The Diamond of Darkhold

by Jeanne DuPrau

from Amazon.com:
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 above ground, 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.

DISCLAIMER This is the fourth book in the series - there is a very good possibility that there will be spoilers from the first three books in this review.

Back in October I read the first three books of this series (you can see the reviews here) and basically came to the conclusion that the first book was the best. I was super excited to see that my library had finally purchased a copy and patiently waited for my turn.

I actually liked this book quite a bit, possibly even a bit better that The People of Sparks. I know that some people complain that it's the first book in reverse, but it made sense to me that someone would want to go back to Ember. There was some food down there, and the original people of Ember had to get down somehow (I think there might have been a discrepancy here though - the journal that Lina found was in the cave with the river. Why would it have been there if they walked down the hill?). Plus everyone left in such a rush that no one really go to say good bye.

I thought a lot of the story came together rather conveniently, but as long as it's told well I don't really mind. It was nice to have Lina and Doon back and to get to know a couple of the other characters a bit better. I wish the character of Torren was better developed though. He seemed like he was important in book 2 and 4 but, he never really came off as anything other than a spoiled brat.

The biggest complaint I had was with the final chapter. It was soo cheesy, and it kind of outlined exactly what we should have "learned" from reading the story. I would rather figure out a meaning for myself (or just enjoy the story without a meaning) than have it shoved down my throat. Even if it's something that I agree with.

On the whole, I thought it was a fitting conclusion to the series and would recommend it to fans.

3.5 out of 5 stars.