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    The Prophet of Yonwood: The Third Book of Ember
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    The Prophet of Yonwood: The Third Book of Ember
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    The Prophet of Yonwood: The Third Book of Ember
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Prophet of Yonwood: The Third Book of Ember

    Written by Jeanne Duprau

    Narrated by Becky Ann Baker

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 9, 2006
    ISBN9780739331101
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Prophet of Yonwood

    3/5

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    • 2/5
      The Prophet of Yonwood is one of those infuriating books that is pretty good until the end, and then it all falls to pieces.Nickie goes with her aunt in a vague near-future America to the small town of Yonwood, North Carolina, where they plan to pack up and sell a mansion that has been left to them after the old relative's death. Nickie's father is away on a secret government project; and the nation is on the brink of war against an enemy alliance. In Yonwood, there is a frail woman who the townspeople believe to be a prophet of God, her vague mumblings interpreted by the deeply self righteous Mrs. Beeson. Nickie decided she wants to do what is right and follows Mrs. Beeson's directions. Also in town are Grover, a boy who likes snakes, and Hoyt McCall, a local eccentric. The tale kept me wrapped up and interested... but in the end, none of it mean anything. Grover and his snakes? Irrelevant. Hoyt McCall and his astronomical experiments? Irrelevant. The Prophet and Mrs. Beeson? Irrelevant. The dog? Other people in town? The mysterious objects she finds in the old house? All irrelevant! Nothing that happens in the entire book has a point. Every aspect of the story is either abandoned completely, or winds up with an abysmally anticlimactic conclusion. Apart from a mention in the superfluous epilogue, there isn't anything whatsoever in this book that has to do with the City of Ember. It's not really a prequel, just a pointless book by the same author.Tip: Even if you're reading the series and like the others, don't waste your time on this book.
    • 3/5
      The story was good and well written. However, I was left to wonder how this story fits in with the City of Ember? 289 pages and only the last few had any relevance to the first or second book. I was disappointed and felt tricked into buying book three. Why the prequel before the conclusion of the story, after all this is a four book seriesI don't like or read prequels that often. I guess, I always felt if you had something to talk about before the first story, then why didn't you start there? I was hoping to learn more about Lina and Doon in the prequel, maybe who some of their ancestors were. Guess we will never solve that mystery. I wanted the story to explain how the world ended, and what steps were taken to protect the human race. How the City of Ember was built and learn more about that instead of this side story that I read. I give the book 3 of 3 stars because it was well written.
    • 3/5
      Didn't like it as much as the other ones. It kind of lacked the same style, and you didn't get to care for the characters as much as you did for Lina and Doon, and the people of Ember and Sparks.
      Took me longer to finish it, since I wasn't happy reading it and just wanted to skip it to go for "The Diamond of Darkhold" and get back to the story.
    • 2/5
      I haven't been much of a fan of the other books in the Ember series; as far as children's books go, they're okay. However, even for children's books I find them too simplistic and the characters too stereotypical. The same holds true for The Prophet of Yonwood. I was able to get through this book, because it wasn't Nickie that bothered me; it was all the adults. I know that children's books often put adults in the background, which can seem strange, but I hate it when they make the adults look stupid and clueless. I couldn't believe that the village followed Brenda Beeson, when she was obviously discriminating against people and taking control of the town. To some extent, this would have been believable, but most everyone followed this lady's every word. To put it simply, it drove me crazy.The Prophet of Yonwood is the prequel to the Ember series, before the City of Ember has been created. A woman named Althea sees the apocalyptic future and pretty much goes crazy. As she rants, the villagers take her words as what they need to do to prevent doomsday. This includes a bunch of restrictions such as no dancing and no music that eventually escalates into there being a restriction against having dogs. Nickie takes things into her own hands at that point and tries to both get her dog back and understand why the prophet Althea would forbid dogs.Like I said, the characters were all stereotypical and the adults were simply stupid. They were sheep being herded around by Brenda's crazy proclamations. Nickie's aunt is clueless throughout the entire novel, to the point where she doesn't even realize that another person and a dog is living in her house for quite some time. I also thought the ending was a bit too glossed-over happy. It ends with Nickie being an old woman going down into the city of Ember. No mention of her kids, which I was curious about. And there's only one reason (and not a very good one, I think) that is mentioned for why she is allowed to go to the city. As an old woman, and since they have limited supplies and room, I wanted there to be some sort of special reason Nickie is allowed into the city -- some sort of area of expertise or something. But none of that information was given.The narration was average. While I didn't hate the audiobook, I don't feel like Baker truly brought it to life. She did the normal things like change voices for each character, which I admit was well done, but other than that, there was nothing outstanding about the narration. Like the previous book, The People of Sparks, this one had sound effects, and I disliked them for the most part. At times they enhanced the story, but they were mostly distracting.If you're reaching for books to get your kid to read, and they seem to like dystopias, I think this series would be appropriate. It's at an easy reading level, and kids might enjoy it a little bit more. However, I don't think that it's a timeless children classic or even a good children's series. It's okay. Adults might not get much enjoyment out of it, although I will admit that the previous two novels are much better than this book.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable tale In the run up to city of ember but stands alone, great book for young people. Love the way the author makes you think about the big questions in life.
