Book 4), The Diamond of Darkhold (Ember

"The Diamond of Darkhold" is another entry to the Ember series. It carries on the trials and successes of the combined citizens of Ember and Sparks using many of the familiar characters, including the main protagonists, Doon and Lina and their respective families.

While I continue to enjoy the characters and the ambiance against which their activities are carried out through time, I found this book a little less impressive than the first two. There are fewer lessons taught, and I found the idea of 13 year olds exploring a cave on their own a little alarming as a role model. While their idea of finding useable items to help the stressed and struggling citizens of their town by a return to and a search of their old home Ember a good one, I found their decision to do that exploration on their own without telling anyone a little alarming. A message left where it would not be found until it might be too late to help stranded children is hardly a good idea. Nor is the suggestion to young readers that it might be a good one. While I agree that it is something that children of that age might think logical and actually do, I think the lack of wisdom of the adventure as it was planned should have been brought home more clearly.

I was also disappointed in the rather abrupt advance to the future in the final pages of the book, where Lina and Doon's lives are charted very clearly. It set a stamp of finality on the story which I was disappointed to see. The reader should have had the opportunity of growing with the young people, learning the lessons that they learned along the way. It felt as though the author had tired of her characters and their story and simply put "...and they lived happily ever after" as a sign that there wasn't anything more to say.

Seems to me there would be a lot to say about growing up in the world of Sparks and beyond. Laura Ingals Wilder didn't seem to have any trouble, and the Embers series is essentially a modern style "life on the frontier" story about making do, self reliance, helping neighbors, being innovative, etc. Wilder would have loved it. Furthermore new characters had been added that I felt would have benefited from development in future episodes. Old characters that had left, such as the rabble rouser Tick, might certainly have been reintroduced to stir things up a bit. And the suggestion that bad people, rather than just wolves, might attack the unsuspecting town of Sparks, as had apparently happen to a town mentioned in this story, suggests that life would not be dull in the future. The author's incredible capacity to see beyond the surface of characters to reveal hidden depths and her ability to see two sides of a character's story, would surely give new episodes much to teach the reader about people and about fortune and fate. I feel like she threw this opportunity away.

While I understand that actually growing to adulthood can be daunting and often disappointing, things don't end till they end. J. K. Rowling seems to be the only author of children's stories to understand that life doesn't end at thirteen, and that the children who loved her story when they were 13 will probably love to read the adventures of the characters at 14 and etc. Read any book on developmental psychology or pediatrics and one will be told that each growth stage has its tasks to learn and its own trials and tribulations in learning them. Part of the task of children's literature is helping children to learn these tasks and lessons from good role models, children with whose conflicts and confusion they can identify. By the time they reach young adulthood, other types of fiction and nonfiction, college, work and starting a family will take over where the children's books left off. By that time they already know that "happily ever after" is a euphamism for "who knows what happens next?" By that time, they'll be better equipped to deal with whatever it is.

My guess is that the author doesn't like to "live" in the world she has created if she has to live with young people learning ever more serious truths. Goodness knows the Harry Potter children ended up living through a war that took the lives of some of their best friends and major adult influences. That's a pretty grim thing; unfortunately that's the world. Ms. DuPrau's characters have already lived through some extremely grim events and have taught us all a little about living life the right way, even if it is difficult.

I just hope she changes her mind.

If you have not read the first three books in this series, do not despair as this is a great book stand alone. Though as the final book in this series it is one that makes you wish it would never end. It ties up all three previous books and allows you to see that through sadness, war, and anger that good can eventually come from it.
Lina and Doon continue their adventures looking for a way to help the people of Sparks. Will they be able to decipher what was found in an old book, that is mostly torn apart? Or will the people of Sparks be doomed and not survive the harsh reality of life?
Jeanne Duprau is an author that everyone should aquaint themselves with because you will want to read all the books she has written.

