The City of Ember and The People of Sparks by: Jeanne DuPrau

I’m really surprised that I hadn’t ever read these novels before. I love reading books about dystopian futures, and I thought that I had read as many of the young adult literature I could find on them. My sister and I have been on the lookout for a new series once we finished The Hunger Games, and The Maze Runner. So, I was surprised to know that this series had been out for a while. (Ironically enough, my younger sister had already read them and forgot to tell me about them).

Overall, I really enjoyed the books. They were really entertaining and I think that lots of middle school students could relate to the characters in many ways. From Lina’s desire for adventure, or Doon’s search for importance in society, middle school students seem to crave these feelings as well. I really liked how they shared the “protagonist” role within the storyline because it serves to not alienate a gender. Both male and female students can find someone to relate to. I think it was also crucial that at different points during the book, both characters had feelings of being useless and felt as if they were not listened to: either as Lina told the guards about what the mayor was really up to, or Doon trying to convince the people of Sparks that he did not ruin all of the tomatoes. As a future teacher, I really want to make a point to let my students know that they are heard and their opinions are important. I never want my students to feel powerless, or that they don’t have potential.

This book could also be a quality tool for encouraging students to build friendships. Not only do Doon and Lina build a friendship, but because of this relationship, they save their entire town twice during these two novels. It is definitely a story of how important those relationships are. There is a strong need of cooperation and a sense that everyone has a purpose. Another interesting theme that I picked out of it was that everyone has a talent. Throughout both books, it seemed that every character either found something that they enjoyed doing/ were talented at, or it stated it very clearly. For example, Doon discussed how much he loved bugs and looking at the microscopic world. Mrs. Murdo discovered that she wanted to help with Doctor Hester because she enjoyed learning from her throughout People of Sparks. Lina loved to run and explore new places; she loved her family (Poppy and Mrs. Murdo); and she enjoyed drawing and being creative. Even the librarian, Edward Pocket, had a place in the city of Sparks.

I think that I would like for my students to read these novels in my classroom someday, but I don’t really know how I could best do that in a science classroom. One idea could be to have them read these books while we begin studying electricity and they could construct a similar project that Doon puts together at the end of People of Sparks. But, I’d definitely recommend these books to people to read. I really enjoyed them!