The Diamond of Darkhold

Book of Ember #4

by Jeanne DuPrau

It’s been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Now, struggling through the harsh winter aboveground, they find an unusual book. Torn up and missing most of its pages, it alludes to a mysterious device from before the Disaster, which they believe is still in Ember. Together, Lina and Doon must go back underground to retrieve what was lost and bring light to a dark world.

In the fourth Book of Ember, bestselling author Jeanne DuPrau juxtaposes yet another action-packed adventure with powerful themes about hope, learning, and the search for truth.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Post Apocalyptic

293 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2008

About the author

Jeanne DuPrau is an American writer, best known for The Books of Ember, a series of science fiction novels for young people. She lives in Menlo Park, California.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

DuPrau, Jeanne. 2008. The Diamond of Darkhold.

The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth in the Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau. It begins shortly after the close of the second book in the series, The People of Sparks. The Emberites--now on their way to becoming full citizens of Sparks--are struggling side-by-side with the people of Sparks (their former enemies) to survive the harsh winter months. In the midst of this struggle, a roamer comes to town. Maggs, a woman roamer, a shepherdess, comes to barter, but with food being so precious, she's having a hard time of it. Until Lina and Doon spot something even more precious to them than food. A book. Well, remnants of a book anyway. Just eight pages in length, the book catches their attention because its title reveals that it is for the people of Ember. Further study proves that it this book is an instruction book for the people of Ember. But with just the last eight pages in place, who could ever puzzle out its meaning?

If you've read the first book--and chances are you have else you wouldn't still be reading this review--you know that Lina and Doon have experience in solving difficult and mysterious and seemingly impossible puzzles. Knowing that no adults in Sparks would give their approval to these two kids' crazy plan, Lina and Doon make secret plans to leave Sparks and head off to a place they thought they'd never see again. A place they fear will have long lost sunken into darkness. The city of Ember.

Can these two kids return to Ember and discover just what this book is all about? Can they make sense of this mystery? Can their journey lead to a discovery that could ultimately decide the fate of every man, woman, and child in Sparks? Can they save the day...again?

While The People of Sparks and The Prophet of Yonwood are more about ideas and philosophies, this one is pure action and adventure. More action, less philosophy. Less ambitious themes, more exciting pace. So in a way, perhaps, it is less thought-provoking than its predecessors, but in some ways, I think it is more satisfying for most readers. (Less moralizing going on, for example. Am I the only ones that see these books as being heavy in messages???)

I've seen a review or two of this one already. And I don't remember which one it was that mentioned you didn't need to have read The Prophet of Yonwood to make sense of this one. I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. I think you can enjoy 98% of the novel without having read the other, but there are a few elements especially in the novel's closing that only really make sense if you've read Prophet of Yonwood. The more important question may be is it necessary to have read the other books in the series recently. Confession time, I read The Diamond of Darkhold days within receiving it in the mail. I found it less than satisfying. Especially the last quarter of the book. Especially especially the ending. But I determined that this was probably due to the fact that it had been a while since I'd read the trilogy of books that precedes this one. So I went to my local library and checked out those three books--The City of Ember, The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood. I read them again, all right after one another. And then I picked up The Diamond of Darkhold. This second time it proved to be an entertaining and satisfying read. I needed a reintroduction to make this one really work. That's not to say that every reader would need this immersion process...maybe your memory is better than mine...a lot better than mine. But I'd suggest rereading the other books. It won't be a waste of time because they're all (mostly) enjoyable books.