We enjoyed the first book of this series, The City of Ember, in which Lina and Doon find a way out of the dying, underground city of Ember which had been built generations before as a place of safety during a great catastrophe. We also liked the second book, The People of Sparks, in which Lina and Doon help lead the others out of Ember to a small above-ground village named Sparks where they settle. We did not care as much for the third book, The Prophet of Yonwood, which isn't about Lina, Doon, and the people of Ember but is a "prequel" which is supposed to explain how Ember came to be built but really doesn't and deals with some issues that we wondered if they are really appropriate for children.
However, this Fourth Book of Ember returns to the time of Lina and Doon. A roamer comes to Sparks and has a book which Doon recognizes as something that was intended for the people of Ember. Most of it is missing, but Doon understands enough to guess that there's still something in Ember which would be helpful for them. So he and Lina decide to sneak off, return to Ember, and find whatever it is. When they get there, they see that a family of squatters named Trogg have settled in Ember, which they renamed Darkhold, and are scavaging the city. The Troggs capture Doon who learns that they have found a "diamond" which Doon is convinced was intended for the people of Ember. Lina starts to go back to Sparks for help. She joins with the roamer from whom Doon had purchased the book, who just happens to be Mr. Trogg's sister, and begins traveling with her, but they go in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, Doon escapes from the Troggs, and when Lina leaves the roamer and heads back to Ember, she meets up with Doon. But will they ever figure out what the diamond is capable of doing?
The Diamond of Darkhold is every bit as exciting and suspenseful as the first book. Jeanne DuPrau is a very good author. One reviewer correctly called it "another action-packed adventure with powerful themes about hope, learning, and the search for truth." Kathy Davis of Home School Buzz wrote, "Both children face more challenges that require some quick thinking. Having read and reviewed City of Ember, but not the sequels The People of Sparks or The Prophet of Yonwood, I can say put me at a slight disadvantage. There were a few plot lines I was confused by, but only a few. The author tried summarizing most of the main points of the series, so that a new reader could pick up Diamond of Darkhold and enjoy it as a stand-alone story. But, it would be better to read the prequels first. There is a strong focus on character development, and the story flows from several of the character's different points of view. There is some action with the adventure, and the author places an emphasis on teamwork, creative thinking, and the acceptance of each other." There is an interesting tie in to The Prophet of Yonwood at the end of the story, with somewhat of a surprising conclusion.

This may just be one of my favoritest kids book series - aside from Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events and a few others. It definitely holds its place right up there with the great ones.

In The Diamond of Darkhold - we are brought back to present day to where Lina and Doon have escaped Ember and have been living in Sparks for months now. Emberites are not used to extreme weather conditions - and this first harsh winter above ground is really leaving its mark. Especially when it comes to their health and food rations. When a roamer makes her way to their town they come across a book that they immediately realize references Ember. But the book is all torn up and only has a handful of pages in it. Lina and Doon make it their mission to decipher the book and uncover the mysterious device it mentions within its pages... even if it means making their way back down to the abandoned (and now completely dark) City of Ember.

Lina and Doon are back on an adventure. The story is fast-paced and full of the quirky characters we have all come to love through the earlier books in the series. We also meet a number of new characters - some you love and some you love to hate.

This series has had its ups and downs for me. I loved The City of Ember and The People of Sparks was okay. Then there was The Prophet of Yonwood which I liked the least. But this book captured the part of Ember that made it such a fantastic book for me. It had all of the adventurous elements that I loved from the start as well as brought us back on track with the original story line. I especially liked the ending. I truly enjoyed how everything wrapped up - how every character and every book made sense... had a purpose. The final outcome, to me, was perfect.

The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth and final book in the Ember series. I recommend they be read in order for it to make sense. These books are geared for younger kids (3rd grade and up) - and you can tell by the simple writing and the not fully fleshed-out characters, but if you're like me, that won't stop you from picking this one up. Nonetheless, this series is pretty addictive. I mean who doesn't want to read about kids saving the world, right?

Lina and the people of Ember have escaped their underground city and moved to the city of Sparks. Life has been difficult. Food must be planted and grown. Living without electricity and heat is wearing everyone down little by little. Life away from the controlled environment of Ember is as beautiful as it is harsh at times, and spring has given way to a cold and bleak winter. Food is running out, and everyone in Sparks is always hungry. They don't have enough food to trade with the roamer who comes to town, but Doon scrapes together just enough to buy a book that still has a few pages remaining, enough pages to point the way back to Ember to find a treasure the Builders of Ember left for them.

Doon and Lina pack a little food, candles, and matches and head out before dawn to go back to Ember to gather up some of the food and medicine they left behind and to find what the Builders left for them. It's a hard road that gets even harder once they go back into the mountain and down to Ember, but Ember isn't dark. There is a golden glow in the darkness of the cavern and a makeshift bridge across the chasm. Someone is living in Ember, someone who is determined to stay hidden and keep the treasure Doon and Lina have come to find.

The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth installment in Jeanne DuPrau's post apocalyptic fantasy about the underground city of Ember. It is a fitting end to the story arc begun with The City of Ember. Doon and Lina continue their intrepid adventures in the bleak outside world in an adventure story that can easily stand alone. DuPrau fills in the back story without weighing down the narrative pace, giving enough information to keep readers from wondering what they've missed. Nevertheless, I would suggest getting the three previous books if for no other reason than to enjoy the rich and fascinating characters of Doon and Lina as they explore the limits of their world and blaze paths to the outside.

DuPrau has created a believable world and peoples it with interesting and complex characters. They give substantial weight and dimension to Ember, the city of Sparks and the land between the two cities. The magic of The Diamond of Darkhold isn't just in a well-told tale but in the glimpse of the world of our own future. DuPrau colors this world with hope and ingenuity and outlines it in plain and uncluttered prose, evoking a bleak and surprising landscape of subtle proportions.

I was immediately caught in Jeanne DuPrau's spell and avidly followed Doon and Lina on their adventures, anxious to see what came next. I was not disappointed.

