The City of Ember (The First Book of Ember)

The City of Ember is an unusual place. It has no sun or moon; only floodlights alleviate the darkness. It has no history--the townspeople only know that it was constructed by "the Builders" a few hundred years ago. And the people do not produce their own goods--they rely on what the Builders left for them in storerooms. But Ember has fallen on hard times--walls crumble, resources run low, and food has become scarce. Worst of all, the electrical system is failing and threatening to plunge the entire city into permanent darkness. Ember's citizens lack the knowledge to combat these problems, and their leader, the mayor, is not interested in finding solutions. Then twelve-year-old Lina Mayfleet stumbles on a forgotten message from the Builders that could help to save the city, but the message is incomplete. Enlisting the help of schoolmate Doon Harrow, Lina works to decipher the message before darkness falls permanently on the city.

In The City of Ember (Yearling, 2003), Jeanne DuPrau creates an intriguing world that prompts readers to wonder, what would it be like to live without fresh air or sunshine and without knowledge of anything beyond your own town? DuPrau's story of a civilization that is running out of resources could be read as a cautionary tale by conservationists, but more than that, it is an adventure and a mystery, an empowering story showing young people that they can make an enormous difference in their world.

The City Of Ember was a fantastic read, whether you are an adult or a child. The writing was at the level of a fourth grader, but once you get past that, the story captivates you. What would happen to humanity if a catastrophic event forced us underground? While you don't know what happened in the past, Ember gives an intriguing view of life not knowing anything about the outside world. I would definitley recommend adults and children read it, preferably together.

"City of Ember" is the children's version of anti-utopian fantasy. The protagonists - twelve-year old girl and boy - live in the gloomy underground city Ember, where the knowledge of most technologies and even many day-to-day things are forgotten. So, Ember does not have computers, cars, any manufacturing, or even boats and matches. It still has the generator that supplies electricity, but nobody understands how it works. What will happen when generator fails? What will happen when food supplies, stored by previous generations, are exhausted?

Even though the premise of the plot has some loopholes, it was interesting enough to keep my daughter and myself reading the book, trying to find what happens next. My daughter liked the book more than me, since she was fascinated by the idea of under-ground city; she also liked the brave and reckless heroine well enough, to forgive her some really stupid acts. I personally was slightly disappointed by the slow action in some parts of the book.

Despite these shortcomings, "City of Ember" is a good read for kids who are interested in fantasy or sci-fi ("City of Ember" is closer to sci-fi, in any case), but are tired of dragons, wizards and magic schools. In our case, my daughter went to read the next books in the series.

I bought the book for my daughter when it first came out after reading a number of rave reviews. I thought the premise was so intriguing, I read it myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although a great introduction to science fiction for children and teens, the City of Ember is so well written, it transcends age groups. It is wonderfully atmospheric with sympathetic protagonists that you root for all the way to a poetic conclusion. I loved the sense of impending doom as the blackouts of Ember become more frequent, as well as the clever solving of the puzzle of Ember by the children. Sadly I just saw the movie City of Ember starring Bill Murray and was appalled at how truly awful the film version was. The only redeeming feature was the set design which did indeed capture what I thought the underground city looked like. But in every other respect, the film is vastly inferior to the book. Save your money - and ninety minutes of your life - and don't see the movie. But definitely read the book.

What an interesting book! Sitting down to write a review of The City of Ember is not easy. I have thought a bit more than usual about what to say here.

On one hand, you have a solid storyline that I felt was hampered a bit by a plodding, workmanlike pace and by less than ideal character development.

On the other hand, you have a book whose ideas are not only engaging, but extremely timely. The city itself is a remarkable creation of imagination. The parallels between what the people of Ember face and those that we at the end of the age of fossil fuels face are eye-opening.

In Ember, as with us shortly, the world has moved on. But the people in both Mrs. Duprau's fictional world and in our real world cling to the ways of the past.

Boiled down to its core, The City of Ember is a book in which the two main characters--Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow--solve a puzzle.

But this book, and the ideas within it, is about so much more than this small story. I wouldn't call it an allegory really. Let's call it a juxtaposition.

All in all, I am glad to have read The City of Ember. Though I do think this book could have lost about 70 pages and been much more effective as a story.

I give The City of Ember my recommendation.