[°°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ʜᴇʟᴇɴ Ροζουλί Εωσφόρος ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Ⓥⓔⓡⓝⓤⓢ Ⓟⓞⓡⓣⓘⓣⓞⓡ Ⓐⓡⓒⓐⓝⓤⓢ Ταμετούρο Αμ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Με αυτό το βιβλίο τελειώνει μια ξεχωριστική τριλογία που ενώ αρχικά φαίνεται παρόμοια με άλλες δυστοπικές ιστορίες, στην ουσία διαφέρει πολύ.
Θα τη χαρακτήριζα πιο ανθρώπινη, πιο ρεαλιστική πιο κοντά στην νομοτέλεια της φύσης που κάνει αέναους κύκλους ζωής και θανάτου αλλά πάντα αρχίζει από κει που τελειώνει,εξελίσσεται,δοκιμάζεται,τελειοποιείται και κλείνοντας τον κύκλο πεθαίνει για να ξαναγεννηθεί και να αρχίσει μια νέα προσπάθεια δημιουργίας.
Εντυπωσιακές οι αυθεντικές σχέσεις των ηρώων μας που δοκιμάζονται και υπάρχουν μέσα σε πολύ αντίξοες συνθήκες προσπαθώντας να ζήσουν με ηρεμία και ασφάλεια έστω κι αν στερούνται ακόμη και τα απολύτως απαραίτητα για να έχουν υποτυπώδεις συνθήκες διαβίωσης.
Μαθήματα υπομονής,επιμονής,θάρρους, γενναιότητας και αυτοθυσίας από άτομα που παλεύουν για την επιβίωση παρά το ακατάλληλο της ηλικίας τους και ονειρεύονται απλώς να ζήσουν να καταφέρουν να υπάρξουν σε ένα τόπο δικό τους απλά και αγαπημένα συμπορευόμενοι με μια ομάδα ανθρώπων που ήρθαν από το σκοτάδι και ξαφνικά το φως εγινε ο μεγαλύτερος θησαυρός του κόσμου τους και ότι πολυτιμότερο ποθησαν ποτε.

Ειναι πολύ δύσκολο έως ανέφικτο να παλεύεις να αρχίσεις μια ζωή νέα κόντρα σε όλα τα δεδομένα, με κυρίαρχο εχθρό την ίδια τη φύση και τα στοιχεία της.

Εκεί που ολα μοιάζουν τελειωμένα η λύση έρχεται από τη ν αλληλεγγύη ,την αμοιβαία εμπιστοσύνη, τη καταπολέμηση κάθε μορφής βίας και την ομορφιά της ανθρώπινης ψυχής που μετατρέπει σε παράδεισο οτιδήποτε προκαλεί την κόλαση και την ασχήμια που πηγάζουν από την κακία την αδικία το ψέμμα και το ατομικό συμφέρον.


Καλή ανάγνωση!!

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved the City of Ember, and was less impressed with the other books in the series (though they were good and necessary).

This book captured the part of Ember that made it such a fantastic book for me. It had all of the adventurous elements and worked very well with the story line.

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW// death (including animals, mention of grandmother)

“You know, son, I don’t think there’s such a thing as an easy life. There’s always going to be hardwork, and there will always be misfortunes we can’t control lurking out at the edges—storms, sickness, wolves. But there is such a thing as a good life, and I think we have one here.”

The Diamond of Darkhold was a bit better than The People of Sparks, but it still felt really lackluster compared to the first book in this series. Honestly I sort of wish I had just read The City of Ember and stopped there because each of its sequels were disappointing. While reading The Diamond of Darkhold, I started to wonder how much of this series was clearly mapped out during the writing process. Book two and book four felt like they were grasping at straws to make some sort of plot continuation from the first book while book three was a standalone that had very few connections to the rest of this series.

I was really bored throughout this book. It was fairly slow paced and for a finale to a book series, this one was extremely anticlimatic. I definitely liked getting to revisit a location that you see in one of the previous books, but other than that, there wasn’t really much about this book that felt like it was a solid ending to a series.

The ending was also terrible. It made me nearly drop my rating down to one star. There’s a plot twist in the final two pages and it’s a huge plot twist that needed to be addressed in more detail. Instead it’s lightly thrown into the story and brushed over. If there were a spin off series, I wouldn’t be as upset, but the book just dropped that bomb then abruptly ended.

If you’ve ever been interested in the Book of Ember series, I highly recommend only reading book one and stopping there. The first book is amazing, but the series never returns to its full potential in the sequels.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more books in this series that I read, the less I feel that Jeanne DuPrau is a decent author. This book was back to the main story at least. I found some parts of the story pretty far fetched and contrived, however. Honestly...why is it that Lina and Doon can NEVER talk to an adult before running off to do something that would be much easier to do with the help of others? Ugh. It was just getting annoying. And how old are Lina and Doon supposed to be? 13? And, honestly, if you are the creators of the city of Ember and you want to leave a special prize of technology to help the survivors rebuild, umm, maybe you could give them an LED flashlight, so that they wouldn't have to find light bulbs in the bombed out cities? Yeah, that would seem, a lot more reasonable. Or how about a single electronic device (extremely rugged- paid for with government funds) that contains a library of textbooks to teach mankind about electricity, etc.? I don't know, the whole plot just seemed a bit lame to me.