For the final book in the series (I'm assuming it's the final book because it feels very final), the people of Sparks are having a difficult time getting by with their limited supplies. There isn't enough food, the storehouse roof has collapsed, the work is still harder than what the people of Ember are used to.

But all that could change when Lina and Doon learn that there was something left for the people of Ember to help them make it once they leave Ember. They don't know what it is-the only clue is the last 8 pages of a forty-seven page book-but they are sure that it requires they return to their abandoned city. So they do what they do best: sneak away and journey back there. But things don't go as planned because the city they'd thought was dead is not as empty as they expect it to be.

This book manages to bring back the charm of the first book, City of Ember, that was lacking in the other two. Where Book 1 was full of excitement and mystery, the other two felt comparatively cumbersome and slow. They were important to the story but they simply lacked the urgency and adventure. This one didn't lack any of that. From almost the first moment, something was happening beyond people complaining and arguing.

I'm also glad that we got to see more of Kenny. He may not be an Emberite, but he's got the same good, adventurous spirit as Lina and Doon and he deserves more space. I'm less fond of Torren. Why can't he figure out that his brother is a loser? And besides, who wants to listen to a whiner? Lizzie isn't much better but at least she's slightly entertaining in her own ridiculousness.

I can't pretend to love the ending, which felt like a poor attempt to tie up the story nicely. (Sort of like the end of the seventh Harry Potter.) But the rest of the book makes up for it.

In the fourth book of Ember, we enter with the newly unified town of Sparks preparing for the winter, a few months after the city of Ember's emergence from underground. Supplies are growing sparse and sickness becomes abundant in this town, as they question their sustainability for the harsh cold of wintertime.

Protagonists Doon and Lina set off on another adventure, based on a prophecy from a book stating their is something left "for the people of Ember" that will aid them through the winter. They venture back to their old town of Ember to seek out supplies that their old community has left behind, where they meet an unlikely foe and seek out this mysterious, perhaps magical device to "bring light to a dark world."

Through the motif of hope, DuPrau illustrates an exciting page-turner that had me up all night so I could finish. Though lacking as much thought and depth as the initial book in the series, the author creates an interesting storyline along with introducing peculiar side characters such as Washton Trogg.

The end of the book seems a bit anticlimactic, as their adventure ends sort of to a nothingness, with DuPrau feeling a look to the future as sufficient hope for the success of mankind and their moral triumphs. Otherwise, THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD should not disappoint avid readers of the series. In order to grasp full meaning of the story, I would highly suggest reading at least books one and two (three is a prequel to the first and has little overlap).

Overall, Duprau succeeds in this installment and I would recommend it to those who have enjoyed the first of her books.

Reviewed by: Andrew S. Cohen

When I began reading the Books of Ember, beginning with the "City of Ember", and then the "People of Sparks", I really enjoyed the fresh writing and ideas the books had to offer. They were completely knew and different - especially the City of Ember. As soon as I finished, I rushed off to buy the "People of Sparks." Both books excited me, and then I hit "The Prophet of Yonwood." This completely disappointed me, as it had nothing to do with the other books except for a few quick "connection pages" at the end. It really had no importance whatsoever.

After reading this drag of a book, I was a little hesitant to read the last book, "The Diamond of Darkhold" thinking it too would be a huge disappointment. To get an idea of how good the book would be, I took a quick look at some reviews, so I knew it wouldn't be anything like it's first two predecessors. But I still thought it would be an exciting read.

Looking in the front cover of the paperback version it is said that "Diamond of Darkhold" is similar to the first book. This is true, in a way. The premise is similar - going back to Ember. Now, at this point I was wondering, why go back to an old theme? Why not do something interesting with the book and explore something new? But no. If you don't like hearing the details of a long trek all the way to Ember and back - be prepared - that alone takes up over half the book.

We know that Ember's characters and interesting an unique, yet by reading The Diamond of Darkhold, they all feel...the same. Dull. It's not really "about" any of the characters as it was in the first two books. It isn't about good or bad. It is about the following:

-Back to Ember we go! You guessed it!
-Long, tediously described trips back and forth from Ember
-New characters introduced that play a small part and are very two dimensional ("evil")
-Another "secret, torn up message for Lina and Doon to decode!" That's a shocker!
-A way Lina and Doon can save everyone -AGAIN!-
-Little Character development

If all of this doesn't appeal to you, I would not suggest reading 285 pages. You would think they would use these pages creatively - but no.

About the second point, since going back to Ember is pretty straightforward, I'll just say that the trip Lina and Doon make is nothing close to interesting. I found myself closing the book often because it just became extremely boring. Yes, traveling fifty miles or so probably isn't very interesting, but that's the magic of a book! You can just focus on the interesting points - or better - summarize it into a paragraph's worth of detail.

