Compared with the City of Ember, I actually preferred this book a lot more. It was very interesting, and engaging. The plot was very well written and I found myself wanting to get back to the book. The plot divides the story into two perspectives; Doon's point of view and also Lina's point of view (most of the time). You do have some chapters where it features other secondary characters, but the story really focuses on the two main ones. I like both Lina and Doon. They're still the same as in the first book; strong, individualstic and willing to stand out to do what's right in their opinion despite what the majority might say. I was afraid for a moment that Doon might have changed for the worst, especially when he was following Tick around (a suitable name for a character, as Tick is quite annoying just like the insect). However, I was wrong, and was glad Doon did not waver and did not change - in fact he did change, but for the better.

Both Tick and Torren should be best friends in my opinion. They were horrible, obnoxious, annoying, and brought the worst out from both the people of Ember and Sparks. I had the feeling I wouldn't like Torren from the start (and I was right) and although I had my suspicions about Tick, they were finally correct in the end and I felt like slugging them both with a baseball bat. I'm not sure what to say about Caspar. He's rather odd and I'm curious as to what he's really looking for, and what do numbers have to do with it.

There were still a lot of questions left to be answered I think, and there's a few loose ends still not tied. However I heard the third book in the series is like a prequel. Which I find rather odd but perhaps it'll provide the answers or information that might help to understand the series more.

Overall, a much better improvement and a much more exciting book than the first one. This is a great sequel and it does provide a moral at the end of the story. The ending was great and although there was no cliffhanger, nevertheless it was certainly a very nice way to close the book. ( )

This is the second book in the City of Ember story. After the people of Ember escape from their underground city, they meet the people of Sparks. The people of Sparks take in the refugees even though the citiziens of Sparks are concerned with food shortages. The stress between these peoples is finally resolved after the people come together to fight a fire that threatens the city.

After escaping from the City of Ember, its citizens must learn how to live above ground from the villagers of Sparks.
While a bit preachy at times, this book makes a very clear anti-war point. It uses DuPrau's premise from The City of Ember to illustrate how easy it is for humans to deliberately misunderstand and take advantage of each other. Parts of is are reminiscent of the movie Dogville in that way, but appropriate for a younger audience.
Although a bit predictable at points, the characters really set the novel apart from other "message" books. Everyone is fully developed and flawed. The author really thought about these people, and that makes the book difficult to put down.
This book is great for junior high school and public libraries, although high-level elementary students would enjoy it as well. ( )

Sequel to [The City of Ember], Sparks follows the adventures of the Emberites who have emerged from their underground world into the world above and their struggles to be accepted. These are good young-adult books. I like the post-apocalyptic narrative, the characters are well drawn, and there is not a good/evil type morality found in most young adult fiction. ( )

this book is about how two cities come together and set their differences aside. I really liked thes book because it drew me in and really got my attention. I would recomend this book to mostly young adults ( )