    • 3/5
      This one isn't my favorite in the series. It serves as a prequel to the other two books and, like the previous two books, is a vivid look at human behavior. The ending saved this book for me. It had you almost sure that things would turn out one way, but instead, it turns out slightly different, which makes it somewhat more enjoyable. Looking forward to the fourth (and final) chapter.
    • 4/5
      This book is the third installment of the Ember series. This book takes place before the setting of book one. I guess you could call it a prequal. In this book, 11 year old Nikki goes with her aunt to Yonwood to stay at her Great Grandfather's mansion. While she is there, she learns of a prophet that is living in the city. This prophet, Althea, had a vision and then collapsed as she told about fire and disaster. Since the country is on the brink of war, the community thought it must be a sign of what was yet to come. After her collapse, Althea was not able to talk clearly or take care of herself. Mrs. Beeson was chosen to take care of her. She also interpretted anything that Althea was saying. It turned out that Mrs. Beeson has announced that noone in the area can have a dog because it may cause this prophecy to be fulfilled. Nikki fears for her dog, but refuses to get rid of it. She wants proof as to why this is happening. Ehen the story comes to a close, we learn that many things are not as they seem and the so called prophet may not be speaking exactly what Mrs. Beeson is hearing. I liked this book as much as the other two, just in a different way. It helped clear up why certain things were the way they were in the first book. I think it could be an enjoyable read for kids as a third part of the story or as a stand alone book.I think this book could be used to open the discussion of how people should act and the importance of following the rules. I think it also would be good to use to teach kids the importance of knowing the truth of all facts and rules that they are following.
    • 4/5
      I did not enjoy this prequel as much as the other 2 books, but again it did make some interesting points about placing your trust in authority and personal revelation. Book 4 here we come.
    • 3/5
      The writing is as good as in Ember and Sparks, but, I am not enchanted with the characters. There seems to be too much difference between the dwellers of Sparks and Ember and those of Yonwood. I don't really even like the name of the city.
    • 4/5
      This book is actually a prologue. Overall it was boring but it had some interesting sides. The chapter names etc. were interesting but it was mostly boring. I was expecting war but nothing happened. I was shocked when I found out that Nickie's father helped build the City of Ember.
    • 3/5
      Cute little story that my 9 yr old daughter enjoyed. I must say that I was a little surprised they can even call it a prequel to the City of Ember. The only part of the book that remotely relates it to being a prequel is essentially the Prologue. Nevertheless, some good lessons for kids on the danger of not thinking for yourself and how easily people can be lead astray; in this case it was by a religious zealot completely misinterpreting what she thought God would want. Makes for a good conversations piece with your kids
    • 5/5
      Nickie goes to Yonwood to clean out her great-grandfather's home. Little does she know that Yonwood wants to be the safest place in America.Although published two years ago, this book resonates as particularly topical now. We all want to protect ourselves and our way of life, but we are not all in agreement as to how to do that. This book looks at what happens when an entire village lets its desperation overshadow reason. It has echoes in 1930s Germany and the rhetoric that comes from the extreme right wing demonstrators that make the evening news today. It also considers just how easy it is to be taken in because the first steps always seem so reasonable and logical. The book really makes the reader think critically about why a society chooses its rules.This is the best of DuPrau's trilogy, and it should really be included in Middle School and Public Library collections.
