlo Park). Spoiler Alert: San Francisco appears to have been destroyed by a nuclear bomb, not your typical children's fare. A star is knocked off for not being as magical as the first, and for the especially obvious message.
In a related note, I am enjoying this sudden popularity of apocalypse related everything (like vampires only less sexy). This apocalypse themes all have particularly American bent, all about how much wealth we have accumulated and how we will all live off it after a disaster. Just exactly how long can canned food last?