We meet some new characters, and surprisingly for the last in a series, they are given pretty generous roles. I will not go into who they are, as it would spoil the "surprise", but I will simply say I did not enjoy to read about them. Before going into why I didn't like them, you have to ask yourself if you like the traditional "heroes vs. villains" type of storytelling. I prefer storytelling that shows you both sides of people, the good and the bad in each person. Sadly, these people didn't feel real as much as SpongeBob looks real. They felt like some wacky characters from a new Disney show. Jeanne DuPrau worked very hard to make the reader hate them, and de-humanize them in a way. I don't know any people remotely like this, or would I want to know anyone like them. At the end, she made a brief show of "redeeming them" = a little paragraph telling of how they learned to be kind in the end. This felt almost comical...as...when does that sort of thing happen? What was the point of creating those characters, anyway?

For those fans of The City of Ember, wasn't it exciting when Lina and Doon found that secret message? I really enjoyed trying to decode it along with them. At that point, it felt a fresh and new idea. Readers and critics alike praised that aspect of the book. So it wasn't that surprising when she pulled out that trick again. It was disappointing to me that she brought it back. Why not go for something original? She obviously thought readers would love a repeat - but I certainly didn't.

Yes, Lina and Doon save the world again. I can't say this isn't a good thing, but I feel it would be more believable if possibly, for once, they didn't make up a lie(which we've seen what feels like hundreds of times) and sneak of into the night.

Which leads me to character development - another problem here. Lina loves adventure more than anything (haven't we figured that out yet) but she also cares about her family. Last time, in People of Sparks, when she jumped on the wagon with Caspar and Maddie, she worried Ms. Murdo out of her mind. Then, she does it again - it takes her about half a page to decide it's the right thing to do - and then off she goes. While she might be saving the world, wouldn't she think "once is enough" and decide against it? Or has she forgotten why it's not such a good idea to lie to people? Doon, are other main character, doesn't have a problem with lying. We know he takes risks and everything, but he doesn't really change.

I felt that too much of the story was used up with travel, action, and "thrilling escapes." The quality has lowered and lowered to the point where the book just felt unpleasant to read. While I loved being back in the real time, not off two hundred years ago in some unrelated story, that's nearly all I enjoyed. It wasn't fresh or thrilling to me - two of my biggest thoughts about the first book.

Of course you'll probably want to finish your adventure. I don't think it's a great one - but the book itself had a few interesting aspects which you'll have to discover for yourself. If you really loved the first book, you may find some common ground with this one, although I wouldn't expect too much of it.

Although really written for children, this series can be read and enjoyed by adults. I read the first book after seeing a preview for the movie and continued reading the series, because I wanted to see how things turn out for the characters.

There are valuable lessons in this book that could benefit many children, like in the rest of the series. Well, adults might learn a thing or two also.

The book opens during the first winter after the people of Ember emerge and take up residence in Sparks. Life is tough to say the least.

Lina and Doon find a book that tells of something left for the people of Ember from the people who set up Ember. The book is damaged so they have to figure out many things involved for themselves.

They decide to go back to Ember. They have to figure out a way to get back in and do. Upon arrival, they find that some people from outside are in the city. The real adventure begins.

Lina and Doon eventually find what the book was talking about and figure out how to use it. A very valuable discovery.

The author then ties up loose ends to bring the series to a conclusion. I think it was ended off well.

Give it a try.

I think this book must have come to be as a result of the criticisms of books 2 & 3 (no return to Ember, lack of Lina and Doon, etc.). While the return to Ember was much anticipated and a welcome plot element, parts of this book were, as a result, overwhelmingly repetitive of the first book. This worked in some instances, but in others, it felt like a desperate return to the successful elements seen in the first book, in order to gain back disappointed fans. I did enjoy seeing Lina and Doon again, and the teamwork seen in this book was reminiscent of the first one in a good way. Plotwise, there was a clear single goal, but it wasn't as interesting, nor as desperate, as the goal in the first book, making for a story that was, in turn, less interesting. Other than Lina and Doon, I felt that many of the secondary characters lacked strong characterization, which made their roles seem slightly flat. I enjoyed the fact that everything came full circle, although I do wish DuPrau had rearranged things a little bit. I felt like the ending of this book should have been extended and essentially served as the second book, eliminating the need for books 2 & 3. I just think a lot was done wrong in the creation of this series, and maybe The City of Ember would have been best served as a stand-alone.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Diamond of Darkhold is a relatively satisfying conclusion to the "Ember" series. While I LOVE City of Ember and did it as a read-aloud to my classes for several years, I found People of Sparks to be weak (and overly "preachy") and Prophet of Yonwood to be downright depressing. The Diamond of Darkhold is not nearly as complex or riveting as City of Ember, but it does give us the chance to revisit Ember itself and see what became of the city after the people fled. While loose ends are tied up, there are other aspects that could have been explored in greater depth.

If you are a fourth or fifth grade teacher, definitely read City of Ember with your students - there's much to discuss, and the mystery element makes for an engaging class activity. I always had a large chart paper with the incomplete contents of the letter transcribed for the class to fill in as the story progressed. Once you've read City of Ember aloud, your students will want to read the prequels/sequels, so make sure they have access to the other books.