    • 4/5
      this book was good, but not very addicting. I was wondering till the very end "what does this have to do with Ember?"
    • 4/5
      The Prophet of Yonwood is a really great science fiction novel in the City of Ember series. It fits well within this genre because it addresses events in time that change the course of history. Unlike the previous two books in this series, this book takes the reader back in time to what the world was like before the Crisis. It shares with the reader how and why the City of Ember was created. It will also influence readers to think about how people's choices affect what happens in the world around them. More so than the first two books, The Prophet of Yonwood allows readers to make connections to the world we live in today. Finally, themes that were present in the first two books begin to surface in a much clearer way in this book.
    • 2/5
      I actively disliked this book, which was surprising to me because I loved the first two Ember books. It's important to note, though, that while this is called the Third Book of Ember, it's actually a prequel with very little connection to Ember. I was a bit disappointed when I first realized that, but I still had high expectations for this book.Boy, was I wrong. I found a large part of the book almost unbearable, because I couldn't stand the main character. Like the other Ember books, DuPrau has a message to get across here, but unlike the other ones, it doesn't make for a good story. Nickie wants to do something good for the world, so she's quick to accept the word of a stranger that it's necessary to root out sinners. This basically results in her becoming a big tattle-tale, despite herself doing things that she must realize she shouldn't, like secretly keeping a dog in her house. She's quick to accuse other people for very little reason, causing a lot of harm, and I really didn't enjoy reading about it.Then there's the fact that all the different threads in the story don't really resolve into a satisfactory whole; it was more like one random disappointment after another. I can't resist including some SPOILERS here: the supposed terrorist in the woods turns out to be an albino bear (what?), the coded message that Nickie's father is sending from the top-secret mission that he's on turns out just to say what state he's in (what's the point?), and the mysterious flashes in the sky are really a way to see into parallel universes, which led to the discovery of extraterrestrial life and so intrigued the important people in Washington that they put off going to war with the terrorists (WTF?).Rather than being left with a sense of satisfaction when everything was explained in the end, I was deeply disappointed. I felt that this story was much less than the sum of its parts.
    • 5/5
      This book was very enjoyable and I loved the connection at the end of the book to the first two novels. There were some strong themes of religious extremism, but otherwise it was about relationships.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book!!
    • 3/5
      The story was entertaining. However, I really didn't like that the actual connection to the other books was made essentially in the last chapter. I do think the author did a good job stringing you along with the little details she created for the various mysteries.
    • 1/5
      Bait and switchAnyone who enjoyed the first two books of this series will probably want to give this volume a pass. Whereas the first two books took place in an exotic post-apocalyptic future, Yonwood is set in a mundane small town in the present (okay, maybe five years in the future, but still pretty dull.) By the time the tenuous connection with the other books in the series is revealed in the last few pages, I ceased to care. You lied to me Jeanne Duprau... I thought we meant more to each other than that.
    • 4/5
      I didn't like this as much as the other two Ember books. It doesn't tie in with them immediately or in the way that you'd expect, the characters aren't as immediately likeable, and I felt kind of muddled reading it. It was good to have a prequil- I just felt a little bit like the prequil part happened almost entirely in the last chapter and the reast was supposed to be lessons on right, wrong, and human nature.
    • 3/5
      The world is in turmoil and the safest place for eleven-year-old Nickie seems to be Yonwood, North Carolina. Nickie must decide how to identify good from evil when she witnesses the townspeople's reactions to the apocalyptic visions of one of their neighbors. Nickie watches in horror as the dogs are taken away and it is left to her to force the town to face its fears and paranoia. Reminiscent of the McCarthy era. This book does not feel like it is part of the trilogy. Written for a younger audience, it is a stretch to place it in YA with the other two titles. Fans of the first two books, City of Ember, and The People of Sparks may have difficulty relating this title with the first two, not only because of the lower reading level but because it does not seem like the same genre.
