Alice McNamara

Dear Jeanne Duprau,

I thought that The People of Sparks sent a good message: people should give. For example, the Sparks let the people of Ember stay in their village for a while. It also teaches the reader that if you try hard enough, then you can reach your goal even if it seems impossible. That's why now I can sort of speak French. It inspired me to try. I thought that I was never going to be able to speak French. But then I read your book and guess what happened? I learned that if you try hard at something, anything can happen. I studied harder because I felt more confident and that I could do it.

The People of Sparks reminded me of when I moved. I felt like I had been opened up to a whole new world. A whole set of strangers that I had to become friends with, and to depend on to show me the way of the neighborhood. It was like in the book when the people of Ember walked up into the new world (above ground) and had no idea what they were getting into. They found a village that helped them when they were in life threatening situations.

A connection I made was when Lina really wanted to go to the city. She wanted to find out what it looked like, and what was left of it now that the wars were done. She planned out how she was going to get there, got all ready, and just did it. The connection that I made was like the start of school. I have just started Junior High, and I had never seen it before. I had no idea what it was going to look like, or what it was going to be like. I did it anyway. I planned out how I was going to get there and back. I packed up all my things and just did it without any second thoughts. This book helped me by showing me that you should take some risks to make your life worth living. Also it showed me that you should not follow every ones example because not all people make the right choices in life.

This book showed me that one person can make a difference. Lina helped put out the fire that the big weapon had made on the town hall. She stood up for what she thought was right, and made a big impact on the town's people. She showed me that it doesn't always take very much just to make your point in a situation.

It also showed me that other people might follow your example because they think that it is right, or they trust what you are doing. For example, a lot of people joined in after Lina started. I think they did this because they trusted her. They trusted her because she led them out of their dying city.

Over all I think this book sends many good messages that anyone could use to be successful in life. Also, not all people make the right choices, and you shouldn't always follow everyone else. Then you end up in a big pile because one person messes up. Then the people that are followers will follow them. Long describing put short: do what you think is right.

Sincerely,
Alice McNamara