If you're an "Ember" series fan, go ahead and commit to reading The Diamond of Darkhold - you need to achieve completion!

Lina and Doon are struggling through winter when they obtain a book meant for the people of Ember. Only most of the pages have been torn out, and only eight pages remain, mostly graphs. And Sparks is running out of supplies, so Doon and Lina return to Ember to learn and gather what they can. But there's a new danger in their underground city...

I love THE CITY OF EMBER and THE PEOPLE OF SPARKS. I skipped the prequel, THE PROPHET OF YONWOOD, but the only reference to that is in the epilogue here. THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD is by all means a great read, but lacks the emotional connection that made the first two books so fabulous. The characters are clearly presented as good or bad, missing those shades of grey vital to avoid the players seeming like cardboard cut-outs.

I love the Ember books for bringing important worldwide issues to young readers. I love the futuristic and realistic settings. I love the affable characters. Buy this series for any tween, but most importantly for you. Many thanks to Jeanne DuPrau for creating and writing this awesomeness.

The Diamond of Darkhold picks up where The People of Sparks left off. The former residents of the underground City of Ember are having a hard time adjusting to their new life out in the light--and the wind, rain, and cold. Doon becomes convinced that they overlooked a valuable invention when they left Ember, so he and Lina decide to go back to seek the treasure.

When they do, they encounter a city generator on its last gasps, and a wild family named the Troggs who have decided that warm and dry inside beats the cold and unpredictable outside world. I really liked that dynamic, unpredictable freedom versus (an illusion of) safety, and the Troggs' desire to milk a clearly unsustainable situation for all it was worth.

Lina and Doon have their adventures and find something that does make life a whole lot better for everyone. I really enjoyed this book and felt like it redeemed the series after the unsatisfying third book, the prequel The Prophet of Yonwood. I somehow felt there could have been a little more to The Diamond of Darkhold--it didn't reach the level of originality and completeness of the original City of Ember for me, but reading the next chapters in Lina and Doon's lives brought the series to a full-circle close.

The overall series is strong with one notable misfire: I give The City of Ember 5 stars; The People of Sparks 3.5 stars; the misbegotten prequel The Prophet of Yonwood 1 star; and this redemptive finale The Diamond of Darkhold 4 stars. As young adult fiction goes, the Books of Ember series is thoughtful but also appropriate for strong readers fourth grade and older.

Book one and two were really good. Book three is a vote and honestly, skip it. But this book brings you back into the story and holds you awake till 2am...literally....It is 2am right now and I couldn't sleep cause I had to finish it. Great end to the series.

P.s. Skip book 3

Despite what others have written I quite enjoyed The Diamond of Darkhold. I must admit I haven't read Book 3 yet but according my local librarian I could read the 4th before the 3rd and come out just fine.

Perhaps by reading the 4th right after The People of Sparks I got a different slant on things. I thought the books flowed together well. It made perfect sense to me that the Creators that made the City of Ember in the first place wouldn't leave these people so totally vulnerable and helpless when they exited- at least on purpose. It does seem a shame that the door to the City of Ember now seems closed and finished. I like that Doon gets the last laugh on the family that "did him wrong" but that DuPrau allows them to repent and no grudges are held. Doon and Lina are so good together.

This series gives us much to think about as our world is not perhaps as indestructible as we hope.

I loved the first book of Ember. This book was a welcome revisit of the people and the city itself. But I felt that this story lacked speed, originality, and excitement. The end was wrapped up in a tidy little package...perhaps a little TOO tidy. So in general, while I loved spending time with the characters of Ember (including the city...a character itself ), some of the plotline became tiring and predictable, and I didn't love it as much as Book1

I don't find this as captivating as I found the previous books. However, it does a good job of wrapping up the story and gives the reader a satisfactory feeling of knowing what has happened to the characters and the city of Sparks.

If I had read these reviews before I purchased this final book in the series I likely would not have bothered. However I did order it when I fell in love with the first book and since I had it, and enjoyed the first 3, I decided to read it. I must say I was not as disappointed by this book as the other reviewers here. I would add though that the very last chapter was a bit out of sync with the rest of the series. I completely enjoyed this book up until the end where I agree with others there was too much crammed into the wrap up and too many far fetched things added in that were not necessary. I will not spoil it with details but I must say that I do recommend adding this book to the collection if you enjoyed the others. I would rather have seen the whole last chapter though extended into another book. It just seemed that the author did not even write this last chapter because it had a completely different style/tone than the rest. It did seem like maybe she got stuck and didn't really know how to end it but I again say that the rest of the book is good enough to overlook the last chapter. I loved reading these books and highly recommend all 4 to anyone who likes an interesting and captivating adventure story.

There are few books that I give this low of a rating. I almost hate doing this because I loved the first two books so much, but there are three reasons I'm giving this book only two stars.