    • 2/5
      Shouldn't have been included as a part of the Ember series. No real climax and the main character is very unlikable.
    • 4/5
      The 3rd/4th book in the City of Ember series*. This is a prequel, set before the Disaster, so it won't satisfy your itch if you want more stories of Lina and Doon. The book is the tale of Nickie, who is basically a good kid who wants to be helpful and do the Right Thing. Sadly, the people in charge of Yonwood are crazy fundamentalists who have become slightly unhinged through living in the shadow of the oncoming war. Nickie starts by doing as she's told, spying on her neighbours and reporting anything suspicious, but as she sees the consequences of her actions, and the demands of the religion become even more extreme (no dogs!) she is faced with the question of how can you actually know what is Right and what God wants?It's still a book pitched at late primary school aged children, so the worldbuilding and the philosophy are a little simplistic at times, (I thought it was quite weak how the whole book twangs with 'the Disaster is about to happen, and then right at the end pulls its punches and says 'no, it didn't happen, not here and now in this slice of time when you've really warmed to these people, not for years until they've all had good and happy lives) but like the other Ember books it has a very warm heart and interesting characters.* In publication order, this is the third book of four. But many of the published series think you should read the three books set at the same time with Doon and Lina as 1, 2 and 3, and then read this as a follow-on.
    • 3/5
      As the word Prophet in the title implies, it got a little religious-y, a little, in my opinion, boring. But then I don't like trilogies or series anyway so decide for yourself.
    • 2/5
      Not anywhere near as good as the first two Ember books.
    • 2/5
      Set too far away chronologically from any event (even preceding events) in the other three books to be relevant. This is "set in the same universe" style fiction. If I was telling someone to read the Ember series I would skip this one.
    • 3/5
      The Prophet of Yonwood ist der dritte Teil in der Reihe The Books of Ember. Hierbei gilt es allerdings gleich zu beachten, dass es sich dabei um ein Prequel handelt und die Geschichte völlig losgelöst ist von den Abenteuern die Lina und Doon in The City of Ember (Lauf gegen die Dunkelheit) oder The People of Sparks (Ankunft im Licht) erleben.Der Roman setzt ca. 50 Jahre vor dem Bezug Embers ein und zeigt eine Zeit, die unserer Gegenwart sehr nahe sein muss. Wer nun aber hofft, den Bau der unterirdischen Stadt zu erleben und zu erfahren wie alles begann, der wird dieses Buch recht enttäuschend finden. Die Verknüpfung mit Ember findet erst im Epilog statt, und obwohl diese Verknüpfung ganz charmant ist, tröstet sie nur wenig über die Enttäuschung hinweg, die man als Leser bei diesem Buch empfindet. The Prophet of Yonwood erzählt stattdessen von Nickie, die in die alte Villa ihres Urgroßvaters in Yonwood kommt. In dieser Stadt wiederum gibt es eine Frau, die als Prophetin betrachtet wird, deren Worte von einer anderen Frau interpretiert werden, und eine Stadt, die diesen Interpretationen und entstehenden Anweisungen folgt. Im Prinzip spielt sich hier ein klassisches Kleinstadtdrama mit religiösem Hintergrund ab. Eine ganze Stadt fängt an im Namen Gottes Opfer zu bringen, in dem Glauben, ihre Stadt sei auserwählt zu überleben, wenn ihre Einwohner nur gut und rechtschaffen handeln. Unter dieser Prämisse geschehen in dem kleinen Städtchen schnell ungerechte Dinge bei dem Versuch, alles richtig zu machen. Menschen, die sich dem Glauben an die Prophetin versperren und sich in irgendeiner Form falsch verhalten, werden als Unruhestifter verschrien, verurteilt und bestraft. Der Roman zeigt in einer leider eher langatmigen Schilderung, wie die Furcht Menschen dazu bringt, absurde Entscheidungen zu treffen und ebenso absurde Ideen zu haben. Findet sich dann noch ein Besserwisser mit selbstbewusstem Auftreten bei völliger Ahnungslosigkeit, ist das Chaos perfekt.Autorin Jeanne DuPrau thematisiert in ihrem dritten Roman hauptsächlich die Furcht vor dem drohenden Krieg und die Auswirkungen von blindem Glauben und fehlgeleiteten guten Absichten, was theoretisch kein schlechter Ansatz ist, hier aber nur kläglich umgesetzt wurde.Nickie, deren Vater irgendwo in der Welt einen geheimen Auftrag ausführt, erhält derweil per Postkarte achso seltsame P.S.