The People of Sparks
Encyclopedia
The People of Sparks, a post-apocalyptic novel by Jeanne DuPrau
that was published in 2004, is the second book in the Books of Ember series which also includes The City of Ember
, The Prophet of Yonwood
, and The Diamond of Darkhold
.
The Playtone
Company (the production company that released the City of Ember
film) also purchased the rights to The People of Sparks, but after the box office failure of the first film, plans for the sequel were shelved.
There is not enough food for everybody in Sparks, leaving a disaster for both the people of Sparks and the Emberites. The starving Emberites don't seem to know anything about the surface, and the villagers soon begin to resent having to take care of them. Lina, Poppy and Mrs. Murdo are told to live at the doctor's house, where there is a whiny boy named Torren living there too. As tensions mount a mysterious series of acts of vandalism against the people of Ember heightens the anger on both sides, until conflict seems inevitable.
The people of Ember are growing restless and the people of Sparks want to get rid of them, as they are not being very civil to each other. Soon the food the Emberites open is more and more unpleasant. The Emberites are unwelcome and they know it. The Emberites are told that at the end of the month they will have to leave and start their own civilization in the Empty Lands. Meanwhile, Lina leaves with a who go to old cities to find treasure, hoping to find the city she has been dreaming of and drawing. There she finds not a beautiful city like she expected, but a ruined and crumbling metropolis. She arrives back to Sparks disappointed.
The climax occurs when Sparks' town hall catches on fire. The Emberites watch passively as the people of Sparks try to save the building, most hoping the building will burn down. But Lina decides to help the people of Sparks, upon which most of the Emberites decide to pitch in and they all succeed in putting out the fire. As this happens, Doon sees that a young boy is trapped in the burning tree by the building, rushes in, and bravely saves him before he catches on fire. This act turns around the spiral of resentment and it is discovered that it was in fact a person belonging to the people of Ember, Tick Hassler, who perpetrated the acts of vandalism against the people of Ember. This results in a bright future for both the people of Ember and the people of Sparks, symbolized by Doon's rediscovery of electrical currents, partly due to a school science book describing how to create one, and Torren's light bulb, given to him by his older roamer brother Caspar.
Jeanne DuPrau
Jeanne DuPrau is an American writer, best known for The Books of Ember, a series of novels for young people. She lives in Menlo Park, California.-Home life:...
that was published in 2004, is the second book in the Books of Ember series which also includes The City of Ember
The City of Ember
The City of Ember is a post-apocalyptic novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. Similar to Suzanne Martel's The City Under Ground published in 1963, the story is about Ember, an underground city that is slowly running out of power and supplies due to its aging infrastructure...
, The Prophet of Yonwood
The Prophet of Yonwood
The Prophet of Yonwood is an apocalyptic novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2006. It is the third novel in the series The Books of Ember. It is a prequel, rather than a sequel, to the other three books of the series...
, and The Diamond of Darkhold
The Diamond of Darkhold
The Diamond of Darkhold is a post-apocalyptic novel written by Jeanne Duprau that was published in 2008. The novel is the fourth book in the Book of Ember series and was released on August 26, 2008. The fourth book picks up where The People of Sparks left off, during the Emberites' first winter...
.
The Playtone
Playtone
The Playtone Company is an American film and television production company and record label established in 1996 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman....
Company (the production company that released the City of Ember
City of Ember
City of Ember is a 2008 science fiction-fantasy film based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Jeanne DuPrau. It was directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau and Tim Robbins.-Plot:In the...
film) also purchased the rights to The People of Sparks, but after the box office failure of the first film, plans for the sequel were shelved.
Plot summary
Having to leave from living in an underground city for 241 years, the 417 survivors of the city of Ember can't go back and have no idea how to survive on the surface. Wandering for days, exhausted and hungry, they come across the village of Sparks. The people of this small village reluctantly agree to take in the refugees for 6 months, just long enough to teach them to survive on their own. They are allowed to stay in an old hotel, the Pioneer Hotel, which was once grand but has now fallen into disrepair. Most of the rooms have been picked clean of furniture prior to their arrival, making it necessary for the people of Ember to sleep on the floor. There are only 75 rooms, which averages 5 to 6 people a room.There is not enough food for everybody in Sparks, leaving a disaster for both the people of Sparks and the Emberites. The starving Emberites don't seem to know anything about the surface, and the villagers soon begin to resent having to take care of them. Lina, Poppy and Mrs. Murdo are told to live at the doctor's house, where there is a whiny boy named Torren living there too. As tensions mount a mysterious series of acts of vandalism against the people of Ember heightens the anger on both sides, until conflict seems inevitable.
The people of Ember are growing restless and the people of Sparks want to get rid of them, as they are not being very civil to each other. Soon the food the Emberites open is more and more unpleasant. The Emberites are unwelcome and they know it. The Emberites are told that at the end of the month they will have to leave and start their own civilization in the Empty Lands. Meanwhile, Lina leaves with a who go to old cities to find treasure, hoping to find the city she has been dreaming of and drawing. There she finds not a beautiful city like she expected, but a ruined and crumbling metropolis. She arrives back to Sparks disappointed.
The climax occurs when Sparks' town hall catches on fire. The Emberites watch passively as the people of Sparks try to save the building, most hoping the building will burn down. But Lina decides to help the people of Sparks, upon which most of the Emberites decide to pitch in and they all succeed in putting out the fire. As this happens, Doon sees that a young boy is trapped in the burning tree by the building, rushes in, and bravely saves him before he catches on fire. This act turns around the spiral of resentment and it is discovered that it was in fact a person belonging to the people of Ember, Tick Hassler, who perpetrated the acts of vandalism against the people of Ember. This results in a bright future for both the people of Ember and the people of Sparks, symbolized by Doon's rediscovery of electrical currents, partly due to a school science book describing how to create one, and Torren's light bulb, given to him by his older roamer brother Caspar.