The Prophet of Yonwood (review)

In The City of Ember (BCCB 9/03), people fleeing the dying underground city find a long-buried journal that explains the creation of Ember. This prequel goes back two hundred years to focus on the journal's writer, Nickie, here eleven years old and helping to ready for sale the old family homestead in Yonwood, North Carolina. Prior to her arrival in Yonwood, however, a quiet resident of the town fell into a near-catatonic state after having disturbing visions about a devastating upcoming world war, and her subsequent mumblings have been interpreted as prophesies of a dark future and edicts to be followed to avert it. Nickie too becomes caught up in the local frenzy to root out evil, following reports of the Prophet's words, but as the Prophet's edicts (at least according to her self-appointed mouthpiece) become increasingly drastic, Nickie begins to question the validity of the Prophet's decrees. After the Prophet awakens, explains her vision, and restores calm to the town, Nickie is left to evaluate her own moral and religious standing after having been swept along so easily into a fight against assumed wrongdoing. The main issue here is a surprisingly weighty theme for this age group, and it's effectively handled with thought-provoking implications in the depiction of a group of people whose desire to protect themselves overtakes the logic of their defenses; DuPrau successfully adds light with a well-integrated and humorous subplot about Nickie's determination to find true love despite lackluster prospects. Fans of the Ember novels will appreciate the connective elements of impending world war and Nickie's journal; this is less a prequel, however, than a stand-alone book about a naïve and likable girl trying to not only find her own peace but also striving to help create it on a larger scale.