The Diamond of Darkhold cover art

The Diamond of Darkhold

The Fourth Book of Ember

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The Diamond of Darkhold

By: Jeanne DuPrau
Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
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About this listen

 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. Action & Adventure Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Survival Stories Survival

Critic reviews

USA Today
"DuPrau’s first foray into fiction creates a realistic post-apocalyptic world. Reminiscent of Robert O'Brien's Z for Zachariah, DuPrau’s book leaves Doon and Lina on the verge of the undiscovered country and readers wanting more."

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
"Thanks to full-blooded characters every bit as compelling as the plot, Lina and Doon’s search parallels the universal adolescent quest for answers. An electric debut!"

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
"Well-paced, this contains a satisfying mystery, a breathtaking escape over rooftops in darkness, a harrowing journey into the unknown, and cryptic messages for readers to decipher. The likeable protagonists are not only courageous but also believably flawed by human pride. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment."

Starred Review, Voice of Youth Advocates
"While Ember is colorless and dark, the book itself is rich with description. DuPrau uses the puzzle, suspenseful action, and lots of evil characters to entice readers into the story. They will find the teen characters believable and gutsy. Part mystery, part adventure story."

The Horn Book Magazine
"The device of a hidden letter, complete with missing words, is used with such disarming forthrightness that readers will be eagerly deciphering it right alongside Doon and Lina."

An ALA Notable Children’s Book

A Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice

A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection
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Our kids really enjoyed the story and its ending, made a long trip in the car go s lot quicker

Our kids really enjoyed the story and its ending

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This suite of books deals with a post-apocalypse situation (with book 3 actually a prologue story). Like John Wyndham's famous suite of aplcalypse and post-apocalyse stories it follows the fortunes of a few people who are dealing with re-defining their world and their place in it, with minimal technology support. The concept of putting a remnant population in a time capsule I found novel, and interesting. I found the main characters engaging and was continually interested in how they dealt with their new world. Yes, the target audience for this series is pre- and post-puberty children, but looking at the stories from the perspective I have outlined above, gave this old reader/listener much enjoyment. The presenters did a nice job of reading the stories and keeping me interested.
While I haven't listened to it, I would recommend listening to Book 3 first.

A nicely paced post-apocalypse story

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first - wolfs do not bark- that's actually one of the species characteristics
second - please do not sing- if you want to sing - be a singer, but if you want to read, please read- there's nothing wrong with simply reading a song. Many people do not appreciate if you mix this things up.
wonderful book series

love it , but please don't

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This book is a brilliant part of the series the ending is just amazing

Fabulous

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Always had this series in my mind. Finally decided to gather all 4 books and go for them. Fantastic story. Absolutely mesmerised. Recommend to anyone who fancies some very quick, smooth well written series.

Just love this series

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