The Diamond of Darkhold, fourth in the Ember series, written by Jeanne DuPrau, is a satisfying ending to a fun and thoughtful series.

Diamond is my second favorite of the four books. I think that's because Doon and Lina are working as a team again. In Diamond, they set out to go back to Ember in search of supplies for an overcrowded, underfed city.

Because I loved the underground city in the first book—it captured my imagination—I loved the idea of going back there in this book. So it's no surprise that my favorite scenes in The Diamond of Darkhold were in the city of Ember.

I enjoyed seeing the ruins of the abandoned city.

I also loved the troglodytes, the Trogg family, that lived there. Well, I didn't love them—I loved the way they were written. Trogg with the pomposity that comes from having a small mind; Mrs. Trogg, frightened and depressed and mean; and the two Trogg children, stupid and abused and abusive.

Mrs. DuPrau also likes to weave irony through her works, I think. So we have the Troggs huddling for safety in a dangerous place and fighting to hide the location of a city that no one wants to find. The one thing they get right—the fact that the diamond is a great treasure—they nullify by keeping the diamond locked in the dark instead of taking it out and learning how to use it.

They revere that which is going to kill them and write off as a pretty bauble that which could save their lives. I can't help but think that DuPrau is, once again, making a statement about the society we live in. And it is this kind of thought running below the surface, that makes the Ember books compelling, I believe. Some deep thought wrapped up in interesting, entertaining characters and plots. The Troggs were funny, I thought. Very funny. But that's because I recognized in them a sad truth exaggerated for effect.

So, what were the weaknesses of the book? I don't know if I'd be able to find any if I hadn't read Ember. Having read Ember, though, I don't think this one quite measured up. It was good. I read it straight through and never lost interest. The characters were real. And yet, I didn't have the same feeling when it ended that I had when Ember ended. I didn't pine, thinking I'd never see Lina and Doon again. I didn't love Sparks and want to go back and see how Lina and Doon grew up there and if they'd marry and have children.

I'm not a good enough student of literature to know why I didn't feel that way. If I had to guess I'd guess that I wasn't as invested in the characters because there wasn't as much at stake for them. I don't mean they needed more physical danger, but that I didn't know what was in their hearts. This book was more action and less yearning on the characters' parts, I think.

Maybe.

All I really know for sure is that while this book was great and I recommend it to all readers, I didn't ache when it was over the way I did when I turned the last page of Ember. Perhaps that's just the price DuPrau has to pay for writing such a wonderful first book in the series. Nothing that comes after quite measures up. There is something about discovering a new world with new characters to love—it's a little like a honeymoon, I think.

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Copyright © 2008 Sally Apokedak