Sometimes teachers are right. From the moment I set my eyes on the first word of The City of Ember, I was intrigued. Yes. Leads are indeed effective. As I read through the rich storytelling and the writing style in The City of Ember, I fell in love with. The adventure that Lina and Doon went on together was a sight for sore eyes. When I realized that there was a sequel to this book, I instantly went to my school library and checked the second one out. Some people say that sequels are not as quite good as the first book. That might be the case of most movie franchises or successful book series’, but in that case, The City of Ember series is extraordinary. The reason The People of Sparks stood up just like the first book was because of questions that the characters had throughout the story. It is explained in the series that a gigantic disaster—consisting of the Four Wars caused by humans, which were followed by the Three Plagues—wiped out most of humanity. Because of this the Builders—who are like the gods in this series—created Ember, which was a refuge. However, after the events of the first book the People of Ember escape their underground refuge and meet the People of Sparks who lived in their village. The characters from both sides constantly asked each other different questions after the leader of Sparks declared that they would help the People of Ember for 6 months. Why don’t these cavemen know how to farm? Why do these villagers live backwards and not have electricity? Additionally, the characters ask themselves what the ancient people were like. They ask questions about our society today, and as an audience that is part of that society, it was really entertaining and interesting. Overall, these questions kept me hooked. Over time, this book also expressed an important theme to the audience. As the People of Sparks and Ember began living together in different ways, confusion later became exhaustion and anger when the People of Sparks started to get tired of helping Ember all the time. Later, an all-out war began, and the author carefully put a message to not let hatred and anger fuel you and try to work together with different people. Overall, this book was incredible for me as it untangled the aftermath of humanity and important lessons. The author did an outstanding job establishing this world and the characters of Lina and Doon, who represented Ember as well as the People of Sparks. I recommend this to all young audiences. This book unleashed my imagination and I strongly urge you to try out the series. The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. Yearling Books, 2005. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
Book Reviews
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Reviewed by Daniel, 10
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson tells the story of a man with a split personality. Wanting to split the bad part of himself from the good, Jekyll develops a potion. However, when he drinks it, he is horrified to have taken the form of a monster named Edward Hyde. Luckily, he can switch between the two by drinking the potion again. Jekyll becomes almost addicted to using the potion, but one day, he goes to bed as Jekyll and wakes up as Hyde. Terrified, Jekyll stays away from the potion for a good two months, and all seems to be fine. However, Jekyll succumbs once again, and drinks the potion. From then on, Hyde would always pop out eventually, even when Jekyll didn’t drink the potion. Although many people seem to think Jekyll is the tragic victim of this book, Hyde is the true victim of all this mess. Firstly, Hyde has no choice but to commit atrocities, which cause him to be persecuted and eventually leads to the destruction of both him and Jekyll. Hyde is created by Jekyll as a monster, a being with no conscience. Because there is no part of him that holds himself accountable for committing crimes, the nature of humanity naturally tugs him towards said crimes. Although Hyde is the one who committed the crime, it was effectively Jekyll who “forces” Hyde to commit these crimes. As an analogy to Frankenstein, Jekyll plays the role of Frankenstein, and Hyde plays the role of Frankenstein’s monster in this book. It is quite clear in Frankenstein that the monster is the true victim, and thus in this story Hyde is the victim, because he is essentially forced by Jekyll to suffer punishment for committing crimes. In addition to this, Hyde is also not allowed to be free, as Jekyll keeps suppressing the Hyde inside of him. If Hyde is the victim, then quite obviously Jekyll is the corresponding culprit, for many reasons. Mainly, Hyde was born from Jekyll’s own moral faults and even a glint of greed. We have already established that the very existence of Hyde is a crime committed by Jekyll, and moreover, this crime is committed on the basis of moral faults and greed; Jekyll wants to be perfect, and thus wishes to separate his bad self from his good self. It’s easy to feel sympathetic for Jekyll, seeing as moral faults and greed are an integrated part of human nature, but the pain Hyde suffers is far worse. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Longman’s Green & Co., 1886. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Reviewed by Elliott, 10
How far would you go to save your family from starving while people are trying to kill you? That is the conflict facing a clever, sly and brave fox in the entertaining book Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. The main character, Mr. Fox, struggles to keep his family fed while three farmers named farmer Boggis, farmer Bunce, and farmer Bean are determined to kill him. Mr. Fox is outnumbered, but he is very clever and dedicated. Will it be enough to save his family and friends? Mr. Fox is a thief, but the three farmers that he steals from are described as mean and gross. The farmers have plenty of food, but they still won’t share with Mr. Fox. They want to shoot his head off. While the fox family and all their friends are starving and hiding underground, Boggis, Bunce and Bean are eating right above them. The author, Roald Dahl, creates a negative image about the farmers that makes the reader want to like Mr. Fox better than the farmers even though he is stealing from the three farmers. Farmer Boggis eats three chickens every meal time along with dumplings, making him really fat. The most disgusting of them all is Farmer Bunce, who is really short with a pot belly. He spreads mashed goose livers on donuts and eats them at every meal. Farmer Bean doesn’t eat, but he drinks a lot of apple cider. He is also mean. The reason that we think that they are all mean is that they are trying to kill Mr. Fox while starving him and his family and friends. Fantastic Mr. Fox is obviously a fictional story because the animals act like humans—they have tables, chairs, paintings and dining stuff in their den. Also, all the animals are friends, but in real life the foxes would have attacked the rabbits, badgers, moles and the weasels. I am also on the foxes’ and the other animals’ side because they are animals and they are struggling to feed themselves. Mr. Fox is stealing, but the law doesn’t apply to animals. By the time Mr. Fox and his family are starving, most readers would be on Mr. Fox’s side. The story makes me think about how far I would go to save my family from starving. In this case, Mr. Fox must succeed in outsmarting the farmers or he and his family will all perish. I highly recommend the book Fantastic Mr. Fox because it’s funny and it’s about the importance of never giving up hope. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl & illustrated by Quentin Blake. Alfred A. Knopf, 1970. Buy the book here & support Stone Soup in the process!
