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Informationen zum Autor JEANNE DuPRAU is the New York Times bestselling author of the City of Ember books, which have been translated into multiple languages and are a time-honored staple in elementary school classrooms. She also wrote Escape the Vortex, part of the multiplatform sci-fi adventure series Voyagers. Visit her website at jeanneduprau.com. Klappentext Before there was Ember…there was Yonwood. Discover the prophecy that started it all in this prequel to the The City of Ember-a modern-day classic with over 4 MILLION copies sold! Nickie will grow up to be one of the first citizens of the city of Ember. But for now, she is a girl who has just moved to the town of Yonwood. There, she discovers a place full of suspicion, where one citizen's visions of fire and destruction have turned everyone against each other. Eager to take her mind off her father's absence as he works on a mysterious government project, Nickie reads her great-grandfather's peculiar journals, spies on a reclusive neighbor who studies the heavens, and meets a strange boy who is fascinated with snakes- all while keeping an eye out for trouble. But is it already too late to avoid a devastating war? Praise for the City of Ember books: Nominated to 28 State Award Lists! An American Library Association Notable Children's Book A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection A Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice A Child Magazine Best Children's Book A Mark Twain Award Winner A William Allen White Children's Book Award Winner "A realistic post-apocalyptic world. DuPrau's book leaves Doon and Lina on the verge of undiscovered country and readers wanting more." -USA Today "An electric debut." -Publishers Weekly, Starred "While Ember is colorless and dark, the book itself is rich with description." -VOYA, Starred "A harrowing journey into the unknown, and cryptic messages for readers to decipher." -Kirkus Reviews, Starred The Vision On a warm July afternoon in the town of Yonwood, North Carolina, a woman named Althea Tower went out to her backyard to fill the bird feeder. She opened her sack of sunflower seeds, lifted the bird feeder’s lid–and that was when, without warning, the vision assailed her. It was like a waking dream. The trees and grass and birds faded away, and in their place she saw blinding flashes of light so searingly bright she staggered backward, dropped her sack of birdseed, and fell to the ground. Billows of fire rose around her, and a hot wind roared. She felt herself flung high into the sky, and from there she looked down on a dreadful scene. The whole earth boiled with flames and black smoke. The noise was terrible–a howling and crashing and crackling–and finally, when the firestorm subsided, there came a silence that was more terrible still. When the vision finally faded, it left Althea stunned. She lay on the ground, unable to move, with her mind all jumbled and birds pecking at the spilled birdseed around her. She might have lain there for hours if Mrs. Brenda Beeson had not happened to come by a few minutes later to bring her a basket of strawberries. Seeing Althea on the ground, Mrs. Beeson rushed forward. She bent over her friend and spoke to her, but Althea only moaned. So Mrs. Beeson used her cell phone to call for help. Within minutes, four of her best friends–the doctor, the police chief, the town mayor, and the minister of the church–had all arrived. The doctor squatted beside Althea and spoke slowly and loudly. “Can you tell us what’s wrong?” he said. “What is it?” Althea shivered. Her lips twisted as she tried to speak. Everyone leaned in to hear. “It’s God,” she whispered. “God. I saw...I saw...” She trailed off. “Merciful heavens,” said Brenda Beeson. “She’s had a vision.” Of course they didn’t...
