A review by chaosmavin
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

4.0

I am really enjoying this series. It continues to amaze me how simple the writing is and yet how complex the story is. This book is the sequel to the city of Ember where in a bunch of folk were raised in an underground city after a disaster… probably nuclear… of which the irony is not lost on me! Century later the folks of Ember are now out and about and they have stumbled on another village as refugees. They outnumber the original population and as humans are apt to do divisiveness begins to raise it ugly head amongst the people. I really love the idea of young adults reading these books and being introduced at a very early age to how quickly things can go south when people start othering others. Everything about the story feels so true to human nature and I and I imagine young people discovering it and seeing just how idiotic greed and hierarchy are. Apparently there's two more books left but I'm hoping the series ends up being all about promoting nonviolence and Socialism! I am definitely going to be getting this series for a few of my favorite 10 year olds!