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A review by crochetchrisie
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
4.0
"One bad thing after another leads to worse things. So you do a good thing, and that turns it around."
Given that this is a children's (middle grade) book, it could have been a black and white, good guy vs bad guy novel. But in life things there usually isn't a clear-cut right and wrong and this novel actually digs into it in a child-friendly way. The people from Ember are refugees, and they are at the mercy of the people of Sparks. Neither are in a great position - Sparks are teetering on the edge of prosperity and the more than doubling of their population is a strain on even the kindest of hearts. The people of Ember have left everything they've ever known and have no idea and no resources to live in this new world.
It's super easy to fall prey to resentment and mistrust, which leads to violence, and very hard to break that cycle.
I didn't end up 'falling into' the story as much as I would have liked but it was definitely a good read.
Given that this is a children's (middle grade) book, it could have been a black and white, good guy vs bad guy novel. But in life things there usually isn't a clear-cut right and wrong and this novel actually digs into it in a child-friendly way. The people from Ember are refugees, and they are at the mercy of the people of Sparks. Neither are in a great position - Sparks are teetering on the edge of prosperity and the more than doubling of their population is a strain on even the kindest of hearts. The people of Ember have left everything they've ever known and have no idea and no resources to live in this new world.
It's super easy to fall prey to resentment and mistrust, which leads to violence, and very hard to break that cycle.
I didn't end up 'falling into' the story as much as I would have liked but it was definitely a good read.