The Diamond of Darkhold, by Jeanne Du Prau

Well, it was better than The Prophet of Yonwood.

Lina and Doon are such great characters that it's hard to knock a book about them, but...

Solar cells as society's only gift to the future?

I don't know.

What with the crashing banks, disastrous politics, global storming and the hey hey, maybe I'm just in a grim mood, but I sure hope that when our world comes down around our ears, we have a better plan for what we leave our underground-dwelling survivors when they emerge from the darkness.

The Prophet of Yonwood, by Jeanne DuPrau

The third book in the Ember series was, to me, the weakest. Set an undefined amount of time earlier than the Ember or Sparks books, this one is about Nickie, a young girl who is in town to help clear out her grandmother's house, and becomes involved in what seems like mass hysteria. A woman who had a stoke (maybe???) is being revered as a prophet, and her mutterings are being taken as divine.

It was all a little weird to me, and although I appreciate the 'message'- don't follow blindly, etc., it felt a little overblown and implausible.

The connection between this book and the others is extremely tenuous- it really didn't fit in with the others.

Quality: 5 Popularity: 8 Overall: 13

The Prophet of Yonwood

The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau

The sequel to City of Ember was not as strong as the first, but was a worthwhile read.

After Lina and Doon led the people of Ember out of the underground, they all eventually come to a town called Sparks, where the inhabitants have been struggling to eke out a living, and the community has a hard time absorbing the Ember refugees. I didn't enjoy it as much as City of Ember, but it was a YA look at the issues a society faces when trying to handle crisis.

The People of Sparks

Quality: 7 Popularity: 9 Overall: 16

City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau

This book was fantastic all the way through. Lina and Doon live in an underground city with failing infrastructure and corrupt officials. They explore and have wild adventures and find an exit, escaping at last and saving most of the residents of Ember.

The plot was intriguing, and plausible, the writing was smooth and clean and the descriptions of Ember were chilling and conveyed the claustrophobia of the underground world. I loved the scenes set in the municipal greenhouses and the fact that farmers were so respected, I loved the appreciation of maintaining infrastructure, Lina and Doon were great characters- it was wonderful.

The City of Ember

Quality: 9 Populatiry: 9 Overall: 18