BookRank

Reading order

The City of Ember reading order

Jeanne DuPrau

  1. The City of Ember2003
  2. The People of Sparks2004
  3. The Prophet of Yonwood2006
  4. The Diamond of Darkhold2008
7.47.4 / 10
408 ratings
Score
4 volumes
Volumes
2003–2008
Published
about 22 h
Reading time
Completed
Status
Children’s books#19
Genre

Quick answer

The City of Ember
Start withThe City of Ember2003 · Volume 1 of 4
Open the volume →Buy the first volumeListen to the audiobook

Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.

Publication order

4 volumes2003–2008Completed

  • Read in publication order, from The City of Ember.
  • The third book, The Prophet of Yonwood, is a prequel set before the city was built and stands outside the main thread — skip it or leave it for last.

A plan for the whole series

4 volumes, 1,199 pages, about 22 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 weeks.

100%

Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: high

  • From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “The Prophet of Yonwood” (by 32%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.
  • Readers scored volume 2, “The People of Sparks”, below its predecessor (7.4 after 7.8). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.

Stages

2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 7, 2026, 9 days later than in one go.

  1. Stage 111 h15 daysby November 13, 2026
  2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 22, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  3. Stage 211 h14 daysby December 7, 2026
  4. The end of the series
    December 7, 2026
In one goNovember 27, 2026about 4 weeks
In stages, with breaksDecember 7, 2026about 6 weeks · +5 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

7.07.58.0
7.87.8 / 10
7.47.4 / 10
7.07.0 / 10
7.67.6 / 10
2003200420062008
7.07.58.0
2003200420062008
7.87.8 / 10
7.47.4 / 10
7.07.0 / 10
7.67.6 / 10
Score per volume4 volumes on a timeline, 2003 to 2008 · Best-rated volume: The City of Ember

Shape of the series: uneven. Scores jump by 0.8 points with no clear direction.

Best volume: The City of Ember (7.8, 61 ratings). Weakest: The Prophet of Yonwood (7.0). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 32%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 4
  1. The City of Ember
    The City of Ember2003 · 61 ratingsStart here
    7.87.8 / 10
  2. The People of Sparks
    The People of Sparks2004 · 154 ratings
    7.47.4 / 10
  3. The Prophet of Yonwood
    The Prophet of Yonwood2006 · 105 ratings
    7.07.0 / 10
  4. The Diamond of Darkhold
    The Diamond of Darkhold2008 · 88 ratings
    7.67.6 / 10

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026

The City of Ember books ranked, best to worst

  1. 1.The City of EmberBook 1 · 20037.8
  2. 2.The Diamond of DarkholdBook 4 · 20087.6
  3. 3.The People of SparksBook 2 · 20047.4
  4. 4.The Prophet of YonwoodBook 3 · 20067.0
Top Children’s books series →

Frequently asked questions

Which City of Ember book is the best?

By reader score, The City of Ember (7.8/10). The lowest-rated is The Prophet of Yonwood (7.0/10).

Which The City of Ember book is the longest?

“The People of Sparks” is the longest at 342 pages; the shortest is “The City of Ember” with 270 pages.