The first is it felt like the book was talking down to its young audience. The first two books were so contemporary and edgy, but it felt like this one spent half the time defining big words and inserting placeholder dialogue. The writing style lacked a quality I know Duprau is capable of.

The second is that the book is a rewind of The City of Ember (Books of Ember). It seemed like the characters hadn't really developed since the first book and had to learn all the old lessons over again. Plus it just played the same plot tricks as the first book, only instead of escaping Ember, Lina and Doon are going back. And it totally ignores all of the information from The Prophet of Yonwood (Books of Ember) (which wasn't that good to begin with) until the last ten pages--and even that tie-in seems forced, like it's an afterthought.

The final thing that made this book just not work for me is that the ending is moral driven rather than character driven. Instead of letting the characters' actions speak for themselves, there is a LONG epilogue that tells word for word all the lessons Lina and Doon learned. After all they go through together, the reader should be able to tell what lessons were learned without it being spelled out for them--literally!

This book could have been hot with all the potential in the first two books. The premiss for this one is fantastic and the already-established characters are amazing, but this book just doesn't pull it all together in the end. I wish the series would have ended after The People of Sparks (Books of Ember).

This book is one of my favorite novels. I like it so much, that I even wrote a description of it. What do you think of it?
Description:
It is about three hundred years after the terrifying war that wiped out almost the entire human race except the citizens of Ember and a few other populous villages
Now they have no electricity, and are struggling to survive, how will they make through the winter alive?

It has been many months since Doon and Lina led the population of the dying City of Ember to the Village of Sparks. Now in the middle of a harsh winter, the village is on the edge of starvation.
One day, a roaming traveler, called a roamer for short, comes to Sparks with an eight-paged-book entitled For the People of Ember in gold lettering. Doon trades a match for it, intrigued by its mysterious background.
The information from the book talks about an ancient device created before the Disaster. It also notes that the Emberites were meant to have this gift once they got out of Ember.
After reading the book, Doon has the feeling that he and his friend Lina have to go back to Ember to find the gift.
After persuading homesick Lina to journey back to Ember for a final voyage, Doon keeps wondering about a few things; how will they find the ancient device that could save their village,
and more importantly, what, or who, will they find when they get back to Ember?

Sparks is running low on supplies. So lina and Doon go back to ember to see if there are any supplies there. How ever, some other people (the troggs) have moved in. Doon gets captured, so he tells lina in code to get help. On her way home, she hears an old song that is similar to one she's heard. Meanwhile, Doon escapes. Doon and lina spend a night in an old cabin. And you'll never believe what they find and what happens.

After thoroughly enjoying The City of Ember, and liking The People of Sparks alright, I was excited to read this later installment in the series. (Let's just try to forget about the Prophet of Yonwood, shall we?) Boy, was I disappointed! The characters were shallow, and the dialogue was unimaginative. There were so many minor plot holes and at the end, the author obviously got tired of writing the book and summed up the epilogue in a huge chunk of boring afterthought. I was very disappointed - and yes, downright bored - in many of the plot points which, I suppose, were supposed to be interesting and creative. I don't know if publisher asked the author to write this book, but it's clear she did not put her whole time nor talent into this piece of lazy writing. Too bad!

I expected more from this book. I couldn't wait to read it, but I was sadly disappointed. It's definitely not as good as City of Ember or People of Sparks. The plot wasn't interesting. Some of the dialogue was dull and not very original. I don't know if the publisher asked the author to write a fourth book, and she just couldn't come up with anything better. I wished it were a better book.

Even has a wonderful tie-in to the third book (originally I thought the third book didn't really fit well in the series but might function better as a prequel). Overall, it gets back to the original characters and story line and offers a wonderful conclusion!

Oh my gosh, that was sooooooooooo great! I couldn't get my eyes off of it! So I originally was going to save it, so I could have something to read, but I couldn't stop reading it! I just finished this morning. My favorite book of ember! SPOILERS: lina gets a horse! That's all I'll say, believe me it's hard to not say the entire book! Sorry about the spoiler but I couldn't hold it in! Ok so Lina and Doon go back to ember! That's not a spoiler it's in the description of the book. I recommend this to anybody who is a fan of the other books!

What an interesting end to the story. I like how it teaches the younger readers to continue to use their brains and trust their instincts. I like how it foreshadows a future for the main characters so we aren't left wondering what might become of them. And I like how everything wasn't automatically saved and wonderful, but that we can see that perhaps in the future a better world could be possible with hard work and patience. This is a very good dystopian series for fans of the genre.

