City Ember review summary

The City of Ember:

It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored because an understanding of fire and electricity has been lost, and with it the idea of a Moveable Light. "Besides," they tell each other, "there is nowhere but here" Among the many other things the people of Ember have forgotten is their past and a direction for their future. For 250 years they have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness for long minutes. What will happen when the generator finally fails?> Twelve-year-old Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet seem to be the only people who are worried. They have just been assigned their life jobs--Lina as a messenger, which leads her to knowledge of some unsettling secrets, and Doon as a Pipeworker, repairing the plumbing in the tunnels under the city where a river roars through the darkness. But when Lina finds a very old paper with enigmatic "Instructions for Egress," they use the advantages of their jobs to begin to puzzle out the frightening and dangerous way to the city of light of which Lina has dreamed. As they set out on their mission, the haunting setting and breathless action of this stunning first novel will have teens clamoring for a sequel. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

Price: $5.99
Edition: Reprint
Published by Yearling on 2004-05-25.

Average rating (324 reviews):

Rating: 9.0

Recent reviews:

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-01-17: The City Of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau was a truly inventive book,
But, it seemed like it was only an idea.
As if Ms. DuPrau had the idea in her head, but didn't take long enough to formulate it to make (read more ...)
Rating: 6.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-01-11: I love this book!! Students at school are always asking me for a good book to read and this is at the top of my list. It is rarely in the library, it's so popular. Kids as well as adults will (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-01-05: My son brought this book home from school a few years ago (he's 11 now) and we read it aloud together - sometimes he would read a chapter, sometimes me.

The author has created just the type of story that (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2006-12-21: The City of Ember is a book about two children and a very unlucky town that has an electrical problem with it's lights in the city. When the people of the city are frightened from unexpected black out's they are afraid (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2006-12-17: The City of Ember is in trouble, but the unworried citizens seem to ignore the food shortages and frequent blackouts. Sadly for the citizens of Ember, "The Instructions" to save the city were not handed down through the generations of mayors (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0