The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne Duprau

reviewed by Kathryn A.

Blinding flashes of light shown, billows of fire rose, and hot wind whipped around a lady who was flung into the sky. She looked down on the earth which was engulfed in flames and smoke which were accompanied by a terrible noise, crashing, crackling of fire and a howling of the wind. Then ... silence, even more horrible than the previous sight. Could this possibly be a vision of war from God? Could this lady have seen into the future?

Jeanne Duprau’s third Book of Ember, The Prophet of Yonwood, begins when Althea Tower sees a sort of vision and then falls into shock, only being able to mumble a few barely coherent words. The city of Yonwood became full of tension, the talk of conflicts, terrorists and the end of the world were always on people’s lips. But amidst all this, a girl of eleven, Nickie Randolph, was determined to move into her deceased great-grandfather’s house which was located in Yonwood. Her aunt and mother had a very different view of the matter. As soon as it was cleaned up enough, they thought it should be sold straight away and taken off of their hands! When Nickie finally convinced her aunt to take her to the ancient mansion she set herself three goals:
1. To keep Greenhaven, her great grandfather’s house from being sold.
2. To fall in love.
3. To do something helpful for the world.
Little did she know all of these goals would be fulfilled, but not exactly in the ways she had imagined. Much worry, pain and hardship would present itself as she faced the secrecy and fright the house and city would so willingly provide!

The setting is very well developed and detailed. Even before you reach the heart of the story, events such as the mysterious smashing of a window with only a bloodstained cloth as a clue to the unwelcome intruder arrive. This really paints the picture of the type of city Yonwood had become due to the prophecy. The characters, too, are well thought out and quite complex. Constantly, the author is giving hints to what type of person each character is, and even before their true colors come out, the reader is able to guess the intentions of that person.

I would most definitely recommend this awesome book to anyone who enjoys books with unexpected occurrences and vivid detail intertwined to make a super plot! The main character, Nickie, is swayed between loyalty to her new friend and the urge to report him because she believed that he was doing wrong. Reporting him would cause him much anguish and grief, but, as she had goal three to fulfill, she believed it was her duty to report him. I feel that if I was in her place, I too would be torn between the two alternatives, but unlike her, in the end I feel that my decision would be to stay loyal to my friend, under the circumstances. To me a lesson was taught: go by what you think is right and don’t be influenced by other people’s opinions!