Oh, and who ends a series with the very last paragraph being the introduction of aliens coming to the planet with a lame attempt to tie them into to the previous book? Really? I think this was probably actually and attempt to make the third book in the series tie in better, but it seemed out of place, pointless, and bizarre. Not to mention that it was a violation of all the literary rules to introduce such a new idea in the final paragraph of the series with no room at all to explore or develop it. Just plain irritating.

[E.F. Buckles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last book in the City of Ember series was such an enjoyable read all the way through. In fact, the whole series (ignoring the prequel which I'm pretending doesn't exist) was so much fun for me. I almost wish I had discovered these books when I was in the target age range for them, but at the same time, I just wasn't into this genre back then and also had other series I was perfectly happy reading, so I guess I came to Ember at just the right time in my life to fully enjoy it. It was great to see Lina and Doon continuing to try to make life better for everyone and I loved the hopeful tone of this story. The ending especially had me glowing with happy contentment as we got to see a glimpse of the future for the main characters and the world, and even if it isn't "happily ever after" it's still good. I will definitely be keeping the three main books of Ember in my collection and rereading them in the years to come. (Also, I wish someone would either restart the movie series or maybe make theae books into a Netflix series or something, because I'd love to see them on screen!)


.

Content Advisory:


No language.


Violence: Some wolves threaten Doon and Lina, but the wolves get chased off and the kids aren't hurt. (It's acknowledged that wolves aren't bad, they're just trying to survive like everything else.)


Doon twists his ankle and it becomes painful, swollen, and purple.


Doon's father accidentally cuts his hand and it bleeds enough that he starts looking pale. (barely described)


Lina sees human bones in a deep trench and concludes that people must have fallen in and died. 


Trogg mentions having found the bodies of those who were trampled to death in the panic to get out of Ember and says he "cleaned them up" by putting them in the river to be swept away. 


Trogg's family is rough with Doon when they capture him. The teenage children pinch him a few times and they ultimately chain his feet to keep him from escaping.


Trogg's family recounts how the village they originally came from was attacked by bandits and anyone who was outside during the attack was "cut to bits" (not described) and anyone who stayed inside ended up burned in their own homes (not described.) 


Romance: Lizzie is as romance-obsessed as ever and briefly thinks that Doon and Lina have run off together in a romantic sense. Once it's established that this isn't the case, Lizzie thinks how she'd like to be Doon's girlfriend and makes herself pretty before going with two other kids to try to find him and Lina. Nothing ever comes of this.


Doon and Lina's relationship remains platonic for the main story, but the glimpse of their future towards the end indicates that they become a couple when they get older. The closest thing to description of this is a mention that they looked at each other once and felt a "current of electricity" between them. It's mentioned that they end up making a home together and that Mrs. Murdo and Doon's father also become a couple.


Other: Trogg is verbally abusive towards his family (calling them various forms of "idiots" and generally belittling them) and is also extremely arrogant. He even goes so far as to suggest that he meets the ancient description of a "god", but is later humbled.


Maggs yells at her sheep a lot and calls them things like "fuzz face", "flop ears", and "wool brains." 

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I liked "The City of Ember" and the "People of Sparks". I expected to be a little disappointed because I was with "The Prophet of Yonwood", however I wasn't. From the very first chapter it kept me reading. Doon and Lina decide to go back to Ember to see if they can salvage anything from their old city to help their new city through the winter, plus they believe the builders have left them something to help their future. I liked the fast pace of the story as I think it will make for an interesting read for elementary students. A good ending to a good series.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have you ever been in a situation where you were given a ten page report to write but you only had about two pages of material? If you were like everyone, you'd try to make the material 'stretch' in various ways. Have a thesis paragraph that went on for 3 pages, duplicate that for the conclusion, change the font size to something that would take another page or two, and then you would pad the paper with immaterial exposition till the 'document' reached a respectable length. Oh. And with that, the nice cover sheet, can't forget that.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to reach is that, The Diamond of Darkhold is that paper. As far as I can tell, it's about 20% plot, with the rest being either a slight of hand font sizing, immaterial side stories, and a 'antagonist' (and I say that loosely) to give this story a sense of crisis. Without it, the 20% would have been a simple story of Doon and Lina going back to the dead city of Ember and finding one additional surprise from the Builders to help the city of Sparks start its way unto the beginnings of a civilization.

At most, this felt like an afterthought from the author to the fans to give a sense of closure to Lina and Doon that would have been a pleasant short story. But when forced to stretch this to a 300 page story, the lack of a true sense of crisis (whether it's solving the mystery of the City of Ember or helping the People of Sparks survive), made this The Diamond of Darkhold ring somewhat hollow.

