The People of sparks, Book Review

By Jeanne DuPrau

Pros: good moral without being preachy

Cons: the characters act in less realistic manners than in her previous book

The People of Sparks picks up immediately from the end of The City of Ember. But don't expect a story about the evacuation of Ember to the surface, DuPrau skips over the problems associated with leaving in order to focus on the difficulty the Emberites have aboveground.

Enter the village of sparks, Though there are more refugees than villagers, Sparks' leaders agree to feed and house the Emberites for 6 months. Oddly enough, the people of sparks never sit down with the Emberites to find out what they're capable of and what they know. This lack of knowledge and the gradual resentment that grows among the people of Sparks creates problems among the two groups.

Meanwhile Doon falls under the influence of a leader in the making, who feels the people of Sparks aren't doing enough to help them and Lina tries to learn more about the city of her drawings.

The novel teaches reasons conflicts arise without being overly didactic.