-Nachrichten, die schnell als versteckte Hinweise und geheimes Rätsel vorgestellt werden, ohne dabei im Verlauf der Handlung ein Miträtseln zu ermöglichen. Stattdessen wird einem die Lösung schließlich in einem beiläufigen Nebensatz auf dem Silbertablett serviert und man fragt sich: wozu? Denn der Inhalt der Nachrichten ist belanglos und das Rätsel selbst aufgrund des mangelhaften Aufbaus nicht im Mindesten spannend. Während The City of Ember wie eine große Abenteuerreise daherkommt, in der es allerhand Geheimnisse aus der Vergangenheit zu entdecken gab, scheitert The Prophet of Yonwood darin, sich das selbe Prinzip zunutze zu machen.Weiterhin bewegt sich Nickie auf Spurensuche durch das viktorianische Haus ihrer Vorfahren, findet dort alte Briefe, Fotografien und das Tagebuch ihres Urgroßvaters, in dem er allerlei seltsame Beobachtungen aufgezeichnet hat. Unter anderem erwähnt er hierin die Begegnung mit einem Geist und die String-Theorie. An diesem Punkt läuft man Gefahr neugierig zu werden und neue Hoffnung für das Buch zu schöpfen, nur um dann mit anzusehen, wie diese interessanten Ideen im Keim erstickt werden. Welchem Zweck die Aufnahmen dienten oder was genau Nickies Urgroßvater mit seinen Notizen beabsichtigt hat, kann man nur erahnen. Man fragt sich, worin der Sinn besteht, diese Dinge zu erwähnen, wenn sie nirgendwo hinführen. Mehr als einen gewissen nostalgischen Charme für die Villa erzeugen sie nicht und so kann man nur hoffen, dass zumindest die Notizen des Urgroßvaters für den letzten Teil dieser Buchreihe noch genutzt werden.Übrigens: Auszüge von Nickies Fundstücken wurden auch als Bildmaterial in den Roman eingefügt, vielleicht ist das für den ein oder anderen von Interesse.Wer nun also auf die eingangs erwähnten wenigen charmanten Verknüpfungen zu The City of Ember verzichten kann – Handlungsrelevantes erfährt man hier nicht – der darf The Prophet of Yonwood getrost ignorieren und ungelesen lassen, denn dieses Buch endet dort, wo es hätte beginnen sollen und liefert einem nichts als Entschädigung.
    • 2/5
      I gave The Prophet of Yonwood a 2 star rating because it really didn't have any impact on the other Ember books. Being a prequel I expected something to be about the City of Ember before the last few pages. This was not the case. If you love the other three City of Ember books this one is simply not needed nor has impact at all on the story.
    • 3/5
      So, this book is supposed to be a prequel to the first two books, telling the story of what happened before people moved to the underground city of Ember to escape disaster. However, it just tells the story of two kids who confront semi-bad people in a little town in North Carolina. There is only a small effort made to connect it to the previous stories. I enjoyed it because the author writes well, but the story itself was just so-so.
    • 4/5
      This is a prequel to DuPrau's City of Ember kids' series, although it stands on its own very nicely, without any need to have read the other books in the series. The story features a girl who, in a country facing the looming threat of a possibly apocalyptic war, comes to a small town to help her aunt prepare her recently deceased great-grandfather's house to sell. She soon learns that something interesting is going on there: a local woman experienced a powerful vision of a devastated future and now lies semi-conscious, muttering cryptic words that most of the town believes hold the key to averting disaster, if only they have enough dedication and faith.This was published in 2006, and is clearly influenced by the political climate of the time, being very much a commentary on war, religion, and the dangers of blind belief in a way that feels like it should be painfully heavy-handed, but somehow manages to work surprisingly well, anyway. The world-building is very lightly sketched, and aspects of the ending are a little too pat, but overall I was surprised by how much I liked this.