And for those of you who're curious, I got a C- for that paper.

[Zahra Dashti · Rating 2 out of 5]

خوب بود هرچند اخرش این حالت که در آینده دور چی می شه واقعا ضروری نبود. یکم رو اعصاب بود
و اینکه معمارها خیلی ضایع بودن. واقعا چیزهای ضروری تری نبود که براشون بذارن؟ مثلا فیلم و کتاب اموزشی؟ واقعا چراغ متحرک چه به درد می خورد؟ اونم وقتی لامپ ممکن بود پیدا نشه! یا اینکه ادمهای اونقدر باهوشی پیدا نشه از تکنولوژی اش سردر بیاره!
به نظرم نویسنده بعد سه جلد یه چیزی الکی اضافه کرده. در واقع می تونست ایده های بهتری برای انچه مردم امبر بعد خروج نیاز داشتند بیان کنه!

[AziaMinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating : B

"A person who thought he knew everything simply didn't understand how much there was to know."

This was a quick, inspiring finale to the "Book of Ember" series following Lina and Doon. Definitely for kids but even I was able to appreciate the plot and message of the story.

I read this series so long ago and I'm glad it still stands the test of time. Anyone who has kids or just wanting to recommend to them a book to get started on, this is a contender.

[Ross Bussell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The City of Ember was one of those books that was just a great story all around, I enjoyed every page of it. Its sequel, The People of Sparks, while interesting, didn't have the same intrigue as Ember did. It was the same people, Lina and Doon, already fully developed as literary characters, and a continuance of the same story.

Well, along comes The Diamond of Darkhold, a book that relies fully on the developed plots, character relationships, and that same "everything will happen to Lina and Doon only, no one else ever does anything interesting" device that carries this series.

While I enjoy this series, its too much of the same at this point. The Diamond of Darkhold felt very contrived, with little planning of the plot or even the ending outside what was to be fully expected. I found myself being completely underwhelmed by the ending of this book, and confused, not knowing if the series is ended or if it was being left for the 5th book of Ember.

All that being said, I do have some students that have been enjoying this series, and after all, these are books meant for kids. So in that respect, it's not bad, it's a familiar read with familiar characters and a familiar story. So, for you teachers out there, I definitely recommend keeping this book, and the entire Ember series around, but if you're an adult picking this one up based on your curiosity from the first books, prepare to be let down.

[Brandi Rae Fong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just in time for the movie release of City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau returns with The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember. Life in Sparks is becoming increasingly difficult for everyone; supplies are running low and people are starting to go hungry. With winter coming there is no relief in sight to the hardship.

Visits from roamers, who trade goods and information from town to town, have also slowed; people are running out of useful things to trade. A glimmer of hope comes when Doon spots a book in the back of a roamer’s wagon. With the exception of eight pages of strange drawings, most of the pages are missing; however Doon and Lina are able to make out the words “For the people from Ember.”

Believing that the builders may have left the people something of importance, the pair hatches a plan to return to the City of Ember, hoping to find supplies as well as unlock the secret contained within the ragged book. I hesitate to describe more, not wanting to give too much away, so lets just say that several treacherous and wonderful surprises await them as they leave the city of Sparks.

DuPrau has recaptured the magic of her first two books, creating an exciting and adventure filled glimpse into an all too possible future.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful series full of adventure.

None of the books lived up to the first, The City of Ember, but this final episode was colorfully-spun and saw us return, with Doon and Lina, to Ember. We come full circle with some of the minor characters and plotlines, and even get a glimpse many generations into the future. I appreciated the plotting; there are a lot of twists here (at one point, my jaw actually dropped!).

In the end, Doon's father said it well: "You know, son, I don't think there's such a thing as an easy life. There's always going to be hard work and there will always be misfortunes we can't control lurking out at the edges - storms, sickness, wolves. But there is such a thing as a good life, and I think we have one here."

I really enjoyed this world. It is imbued with the characteristics of stories I loved in my childhood: adventure, friendship, imagination and heart.

[Sara Saif · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely yet grim series, these Books of Ember were an absolute pleasure to read. Like Lina and Doon, it was bittersweet going back to Ember and saying goodbye to the city even more so. I loved all the little and big things in it, how things tied together and how it was all wrapped up.

Lina and Doon were a strong duo, always running off alone on life-saving adventures. I wanted to think that Doon outshone Lina by a fraction but I realized that that was wrong to think because both of them did equally important things.

