Marshmallow reviewed The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau a few weeks ago. Soon after, Caramel reviewed the second book in the series, The People of Sparks. Today, he talks to Sprinkles about The Diamond of Darkhold, the 2008 sequel to The People of Sparks.
Caramel reviews The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, you began reading this book recently, right?
S: Does the story simply continue on from where that book left off?
C: Yes. It is now winter and the people of Sparks and the people of Ember are all people of Sparks now. It is actually quite cool.
S: I agree. I really liked the end of that book. So what happens in this book?
C: Lina and Doon meet a roamer who comes to Sparks and they get a few pages of a book from him that is dedicated to the people of Em. The rest of the word is gone but Lina and Doon are sure it means Ember. So they try to figure out what was in the book. And they start traveling because they think that there is something valuable in Ember that they should bring to the surface.
S: I see. So there is a puzzle that they need to solve like there was in the first book, right?
C: Yes. And I like puzzles. So that was cool.
S: Do we learn what the valuable thing is?
C: Not immediately. It takes more or less the whole book. So I won’t tell.
S: Okay. We don’t want too many spoilers.
Caramel is reading The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau.
S: So how did you like the book?
C: I think it was fun to read. It reads like an adventure book. The second book was more about how it is difficult for different people to live together and such big things. but this is more like the first book and there is a lot of adventure and excitement and I liked it.
S: That sounds like fun. I liked both of the first two books and I agree with you that the second was a bit more philosophical, in a way, and the first one felt more like an adventure. So you are saying this feels more like the first than the second.
C: Yes. And Lina and Doon are trying to figure things out together again, which is also good. They were always separated in the second book. I didn’t really like that too much.
S: They do make a good team.
C: Well, it seems they will make more than that but I won’t say more.
S: Hmm, I’m intrigued. Maybe I should read this book, too.
C: Yes, Sprinkles, you definitely should.
S: Alright. Let us wrap up this review this book then. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau and recommends it to all the bunnies who enjoyed the first two books in the series.
Caramel’s first review for this blog was Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea! Since then, he has reviewed all the books from Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly series about two wacky oceanic friends. Today he reviews the most recent addition to the series: A Super Scary Narwhalloween, published in 2023. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, since the beginning of this blog, you have matured a lot. And you have been reading a lot of different books, but whenever you see Ben Clanton publish a new Narwhal and Jelly book, you can’t seem to resist it.
Caramel: Of course not. Narwhal and Jelly make me happy!
S: I can see that. So remind our readers who Narwhal and Jelly are.
C: Narwhal is a narwhal, and Jelly is a jellyfish. And they live in an ocean, and they are good friends. They have a lot of fun adventures together.
S: So what is this eighth book about?
C: Narwhal has a costume conundrum.
S: What does that mean?
C: Meaning he could not think of what to wear for Halloween.
S: Okay. Go on.
C: And he puts on too many costumes at the same time so everyone thinks he is a monster. But he does not realize that they are all scared of him. So when he tries to eat some waffles, he gets all sticky. Jelly helps him out. So all is well in the end.
S: I am guessing that is one of the reasons why you love these books. That they always end happily.
C: Yes. But also I really like Jelly. Narwhal is also funny. I like his jokes.
Caramel is reading A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton.
S: I seem to recall that the books in this series also have a lot of facts in them. And you love books full of facts. How about this one? Are there new facts in it too?
C: Yes!
S: Tell me one new fact you learned from this book then.
C: I learned that there is a bat that is the size of a bumblebee.
S: That is neat, Caramel.
C: It is! It is a tiny, tiny thing!
S: So I was thinking we would hold on to this book and review it for Halloween. But obviously you could not wait.
C: It was very hard.
S: That’s alright. I am sure we will find other books for Halloween. But so tell me, if you were to describe this book in three words, what would you say?
C: Colorful, hilarious, and as always, factful!
S: Yes. That is great, Caramel. So then you recommend this book to all little bunnies who have read the previous adventures of Narwhal and Jelly?
S: I see. Okay, then. Let us wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel loved reading A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton and recommends it wholeheartedly to all the little bunnies who love Narwhal and his friends.
Today Caramel reviews The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau, the second book in the author’s City of Ember series, published in 2004. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Readers may recall that Marshmallow has already reviewed the first book, City of Ember.
Caramel reviews The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, can you tell us a bit about what this book is about?
Caramel: The people of Ember come up to the surface and settle down in a town named Sparks.
S: Wait. Tell us a bit more about Ember. It is the city from the first book, City of Ember, right?
C: Yes. But at the end of that book, most of the people from that city ran away because their generator was failing and the city would soon be uninhabitable.
S: That is a big word, Caramel!
C: Yes, but it is the right word. It would be too dark without the generator, and it would be unlivable for people. And for bunnies of course. Because we like light too.
S: Sure we do. So okay, I remember that the first book had two main heroes, named Lina and Doon. Are they also in this book?
C: Yes, in fact they are again the heroes.
S: Okay, so what is the conflict of this book then? They are out and found a place to live.
C: Yes but the new place Sparks is not big enough or rich enough for all the people living there plus the new people from Ember.
S: I see. So there is some conflict between the two groups?
C: Yep.
S: Hmm, so in some sense it is a bit about immigration and refugees finding a new home but not feeling terribly welcome.
C: Kind of. But also Sparks people do not even have electricity. They do not know about it.
S: Hmm, that is interesting. I remember that in Ember, they had electricity even though they did not understand fully how it worked. So you are saying that they do not even have that much here in Sparks?
C: Yes.
S: So do the Ember folks try to teach them about electricity?
C: Well, only in the end. Doon finally figures it out.
S: Hmm, is that getting too close to spoiler territory?
C: Perhaps.