I thought this was a really good book it brings together an ending that is amazing I started reading it but just couldn't put it down I just wish that duprau would have said what the "flying star" was,who the little green people were,and the home planet that the people were monitoring but other than that it was awesome.

basically i was somewhat dissapointed...the book was decent, i really wish more time was spent in ember (the last time before they leave "for good")
it seems to me that lina and doon had a strong connection to their city, not only was it mentioned in the the first two books, but the characters said so themselves, you would think more time would have been spent on the characters "saying goodbye" to ember. i felt like the whole scene of their last return was rushed, what like five pages on the most pivotal part of the story..come on!
i did like this book for one reason it was because it wrapped things up..kinda.. im mean more explanation about how lina and doon ended up hooking up would have been nice. not to mention that as a reader i felt that i was being RUSHED throughout the whole book, i really liked the pace of Yonwood, but wow... the last ten pages made me feel like she had a serious writing deadline..

overall i liked the book because i hate unfinished stories..lol. but i do have some complaints. next time take your time writing a book, and tell the story, do it justice, dont just write it to sell it...

THe plot-line was nice, but it seems a little forced, especially especially the ending. Aliens?!? It seems like since The Prophet of Yonwood more traditional sci-fi was crammed in there, but in an exactly wrong amount.
There is not enough information for it to play a major role in the story, but enough to seem silly and pointless.
The diamond is also a disappointment, *SPOILER ALERT!* It is built up in the plot almost throughout the entire book and turns out just to be a solar cell! Even though they have thousands of them, it is still not enough to use as more than a small town, and they can't produce more of them as the book which could have held the designs was destroyed.
Overall, it is nice as a book, but a major disappointment as a book in the Ember series.

The Diamond of Darkhold takes the reader on another interesting quest- back to Ember and we get to see what happened there after most of the people left. There are some unexpected twists which keeps it interesting. The secret of the the diamond is a little hard to picture, but I really enjoyed how all the loose ends were connected.

I like this series because it is good for middle schoolers, and it is so incredibly exciting! I like this book because Lina and Doon go back to the City of Ember and have an adventure. If you are bored and tired of cheesy books... pick up this book series. It will not disappoint!

I finished this book at 1:47 this morning. I loved it! The series was enticing, this book being the best out of all four. This series (quadrilogy?) is one of my favorites. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see Lina abd Doon get married! ;)

I thought this was a really good book it brings together an ending that is amazing I started reading it but just couldn't put it down I just wish that duprau would have said what the "flying star" was,who the little green people were,and the home planet that the people were monitoring but other than that it was awesome.

basically i was somewhat dissapointed...the book was decent, i really wish more time was spent in ember (the last time before they leave "for good")
it seems to me that lina and doon had a strong connection to their city, not only was it mentioned in the the first two books, but the characters said so themselves, you would think more time would have been spent on the characters "saying goodbye" to ember. i felt like the whole scene of their last return was rushed, what like five pages on the most pivotal part of the story..come on!
i did like this book for one reason it was because it wrapped things up..kinda.. im mean more explanation about how lina and doon ended up hooking up would have been nice. not to mention that as a reader i felt that i was being RUSHED throughout the whole book, i really liked the pace of Yonwood, but wow... the last ten pages made me feel like she had a serious writing deadline..

overall i liked the book because i hate unfinished stories..lol. but i do have some complaints. next time take your time writing a book, and tell the story, do it justice, dont just write it to sell it...

THe plot-line was nice, but it seems a little forced, especially especially the ending. Aliens?!? It seems like since The Prophet of Yonwood more traditional sci-fi was crammed in there, but in an exactly wrong amount.
There is not enough information for it to play a major role in the story, but enough to seem silly and pointless.
The diamond is also a disappointment, *SPOILER ALERT!* It is built up in the plot almost throughout the entire book and turns out just to be a solar cell! Even though they have thousands of them, it is still not enough to use as more than a small town, and they can't produce more of them as the book which could have held the designs was destroyed.
Overall, it is nice as a book, but a major disappointment as a book in the Ember series.

The Diamond of Darkhold takes the reader on another interesting quest- back to Ember and we get to see what happened there after most of the people left. There are some unexpected twists which keeps it interesting. The secret of the the diamond is a little hard to picture, but I really enjoyed how all the loose ends were connected.

I like this series because it is good for middle schoolers, and it is so incredibly exciting! I like this book because Lina and Doon go back to the City of Ember and have an adventure. If you are bored and tired of cheesy books... pick up this book series. It will not disappoint!

I finished this book at 1:47 this morning. I loved it! The series was enticing, this book being the best out of all four. This series (quadrilogy?) is one of my favorites. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see Lina abd Doon get married! ;)

i thought it was pretty good, i've been waiting for them to go back to ember for 2 books and FINALLY they went back! even though it's a little boring in some places, most of the book is exiting and a little strange because they don't now how to use most things and it's set in the future.

I really like the way people are living underground with candles and fires. I also like how the main person in the Trogg family keeps calling Doon the wrong names, and also how they find the spiral path down to the city, and what the diamond does.

I liked this book a lot more than book 2, really enjoyed book 1, and I'm planning on skipping book 3. I hope Jeanne Duprau stops writing more Ember books. I think she has a great story but I'm not a big fan of the way she writes. Book 1 felt like it was lacking somethings, book 2 just felt empty, and book 4 to me didn't seem like doon and Lina would of acted the way they did, to me they did grow up, they just asked the same. I just can't wait until the movie comes out. I'm hoping that the movie has added stuff that wasn't in the book.