The best book will always be the first one. The rest couldn't match the dark and uneasy tone, the nervous excitement and apprehension caused by the first book because only that was set in Ember. This last book caught snatches of the same tone because Lina and Doon took a goodbye trip to Ember and there's nothing like a dark, underground, abandoned city to change the mood.

The UFO bit was a really random thing that was too late and too absent to be significant and so I think the book could have easily done without it.

One of the best series I've ever read, unique in it's own right and delicious in tone.

[Rianna Plank · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an exciting addition to a popular series. Although I kept on reading, fast, because of the actions and the mystery, I was not blown away by either the crafting of the language, or the development of the characters and plot. Lina and Doon are Lina and Doon -- they have not changed from a year ago, even if so much has happened in their life. They came to the series fully developed and little room is left for them to grown into more mature or slightly different people. This is not really problematic per se, but definitely does not add more flavor to the tale. The super advanced technology hinted by the Ancients in the prologue turns out to be mildly disappointing, as well. I was really hoping for something superb and beyond the early 21st century technology... say, the diamond accompanied by not a BOOK only but a book and some form of audio-visual instructions containing all the knowledge of technology advancement and warnings to the world. But perhaps that's exactly the wrong point to expect from this series and this author -- she wants to emphasize the importance of reading and books... I got the point -- just thought that it's somewhat not consistent with the world she has built.

[Jennifer Rayment · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying end to the series, but not as good as the first two books in the series. It was nice seeing Lina and Doon and nice to see the people of Sparks working together with the people of Ember to make their town prosper. There was definitely less heavy moralizing which I think will appeal to the kids a little bit more. I can imagine that might have turned off many a reluctant reader as the morality was not at all hidden in the rest of the series. I did find this one a bit far-fetched and the alien bit (also alluded to in the previous book The Prophet of Yonwood) took away from the story. The story works better when it focuses on the adventures of Lina and Doon and the hardships of the towns people.

Favourite Quotes
“You know, son, I don't think there's such a thing as an easy life. There's always going to be hard work and there will always be misfortunes we can't control, lurking out at the edges - storms, sickness, wolves. But there is such a thing as a good life and I think that we have one here.”

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a really solid middle grade series and I wish I'd read the whole thing when I was 12, but I'm still glad I discovered there are sequels and read them at 23. Tbh I'll probably reread them all at some point.

Book 3 is a prequel and if you want to skip it and hear more about the main characters from books 1 and 2, do it. #3 wasn't as good and not reading it won't affect your understanding of #4. (Note to future me: I know you don't remember book 3 and you want to read it to find out what happened. It's not worth it, just move on to book 4.)

[Myra Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the best book in the series so far!😄

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this one in the library, I knew I wanted to know more about the former residents of the City of Ember. I really enjoyed City of Ember and City of Sparks - Prophet of Yonwood was okay - but I liked this fourth installment, the Diamond of Darkhold better.

We are once again with Lina and Doon in the city of Sparks, as winter is closing in and life is getting very difficult. There is no medicine, food is limited, and the darkness makes life not only more challenging, but more depressing, too. When Lina and Doon have the thought to return to their dark city to look for anything that can help, they get far more adventure than they bargained for.

The writing in this book isn't breathtaking, the characters are a bit dry and the coincidences are, at times, nearly astounding, but the IDEA of this book is so interesting to me. I not only have a penchant for apocalyptic literature of all kinds, but I think DuPrau has put an interesting twist on the usual plot. I like her imaginings of how the remnants of us would survive an apocalyptic episode that didn't actually destroy all of our "things" - just our ability to use and understand those things.

If you liked the first two books in the series, I'd suggest picking this one up. It gives some nice resolution with the characters and is different enough to keep things interesting.

[Sonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Trogg seemed to think that he knew everything, but strangely enough, it was exactly this that made him seem stupid to Doon. A person who thought he knew everything simply didn't understand how much there was to know."" (Doon,79)

Diamond of Darkhold, the final installment of the Book of Ember series marks the closing chapters of Lina and Doon's adventures. On the brink of a terrible winter, food is scarce and sickness has crept into the town of Sparks. If things were to continue as they were, many would die from sickness and starvation. In hopes of finding a solution, Lina and Doon obtain the remains of a book that will help them save their new city, but all clues lead them back to the beginning... to their dying City of Ember. What they find there will change the course of the New World.