S: Okay so let us stop here with the plot then.
Caramel is reading The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau.
S: Tell me about Doon and Lina next. Are they any different in this book?
C: They are about the same. This book starts quite soon after the other book ends. So they are more or less the same people. They are curious and sometimes make mistakes, but they are trying to help their people.
S: I see. That sounds good. Are there any new characters that appear in this book that you liked?
C: Well, there is a whole new town of people, but I liked only Maddy. She is nice.
S: Who is she?
C: She is the traveling partner of Casper.
S: Who is Casper?
C: He is a person looking around in old ruins and finds things and brings them back to Sparks to trade them for other stuff.
S: So they are not quite from Sparks.
C: No. There seem to be a lot of small settlements all around, and some are abandoned.
S: I see. So this is some sort of a post-apocalyptic world.
C: Yes. It seems like this is a world after a World War Three.
S: Hmm, this reminds me of a quote by Albert Einstein: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
C: Yes, that is essentially what is happening in this world. I mean, they are not going to start another big war, but they lost almost all of the modern technology of today and the knowledge behind it.
S: That is interesting. And sobering at the same time. Alright, let us get back to the book. Did you enjoy reading it? Do you think you will read the next book in the series?
C: Yes. And yes.
S: I wonder if Marshmallow will read the third book before you so she can review it.
C: We can wait and see.
S: Alright. Let us do that. So before we wrap up this review, can you describe the book in three words?
C: Happy ending page-turner.
S: Hmm, that is a good description. I might need to read it before Marshmallow gets her paws on it.
C: You probably will.
S: Alright. What do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau and is keen to read the next book in the series to learn about what happens next to the people of Ember and Sparks.
Caramel reviews Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles, written by Landry Q. Walker.
Sprinkles: I suppose it is time to talk about yet another Star Wars book. Right Caramel?
Caramel: Yep.
S: So let us get started. Tell us a bit about this Encyclopedia.
C: It is about the many many ships and other vehicles in the Star Wars universe.
S: So right up your alley, then, no?
C: Yep. I like robots, I like space ships, and I like this book!
S: I am glad you enjoyed reading it. Can you tell me a bit more about the book? How many pages is it? Are there lots of pictures in it? How is the content organized?
C: Wait, that is too many questions.
S: Okay, so I will ask one at a time. How many pages is it?
C: It is 205 pages long.
S: It looks much thicker to me! Maybe the pages are made of thick paper?
C: They are made of thick paper, true.
S: Okay, so tell me about the pictures. Are there lots of pictures in the book?
C: Yes. On every page there are about four pictures.
S: Are they drawings or photographs?
C: They look like photos.
S: But some of these things probably do not exist, no? So maybe some are computer generated?
C: Well, even if the ships do not really exist in our universe, they must have models. So the pictures could be the photos of the models.
S: I see. That makes sense.
C: And some of the images are about ships and vehicles in one of the animated series, so those are more like drawn, by hand or by computer.
S: I see.
Caramel is reading Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles, written by Landry Q. Walker.
S: So how is the content organized? I mean, are there chapters, sections, parts?
C: There are sections on separate types of ships. Like air, land, water, and space. Of course the space vehicles section is the longest.
S: I see. So when you open a page, what do you see?
C: On each page there is a different vehicle. There are some pictures of it and then there is some writing.
S: What kind of information is available on each vehicle?
C: They write about who uses that vehicle, what are its specifications, like how it works, how fast it goes, what kinds of weapons it might have, and so on.
S: So can you tell me some of your favorites? If the book is split into four types of vehicles, tell me your favorites in each category. So what are your favorite air, land, water and space vehicles?
C: Hmm, let me think a bit. For land, it is either an AAT, MTT, or the AT-M6.
S: Well, that does not mean anything to me.
C: AAT is Armored Assault Tank. MTT is Multi-Troop Transport, and AT-M6 is All-Terrain MegaCaliber 6. It is essentially orbital bombardment cannon on the back of a bigger vehicle called an ATAT.
S: Hmm, that is too many acronyms for me. Also a lot of war machines. Are there no peaceful vehicles in the book?
C: Definitely. There are cargo ships, carrier crafts, freighters and so on.
S: Hmm. Let us move on then. What is your favorite water vehicle?
C: The Bongo! TriBuibble Bongo. It is peaceful! It is a small semi-organic submarine that is unarmed.
S: Why do you like it?
C: I think it is interesting. You can find some pictures and some more information on them here.
S: Those do look cool! Apparently they are each unique because they are made individually.
C: Yep. They are cool. I also like the Kamino Submarine.
S: Why do you like that one?
C: It looks neat!
S: Okay. So tell me your favorite air and space vehicles now.
C: Well, it is kind of hard to pick a single space ship, because there are a lot of them that I like…
S: But if you had to choose one…
C: A Fang Fighter! It has a great capacity to make turns that are impossible for other ships. You can see a picture here.
S: I see. That could be quite useful. How about your favorite air vehicle?
C: I like the TIE Striker. But maybe my favorite is the Fang Fighter. It is a space ship but it can also fly in air!
S: That totally makes sense Caramel. Okay, this has been a rather long review. So let us start wrapping it up. I know that you told me that reading this book made you feel peaceful. Can you explain why?
C: Because I like reading about star ships and thinking about other worlds and space and such.
S: That is cool Caramel. Thank you for sharing. So I think we can count peaceful as one of your three descriptive words for this book then.
C: I would add “colorful” and “shipful”!
S: That last one is not quite a word but I will not argue.
C: Please don’t.
S: Okay, so I have a feeling you will be reading and rereading this book for a while, no?
C: Yes!
S: So what do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel loved reading Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles, written by Landry Q. Walker, and plans to continue to read and reread the book several more times in the foreseeable future.
BookBunnies 