Unlike in the potter books and movies, I didn't want any part changed. To me Rowling added and added the the characters all 7 books.

But this is just my opinion.

I enjoyed the stories but I can't help but think that these are the authors first attempts at writing. I found the stories got a little preachy about environmental issues. Good for a quick, simple read, but don't expect too much from them.

My eleven year old daughter and I read this book together, aloud over the course of about ten days. We both loved it and eagerly awaited each successive night's installment. I had read City of Ember and People of Sparks, but started and didn't finish Prophet of Yonwood. My daughter had read all three prior books. Contrary to some of the other reviewers, I thought that several of the minor characters were quite well developed, particularly Troggs and Maggs. Not quite the meticulously thought-out masterpiece I found City of Ember to be, but a good page turner, with some carefully tucked away lessons for young people.

Ever since they emerged from the City of Ember, I have been waiting for them to go back and see what has become of their city. This book finally takes us back to the City of Ember. Perhaps others may have been waiting too.

Darkhold's Ember is nothing like the City of Ember of book 1. This time the story is not satisfying, despite offering a reasonable explanation about the fate of those who wandered into the Unknown Regions. Other than that, the journey felt rushed and not well developed. I doubt this was intentional to indicate that Ember is now irrelevant.

There is also an issue with filler content. For example, there is an entire subplot of minor characters that could be dropped to save at least 20% of the book and nothing would be lost at all.

The author also continues to explore themes of alternate energy that she touches on in her other books, especially Car Trouble.

The first book of Ember presented with an amazing world unlike anything that we had experienced before. A city of hope, created with love, reflected with a greatly crafted amount of detail, suspense, sorrow, and expectations. You will not find any of that here.

The problem with sequels is that they get compared to the previous installments. In that department the Diamond of Darkhold is clearly the 3rd best in the series, after City of Ember and People of Sparks. Unfortunately, this also makes it the 2nd weakest.

Without question, this book is an enjoyable read for the Ember faithful and serves as a reasonable conclusion for the series. Sadly, compared with past glory, this ember glows dim...

A note of caution for new readers:

Despite the quick summary in the first few pages, new readers to the series will be lost. They will most likely not enjoy this book as it really assumes that they had read the previous three books - which really should be read as they are quite good!

Update, a few years later.. In answering a comment below, this is a three star book. The fourth star is my token of thanks to the author for returning to this world and shedding more light on previously undeveloped areas. Interestingly enough, my 11 yr old son read this book seven years after I did, and when I asked him what he thought of the book in comparison to the rest, he shared similar sentiment. Interestingly enough, the prequel, Prophet of Yonwood was his favorite book.

this book was written very well.I thought it was a perfect ending to this series. Lina and Doon have reminded me of heroes from other great books I have read. I would recommend this series for science fiction readers or like things that feel like they can be real but aren't, and for ages eleven and up. thank you Jeanne Diary for another great book

I loved The City of Ember and I liked The People of Sparks. I didn't bother to read the prequel because it sounded lame, but I was psyched to read Diamond of Darkhold. Boy, was I disappointed. This book was poorly written. It was full with cliched characters, predictable dialogue, plot elements that we have already seen (in the first book) and overall suffered from severe suckiness.

People, let your memories of Ember and Sparks end on high note and skip this lousy read.

The conclusion to the city of ember series has been thrilling. I really thought that Jeanne Duprau really wrapped up the books to an ending that was subtle, and yet astonishing. I couldn't put the book down!

I bought these for a young nephew, and of course being an avid reader, read them first. Enjoyed the first two, but the third book was so disappointing. What was with the "diamonds?" The builders of the city had provided for its people in every way that they could imagine, and yet sent them above ground with nothing! No shelter, no food, no tools, no seeds, no nothing. Wouldn't it have made more sense that there would have been another storage area concealed in the area that they came out with at least basic supplies and shelter. There was no guarantee that there would be a settlement in the area when the people of Ember emerged. Wish I could give it less than one star.

Jeanne DuPrau has written beautiful and poignant conclusion to the story of the City of Ember. As always,
the writing is perfect, with just the right combination of adventure and thoughtfulness. In this last book we
see what the future holds for Lina and Doon and while we are left with a feeling of hopefulness, there is also
a certain sadness as we see Ember fade in the distance. I hope to see more books from this creative and
talented writer in the future and recommend all the books of Ember to readers of any age.

We read all three of the previous "Ember" novels and enjoyed them all. Waiting for this one was hard, but it was well worth it! We were afraid that the story would resolve with this novel, but it appears there is opportunity for future segments of the story. The author writes so well that it is a pleasurable read in addition to an enjoyable storyline. We hope the first movie does it justice!!

Are you wondering whether you should buy this book? If so, I will tell you you should. It is happily ever after...

This series was great. And this was one of th best books in it. You won't regret buying it.