Overall I thought the last installment was well written and successfully closed the story of the People of Sparks and Ember. Duprau offers a very unique insight of the Human Condition especially the inspiring notion of endurance through great tragedy. The final pages of the novel did raise many unanswered questions... but I did thoroughly enjoyed the series as a whole, definitely a top favorite Young Reader's series.

[Alex Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some promise but I think mostly squandered what could have been a very inspiring re-building of civilization story. It trades the first and second books slight suspension of disbelief requiring realism for pure utopianism. In new society that is created we will all use green energy! yay it's totally plausible. Also have a pony! Also Aliens! it totally ties in with that third book I swear! Was this all the authors fantasy of the world being destroyed but then being rebuilt totally more awesome plus a pony. I was also annoyed with the addition to the Ember construction that was clearly invented here and just felt tacked on, perhaps just so that the title could be The diamond of darkhold which I admit is rocking the alliteration. I would have much preferred no diamond, but rather something that was not such a dues ex machina. Also the there is a family named trogg that lives underground which meant I had to think about warcraft every time they were mentioned.

[Steve Altier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought the entire series was perfect. Happy to see everything worked out for Lina and Doon. And they lived happily ever after. LOL, I gave this book four stars and the series 3.5 stars.

[Rachael Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, if you haven't read this series, GO READ IT NOW!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A person who thought he knew everything simply didn’t understand how much there was to know."
This was certainly my favorite of the Ember series. There was more action throughout the book than in any of the others. There were more fun characters introduced who made me laugh and made me cringe. The stakes were higher and the pay off was higher as well.
I finished reading this series with my eldest two children. Although we did skip #3 when we found out that it jumped to hundreds of years before with very little baring on the present story until about a paragraph or two at the end of this book, but that was our choice.
For me, it wasn't my favorite series to read, but it was certainly entertaining, and I loved sharing it with my kids. They enjoyed it very much and continue to talk about it even after we turned the last page. And for me, that's a win.

[Courtney Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story for kids but doesn’t hold up to anyone probably older than 13. Great for ages 8-11

[catherine ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was happy to see Lina and Doon again, but ultimately this book just felt unremarkable and if anything it seemed to follow the same plot as the first book, with some minor tweaks in world-building.

[Rylee McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this series was great, there were points were I saw repeating elements to the story, but it always managed to make up for them. It shows you don't have to have superpowers to be a hero. You just need courage and the willingness to help people. I'm glad this series got recommend to me and would go as far to say kids should read it in school like The giver, The outsiders, How to kill a mockingbird etc ...
It has many lessons along with a great story I believe would be beneficial for young adults to read. I have 1 book left in the series but it seems it is a prequel so we'll see if that holds up to the first 3 books

[Mara · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I had hopes that this book would prove to be a dark and rather creepy installment. Doon and Lina return to Ember! What has happened to it since then? Who has moved in to claim the ruins after the evacuation? What terrible secrets now lurk in the dark? When Lina and Doon first return to Ember, my hopes seemed to be confirmed - it was eerie, dark, and mysterious. But when Doon meets the new occupants of Ember, my hope soon crumbled into disappointment. There's nothing scary about the Troggs (and no, they are not some strange creature; that's the family name), and nothing terribly mysterious and sinister about the Diamond, either. Jeanne DuPrau had the perfect opportunity to do something similar to The Time Machine - Morlocks and Eloe - and it would have been really good. Had she done something along those lines (not necessarily right along those lines, but something similar), I would have ranked The Diamond of Darkhold every bit as good as The City of Ember.

But The City of Ember - the first book in the Ember Series - is still the best, and The Diamond of Darkhold, while an interesting read, is not necessary and a little boring. A quick read, but sadly lacking. In the end, all people learn to get along and make a better world for themselves, which then prospers and there is no fighting - etcetera. Sorry, but no. Doesn't work that way. Never will - not on this Earth, at least. While I took some small pleasure in reading The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood (which was a complete disappointment), and now The Diamond of Darkhold, I still maintain that Jeanne DuPrau did not need to write a sequel, let alone 3. The City of Ember ends perfectly - let the Readers assume what happens after that.

I'll buy The Diamond of Darkhold simply to complete the series (hate having only two installments in a series), but you would be content to read no further, depending on where you are in the series. If you've just read The City of Ember, I would suggest reading no further. The sequels won't ruin the first book, but you'll be disappointed. If you have read beyond the first book - well, The Diamond of Darkhold is about as disappointing as the others.

[Mikale]

i love this boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook