The City of Ember is about a city that is underground. The lights of Ember start to flicker. Eventually, these kids take an adventure through the city to find out what else is out there. Throughout the story, it is realized that there is more out there. They realized that they were underground and the light was upstairs. It is a interesting and mind boggling story for middle school children intrigued in science.

In this book a class of children get assigned jobs in their city called Ember. While working their jobs one day, a young boy and young girl discover a new land outside of Ember. They explore the new land and find out that the city of Ember is actually a city underground below the rest of the world. They drop a note through a hole down to ember to tell the others about the new land they have discovered.

The writing style was very descriptive and this entire book was very well written. I have heard that the following novels in this series are a tad dull compared to this one, so I believe I am just going to skip out on the others and keep the first novel close to my heart. ( )

City built under the ground!!!!!!!!!!!! ( )

I had been wanting to read this book for some time. It got many reviews and fellow reviewers have lauded the creativity of this book. Here is a link to the book on amazon: The City of Ember

This book details the lives of the people in the city of Ember. The city of Ember is an isolated city where it is always dark. Only the many streetlights dampen the darkness and although people have tried to penetrate the Unknown Regions beyond Ember - no person is known to have successfully made it out of the city. The Builders left instructions on how to exit the city to the Mayor but greed caused the loss of these instructions. This book follows Lina and Doon as they try to figure out a way to help Ember and to find a way out of the city. In Ember power outages are increasing and supplies are running low and the city's survival only seems to be a matter of time.

This book is well written and an easy listen (we listened to it on audio book). The person who reads the book has some very irritating voices for some of the characters. The mayor's voice was especially annoying and had me and my husband cringing everytime he spoke. The initial idea of a lost city where humans dwell in seclusion is not really that unique. We have encountered numerous stories of humans kept in a safe house during a crisis and struggling to survive. What is creative is the cult-like atmosphere that develops in Ember and the supression of human creativity and intelligence that seems to keep this city working.

I thought that this last trait in the book was ridiculous. None of the humans in the last 240 years have figured a way out of the city; it didn't sound like anyone really tried. This is crazy; humans are naturally curious and, unless there was some genetic culling going on, someone would have tried to find a way out of the city. This book also makes big deal out of creating a movable light to explore the Unknown Regions with. Apparently no one can figure this out and it is a major impediment to people leaving the city. Yet, the people in the city have electricity and they even have fire and cooking oil. You can't tell me that no one in 240 years figured out they could use a wick and some cooking oil to create a lantern and explore the area. I mean this isn't rocket science.

In fact all of the adults in this book are lazy and stupid. I know this is a young adult book meant to empower young adults. But is potraying adults as stupid and untrustworthy really doing anyone really good; is it even remotely realistic? On top of that Lina and Doon blindly trust a number of authority figures that *have* given them great cause to not trust them; this is just a plain inconsistency in Lina's and Doon's characters. How can these characters be so brilliant and clever, yet be so inconsistently stupid?

This book was also full of other inconsistencies. I believe at one point Lina or Doon starts talking about cars and then later they don't know what cars are (this isn't the exact way it happened but it's a similar type of reference). If you are going to make a big deal about Lina and Doon not being familiar with an object, you can't have them be familiar with it earlier in the book.

This book addressed an interesting, if over analyzed, topic. And it addressed it in a poorly reasoned way. I won't be reading the second book in the series because, if it mimics the first, it will drive me crazy. This book gets 2 stars because it was readable and somewhat engaging. I still wouldn't recommend it unless you are totally at a loss for something to read. I think the best thing that came out of this book was that it gave my husband and I something to discuss for an hour while we were hiking; we talked about how stupid the characters were and how lame the story was. ( )

A sampling of humanity are sequestered in a city underground where they are able to exist for hundreds of years while the earth rejuvinates after (?)destruction. The story tells of a 12 year old girl, Lina, and boy, Doon, who find the way out of this world and back into a fresh, green earth. They are able to send a message back to those left behind but the book leaves one wondering if and how the others from the city of Ember will escape.

This story is about 2 kids called Doon and Lina. They live in an Underground city called Ember, but they don't know that. Lina finds out instructions out of Ember. So together Doon and Lina figure out a way out of Ember into another world. ( )

The people in the City of Ember have no idea that anything besides their city exists. When the city begins to run out of supplies, two kids decide to see if there is more to the world.

http://www.jeanneduprau.com/index.sht...
This website has information about the author and a questions section.

The City of Ember
By Jeanne Duprau

Publisher: Random house
# of pages: 270
Age Rating: 9+
My Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:
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?

Review:
When I first picked up this book, I thought that it would be one of those ok children book. But I was wrong, this book is one of my favorite books, it was SO NEAT!!
This book may be listed for children but it's a must read book for children and teens. The author wrote the book so that it was simple enough for a 9 year old but old enough for than 17 year old.
The younger children may not like the idea of the dark underground city. One of the things I really like about this book is that the author's sturdy, clear writing.
I never felt rushed through the whole book and it was all clean.
I can't wait to read the second book!
I give this book 5 stars.

Enjoy! :D:D ( )

The first Book of Ember (Series)

Great book for tweens! My daughter loved it and begged me to read it. An enjoyable read that emphasizes the importance of community and life as well as the highlighting some of the dangerous elements that poison our society. ( )

Lina wants to be a messenger, delivering messages and packages all over her home city of Ember. She and her friend Doon, and engineer, discover a parchment that may describe a way out of their crumbling city. ( )

The City of Ember is one of the weirdest books I have read, but yet I liked. This book is nothing like you've read before. Two twelve year old children, Doon and Lina, are looking for a way out of Ember, the city they live in, that has a bad mayor, many secrets, food shortages, and most of all, lack of electricity. As worse comes to worse comes to worse, Lina and Doon must find away out of Ember, for the sake of themselfs and Embers citzens. ( )

In a post-apocalyptic world, two youths, Lina and Doon, receive their first assignment or 'jobs' in the unique city of Ember. As lights begin to go off in the underground city and commodities become more and more scarce, Lina and Doon try to find ways to help the city with results good and bad. Such an interesting idea and full of details that I wanted to learn about. Ember is such a unique place inhabited by people who have never seen or even know about the outside world but who know there must be something more than the life they are leading. This would be an quick page-turner for any youth! ( )

An interesting plot with likable characters, who make the book. The ending is a cliffhanger and now I have to go pick up the next one so I can find out what happens to the characters. ( )

I read it with my son. It is one of his favorite books. ( )

The City of Ember was an easy but enthralling read, so ridiculously easy to love. The characters were so real in this unreal world, presented with plenty of exposition. Plotwise, the book excels, with plenty of fast-paced suspense carrying the reader steadily through the book. The characters act so realistically—like the children they are, but with unambiguous bravery. It’s full of the characterization symbolism, and other literary elements that teachers crave, but also filled with wonder, suspense, and just an amazing plot that kids of all ages will enjoy. It ends on a cliffhanger, so I strongly suggest having the second book on hand to immediately jump into—trust me, you’ll want to have it.
Rating: 5/5 ( )

I would recommend this book becaue it is a action pact book with a mystery in it. I would recommend this book to any one that likes mystery and that likes a thring book. ( )

Good, short book for younger readers. ( )

First, it is impotant to know that I am not an avid fan of fantasy. I have always shied away from it at libraries and bookstores. Whenever I have been forced to read fantastical novels, by either professors or presuassive friends, I have enjoyed the various selections. I believe that certain fantasy can help shed light on our contemporary society by describing an entirely fictional civilization. Sometimes, it is easier to see the faults in our own society through the eyes of a fantastic world. However, there are the other kinds of fantasy that may make the average novel reader uncomfortable or perplexed. It is for this reason that I have kept away from this genre. Yet, both of these challenges have thrown me to the wolves!

The City of Ember is the story of a city that is lit entirely by artificial light through light bulbs. In the first chapter, the reader is told that the city was built by the Builders and was expected to be in use for only 200 years. At the end of 200 years, a metal box holding instructions on how to evacuate from the city will open and all of the citzens will be led to another city. However, the metal box was misplaced over the years and never found.

The tale begins in the year 240 when the lights in the city are beginning to flicker and the citizens are experiencing blackouts in which the lights would go out for various periods of time. In addition, there are food shortages across the city and there seem to be some unethical affairs happening within Ember's government. Eventually, the two main characters in the novel find the remnants of the instructions and must piece together the clues on how to evacuate the city.

For a non-fantasy reader, I found this book to be perfect! One of the problems that I have with fantasy books is that the names in the novels are complicated and hard to pronounce. However, all of the names in this book are very simple. In addition, the plot does not seem to be too far-fetched. There was no magic, enchanted items, or supernatural powers. Instead, the story focused more on the characters and the puzzles that they encountered. Despite the fact that it is a young adult novel, I found both the plot and the characters to be very compelling and realistic.

I would highly recommend this story to anyone who is timid about plunging into the overwhelmingly large amount of fantasy novels. In addition, I would suggest this to readers who enjoy dystopian novels such as Brave New World or 1984 but want a more simplistic novel. For those who enjoyed reading The Giver when they were younger, the City of Ember will certainly bring you back to those days. Lastly, the City of Ember is in fact part of a four book series that include People of the Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood, and the Diamond of Darkhood. I will also read People of the Sparks as part of both of these challenges. ( )

The City of Ember's blackouts are getting longer and it's up to Lina and Doon to figure out how to save everyone.
The question of what the human race is going to do when the world ends has interested dozens of writers. This book is another example of the genre, bit it takes everything one step further. It's the story of what to do when the world after the world ends is ending. The author's underground world is very detailed, especially the culture of saving and reusing everything again and again and again. Otherwise, it reads as a treasure hunt with the lead characters trying to decipher clues and follow the trail to a new life. It's a well-written treasure hunt, though. It also never gets preachy about what exactly happened to cause Ember to be built. The book leaves it to the reader to wonder exactly what happened.
This is a great book for middle school to high school, although high-level elementary school readers might also enjoy it. ( )

Science Fiction, 6th, Smiley Face ( )

I liked this okay enough, but it didn't send me rushing out to buy the sequel. I had a bit of trouble picturing the world, and just how high up its floodlights reached, which is a silly complaint, I know. Perhaps it was the two main characters that didn't grip me enough. Perhaps I'll re-read it one day and revise my review... ( )

Kearsten says: This is one of those books about which I'd heard great things, but never got around to checking out. Now that it's being made (or has been?) into a movie, I figured it was time. And, wow, do I wish I'd tried it out sooner! It's fascinating, fast-paced and a bit creepy - which are all things I dig - though I also very much liked the two protagonists, Lina and Doon. Yes, it does end on a MAJOR cliff-hanger, it manages to both resolve one storyline while compelling you to read the next in the series in order to follow the *next* story. A great read! (And guess what book I'm immediately going to put on hold?) ( )

From HW Wilson:

Del Negro, Janice. M. "The City of Ember (Book Review)." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. vol.57: 1 (2003) 24 Sept. 2009

(http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.login.ez...) ( )