How cool is it that someone just posted this question to the YALSA list:
I have a student who would like more books like "People of Sparks" and "City of Ember." What can you suggest?
I'll need to pull the page from the appendix of my culminating paper that is a list of related titles (since I wrote one of my papers on Jeanne DuPrau, author of those books. I've read about 6 dystopia books in the last few weeks for the list and have three or four more still waiting in a pile in the front hall.
Update: Here's the compiled list the YALSA folks made:
BOOKS LIKE "THE PEOPLE OF SPARKS"
"The Giver" By Lois Lowry
"City of Light, City of Dark" by Avi (a graphic novel).
"Wind Singer" trilogy written by Will iam Nicholson (he wrote the screenplay
for The Gladiator).
Memory Boy by Will Weaver
The Giver, Gathering Blue and The Messenger by Lois Lowry
Gregor the Overlander and it's 2 sequels
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Shade's Children by Nix
Dirt Eaters by Foon
The Fire-Us Trilogy by Armstrong
I Am the Cheese (Cormier).
Holes (Sachar) also has that otherworldly feel to it that makes Sparks/Ember
so appealing.
Another good future-society books is Nancy Farmers The Ear, The Eye, and the
Arm, which takes place in Zimbabwee in the future.
The following comes from Cathy:
After this came out and we received numerous requests for similar titles, I
put together these two lists of books entitled "Other Worlds".
Cathy Pridham
OTHER WORLDS
Stories About Life in
Imaginary Communities
YOUNG ADULT
Anderson, M. T. Feed.
In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to
control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious
trouble.
Barker, Clive. Abarat.
Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the
edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life
is forever changed.
Calhoun, Dia. Firegold.
Thirteen-year-old Jonathon, feared and hated by the brown-eyed Valley people
because of his blue eyes, tries to find answers to his true identity in the
Red Mountains, home of the Dalriada, a mountain people with mystical powers
and blue eyes like his.
Carmody, Isobelle. Night Gate. [J FIC]
Seeking a cure for her sick mother, Courage "Rage" Winnoway and her dogs
pass through a magical gateway to a strange land known as Valley where they
must find, before the sand in an enchanted hourglass runs out, the powerful
wizard. The Gateway Trilogy ; bk. 1.
Clement-Davies, David. The Fire Bringer.
In a Scotland beset by Norse invaders, a tyrannical lord of the deer herd
has ended old ways. Sequel: The Sight.
Dickinson, Peter. The Ropemaker.
When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja and her
companions journey into the evil Empire to find the ancient magician Faheel,
who originally cast those spells.
Dickinson, Peter. The Tears of the Salamander.
When Alfredo, a twelve-year-old choir boy in eighteenth-century Italy, loses
his family in a fire, he goes to live with Uncle Giorgio, who he discovers
is a sorcerer in control of the fires of Mt. Etna with sinister plans for
his nephew.
Downer, Ann. Hatching Magic. [J FIC]
When a thirteenth-century wizard confronts twenty-first century Boston while
seeking his pet dragon, he is followed by a rival wizard and a very unhappy
demon, but eleven-year-old Theodora Oglethorpe may hold the secret to
setting everything right.
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. [J FIC]
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a
Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps
even to glimpse Unknown Regions. Sequel: The people of Sparks.
Ende, Michael. The Neverending Story [YA PBK FIC]
Bastian Balthazar Bux isn't very good at defending himself against bullies.
In fact, he isn't very good at much of anything. So, when the bullies from
school come after him one morning all he can do is run. Maybe it's luck
that he chooses to hide in the bookstore on the corner or maybe it's
something more. Whatever it might have been, his unplanned detour starts
him on adventure unlike any he could have ever imagined.
Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion.
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the
young clone of El Patron, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire
nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Hautman, Pete. Hole in the Sky.
In a future world ravaged by a mutant virus, sixteen-year-old Ceej and three
other teenagers seek to save the Grand Canyon from being flooded, while
trying to avoid capture by a band of renegade Survivors.
Jones, Diana Wynne. A Tale of Time City. [J PBK FIC]
In 1939 an eleven-year-old London girl is kidnapped to Time City, a place
existing outside the stream of time and manipulating the history of
humanity, where she finds the inhabitants facing their worst hour of crisis.
Kay, Elizabeth. The Divide. [J FIC]
While hiking on the Continental Divide of Costa Rica, a young boy with a
heart condition falls into a magical otherworld full of fantastical
creatures.
Lamensdorf, Leonard. The Crouching Dragon.
In 1959, French teens create a half-fantasy kingdom in an abandoned castle,
uncovering modern and medieval arms and armor and withstanding siege from
their parents and a criminal cartel, with an assist from President de
Gaulle.
L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time.
"A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time...The
story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and
Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high
school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared
while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem."
Lowry, Lois. The Giver.
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the
receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers
the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
MacHale, D.J. The Merchant of Death. [YA PBK] [Pendragon Bk 1]
Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon, having learned he is a Traveler--someone
who can ride "flumes" through time and space, is soon off to the alternative
dimension of Denduron where he teams up with Loor, a girl his age from the
warrior-territory of Zadaa, in an attempt to save the gentle Milago people
from slavery.
Marsden, John. Tomorrow, When the War Began.
Seven Australian teenagers return from a camping trip in the bush to
discover that their country has been invaded and they must hide to stay
alive.
McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong.
Forbidden by her father to indulge in music, a girl on the planet Pern runs
away, taking shelter with the planet's fire lizards who, along with her
music, open a new life for her.
Nix, Garth. Lirael, Daughter of the Clayr.
When a dangerous necromancer threatens to unleash a long-buried evil, Lirael
and Prince Sameth are drawn into a battle to save the Old Kingdom and reveal
their true destinies.
Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. [First in the trilogy]
In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds
a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of
destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Pattou, Edith. Hero's Song.
On a quest to rescue his kidnapped sister, Collun discovers that he is a key
figure in the struggle to save the kingdom of Eirren from conquest by Medb,
the Queen of Ghosts.
Pierce, Tamora. Sandry's Book. [First of four]
Four young misfits find themselves living in a strictly disciplined temple
community where they become friends while also learning to do crafts and to
use their powers, especially magic.
Rapp, Adam. The Copper Elephant.
In a world where children under twelve are used as slave labor in
subterranean lime mines, eleven-year-old Whensday Bluehouse struggles to
survive the continuous poison rains and evade the ruthless Syndicate
Soldiers.
Russell, Barbara T. The Taker's Stone.
When fourteen-year-old Fischer accidentally uses a magic stone to summon
Thistle, one of its Keepers and an agent of the Light, he must help her
fight the evil Belial, who seeks to rule the world with cruel Darkness.
Shusterman, Neal. Full Tilt : A Novel.
When sixteen-year-old Blake goes to a mysterious, by-invitation-only
carnival he somehow knows that it could save his comatose brother, but soon
learns that much more is at stake if he fails to meet the challenge
presented there by the beautiful Cassandra.
Stevenson, Laura Caroline. The Island and the Ring.
After treachery destroys her kingdom, Princess Tania discovers that it is
her destiny to confront Ascanet, the ruthless lord enslaving the island of
Elyssonne.
Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand. #1 in the Trilogy
Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and
instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician
Simon Lovelace.
Weaver, Will. Memory Boy.
Sixteen-year-old Miles and his family must flee their Minneapolis home and
begin a new life in the wilderness after a chain of cataclysmic volcanic
explosions creates dangerous conditions in their city.
OTHER WORLDS
Stories About Life in
Imaginary Communities
GRADES 3 - 6
Avi. Perloo the Bold.
Perloo, a peaceful scholar who has been chosen to succeed Jolaine as leader
of the furry underground people called the Montmers, finds himself in danger
when Jolaine dies and her evil son seizes control of the burrow.
Babbitt, Natalie. The Devil's Other Storybook : Stories and Pictures.
The further exploits of the Devil in his own realm and in the world above
are recounted in ten more tales.
Billingsley, Franny. The Folk Keeper.
Orphan Corinna disguises herself as a boy to pose as a Folk Keeper, one who
keeps the Evil Folk at bay, and discovers her heritage as a seal maiden when
she is taken to live with a
wealthy family in their manor by the sea.
Chabon, Michael. Summerland.
Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds
himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph
over an ancient enemy.
Christopher, John. The Prince in Waiting.
Thirteen-year-old Luke has no reason to suspect that anything will ever
change in the primitive society of the future in which he lives.
Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander.
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a
strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats,
rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient
prophecy.
Coville, Bruce. The Song of the Wanderer.
[Sequel to Into the Land of Unicorns]
Having jumped into Luster, the land of unicorns, Cara makes a perilous
journey to bring back her grandmother, The Wanderer, in order to release the
Queen of the unicorns and allow her to die.
Dixon, Rachel Taft. The Witch's Ring.
A curious boy named Bottle uses his computer to help Amy Settle find her way
home after a magical ring transports her to the home of an evil witch.
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember.
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a
Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps
even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
Ende, Michael. The Neverending Story
Bastian Balthazar Bux isn't very good at defending himself against bullies.
In fact, he isn't very good at much of anything. So, when the bullies from
school come after him one morning all he can do is run. Maybe it's luck
that he chooses to hide in the bookstore on the corner or maybe it's
something more. Whatever it might have been, his unplanned detour starts
him on adventure unlike any he could have ever imagined.
Funke, Cornelia Caroline. Inkheart.
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books
for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those
characters abducts them and tries to
force him into service.
Gaiman, Neil. Coraline.
Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a
world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she
must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and
the souls of three others.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the Hidden. [First in the series]
In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to
only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear
on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the
government is wrong.
Haptie, Charlotte. Otto and the Flying Twins.
Young Otto comes to the rescue when he discovers that his family and city
are the last remnants of an ancient magical world now under threat from the
Normal Police.
Ibbotson, Eva. The Secret of Platform 13.
Odge Gribble, a young hag, accompanies an old wizard, a gentle fey, and a
giant ogre on their mission through a magical tunnel from their Island to
London to rescue their King and Queen's son who had been stolen as an
infant.
Jarvis, Robin. The Dark Portal. [First in the Deptford Mice Trilogy]
While on a rescue mission, a few daring mice journey below to the sewers to
an evil world populated by rats who peel mice before eating them and worship
the Dark Lord.
Langrish, Katherine. Troll Fell.
Forced to live with his evil identical-twin uncles after his father's death,
twelve-year-old Peer tries to find a way to stop their plan to sell the
neighbor's children to the trolls.
Lisle, Janet Taylor. Forest.
Twelve-year-old Amber's invasion of an organized forest community of
squirrels starts a war between humans and beasts, despite the protests of an
unconventional and imaginative squirrel named Woodbine.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver.
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the
receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers
the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
Lowry, Lois. Messenger. Lois Lowry ushers readers into a hypnotic,
disconcerting fantasy world introducing us to young Matty, a boy whose role
for Village is more profound than he thinks. This episode follows Matty --
who lives with Seer and doesn't yet have his true name -- as he keeps busy
running errands through Forest and otherwise lives a youthful, carefree
life.
McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. The Moorchild.
Feeling that she is neither fully human nor "Folk," a changeling learns her
true identity and attempts to find the human child whose place she had been
given.
Molloy, Michael. The Witch Trade.
A boy and girl encounter hidden caves, fabulous boats, and captive children
as they join forces with powerful new friends on a quest for Ice Dust, the
source of magical power for good witches.
Napoli, Donna Jo. The Prince of the Pond : Otherwise Known as De Fawg
Pin.
Having been turned into a frog by a hag, a frog-prince makes the best of his
new life as he mates, raises a family, and instills a new kind of thinking
into his frog family.
Nicholson, William. The Wind Singer : An Adventure.
After Kestrel Hath rebels against the stifling rules of Amaranth society and
is forced to flee, she, along with her twin brother and a tagalong
classmate, follow an ancient map in quest of the legendary silver voice of
the wind singer, in an attempt to heal Amaranth and its people.
[First in a series of three]
Oppel, Kenneth. Firewing. [Sequel to Sunwing.]
Griffin, a young bat, is sucked into the "Underworld," and his father
follows to rescue him.
Prue, Sally. Cold Tom : A Novel.
Struggling to find a place for himself, Tom flees the elven parents who hunt
to kill him and becomes involved with human "demons" in the nearby city.
Rodda, Emily. The Timekeeper.
Patrick and his sister and brother are drawn into the desperate efforts to
repair the Barrier between two parallel worlds before it is destroyed.
Said, S. F. Varjak Paw.
Guided by the spirit of his legendary Mesopotamian ancestor, Jalal, Varjak
Paw, a pure-bred cat, leaves his home and pampered existence and sets out to
save his family from the evil Gentleman who took their owner, the Contessa,
away.
Scott, Deborah. The Kid Who Got Zapped Through Time.
When Flattop Kincaid buys a used video game at a flea market, he finds
himself in the Middle Ages among peasants who think he is a deranged member
of the nobility.
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Unseen.
Feeling angry and out-of-place in her large family, twelve-year-old Xandra
finds a magical key to a world of ghostly, sometimes frightening, phantoms
that help her see herself and her
siblings more clearly.
Stewart, Paul. Beyond the Deepwoods.
Thirteen-year-old Twig, having always looked and felt different from his
woodtroll family, learns that he is adopted and travels out of his Deepwoods
home to find the place where he
belongs.
Tate, Eleanora E. The Monsters of Morley Manor. [J FIC HISTORY]
Anthony and his younger sister discover that the monster figures he got in
an unusual box at an estate sale are alive, but they have no way of knowing
that the "monsters" will lead them on fantastical adventures to other worlds
in an effort to try to save Earth.
Townley, Rod. The Great Good Thing : A Novel. [First in the series]
Nothing ever changes inside the storybook kingdom inhabited by
twelve-year-old Princess Sylvie, her parents, and many other characters
until Sylvie discovers that by allying herself with the Reader she can
experience new adventures beyond the confines of the book.
Yolen, Jane. Boots and the Seven Leaguers : A Rock-and-Troll Novel.
Teen troll Gog and his best friend Pook work as roadies for a troll rock and
roll band until Gog's younger brother gets kidnapped.
Yolen, Jane. Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons.
Thirteen-year-old Hippolyta, a princess of the Amazons, fights to save her
people from destruction when her mother the Queen refuses to sacrifice her
second-born male child.