Product Description
It’s 50 years before the settlement of the city of Ember, and the world is in crisis. War looms on the horizon as 11-year-old Nickie and her aunt travel to the small town of Yonwood, North Carolina. There, one of the town’s respected citizens has had a terrible vision of fire and destruction. Her garbled words are taken as prophetic instruction on how to avoid the coming disaster. If only they can be interpreted correctly. . . .
As the people of Yonwood scramble to make sense of the woman’s mysterious utterances, Nickie explores the oddities she finds around town—her great-grandfather’s peculiar journals and papers, a reclusive neighbor who studies the heavens, a strange boy who is fascinated with snakes—all while keeping an eye out for ways to help the world. Is this vision her chance? Or is it already too late to avoid a devastating war?
In this prequel to the acclaimed The City of Ember and The People of Sparks, Jeanne DuPrau investigates how, in a world that seems out of control, hope and comfort can be found in the strangest of places.
From the Hardcover edition.
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 I love the Ember books--it pains me to have to rate this one star ( mojo_mom )
Jeanne DuPrau is a talented writer and I really like her Books of Ember series. But as the Third Book of Ember, this prequel just does not connect with the other books very well at all.
In The Prophet of Yonwood, global war looms on the horizon and its a scary time for 11-year-old Nickie and all the people in her small town in North Carolina, but this story takes place about fifty years before people even entered the City of Ember. So the narrative lacks the drama and immediacy of the war and the City of Ember being founded. It wasn't interesting to me to read about a mere prophecy and the ignorant ways people act when looking for meaning to lead them out of a fearful situation. This book played into some of Jeanne DuPrau's weak spots, preaching obvious messages about intolerance and the threat of war (good topics, to be sure) that were not carried by a story, setting or characters as nearly compelling as Lina or Doon.
The overall series is strong with the exception of this notable misfire: I give The City of Ember 5 stars; The People of Sparks 3.5 stars; The Prophet of Yonwood 1 star; and the redemptive finale The Diamond of Darkhold 4 stars.
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 Should not be part of the series! ( edustrial )
This book is not bad if it was written to be on it's own, however, I think it was a bad choice to pretend this was somehow related to the City of Ember series. It seemed more like the author had an idea for a completely different story but decided to link it to the Ember series just so people would bother reading it. The connection to the series is so weak it's laughable. I was very disappointed.
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not a City of Ember book ( udflyer98 )
I agree with many other reviewers....because it is put as a City of Ember book, it must be reviewed as a City of Ember book. This is why I give it only one star.
I don't have much to say that is different from what other reviewers said... so I'll reiterate:
Yes, it is a good story...and could EASILY have been a story on its own -- without the last chapter. You could definitely use this as a teaching book on its own....and the last chapter could possibly get students to read the City of Ember.
I read both City of Ember and People of Sparks in one week because the story has so captivated me. I couldn't WAIT to read Prophet of Yonwood to find out what happened and answer the HOW's and WHY's to the City of Ember. So I read through this book in one day, b/c I just wanted to find out what happened......and was THOROUGHLY disappointed when I got to the last 3 pages and only found out how the main characters of this book are connected to the City of Ember. That's right. Only the LAST THREE PAGES have any connection to City of Ember. I'm still hungry to hear about The Disaster, and how & why the Builders came up with this plan, how they built it, how they got it all put together, how they chose people, etc. etc.....and maybe even a little bit of insight into the first month (?) of Ember.....and where did the People of Sparks come from if it destroyed everything???
VERY disappointing. :(
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 The Prophet of Yonwood - Book Three in the Books of Ember - is a prequel to the first book ( carlostmock )
The Prophet of Yonwood - Book Three in the Books of Ember - is a prequel to the first book.
The book opens with a vision that a woman by the name of Althea Tower has about the end of the world. In the meantime we are told that there is an impending war going on between the United States and The Phalanx Nations.
While war looms on the horizon, an eleven year old girl, Nickie Randolph, and her aunt, Crystal; come to the town to attend to an inheritance from Nickie's great, great grandfather. A three story mansion that Nickie falls in love with. While Crystal takes care of trying to sell the house, Nickie has all kind of adventures: saving an orphaned girl and her dog, befriending a kid that loves snakes (Grover) and meeting a very interesting character by the name of Hoyt McCoy.
As the people of Yonwood scramble to make sense of the prophet's mysterious utterances, Nickie learns a lesson of what is really "good" vs. what is "evil."
In this, the prequel to the City of Ember, Jeanne Dupreau investigates how, in a world that seems out of control, hope and comfort can be found in the strangest of places.
Although it is a children's book, it is a nice read for anyone who is young at heart.
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Exactly why is this in the middle of the series??? ( mudmule )
After mowing through the City of Ember and People of Sparks I was geared up to reading another great book in this series. However, this book is a prequel. It SHOULD NOT be the 3rd book in the series. If you are hoping to read the next adventures of Lina and Doon don't look here.
This book have very strong messages/meaning with the people of Yonwood and their belief in right and wrong. Trouble is the entire town is letting one person make dramatic decisions for them. The best I can describe it is fanatical. For the younger reader it makes you question what is right and wrong. It makes it clear towards the end, to the reader, that following right/wrong isn't black and white. You should follow your heart and what it tells you.
I felt this book was terrible and has no place in this series. The only part of this book worth being in the Ember series are the last 2 pages which explain who Nickie really is (in the big picture) and the diary found in City of Ember. The rest of this book was terrible. Nickie spent the whole book following an idiot and their idea of right and wrong. I can't even explain how terrible I felt this book was.
After purchasing the next book, Diamond of Darkhold, I quickly read the cover to see if it was the story of Lina and Doon or more garbage like this book was. Thankfully the next book is back to the characters you met from the start.
Don't read this book as part of the Ember series, you will be disappointed. Just skip it and move on to the 4th book.
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