Title: The City of Ember
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
# of pages: 270
Plot Summary:
The City of Ember was a large project, built years ago by a group of "Builders" deep within a cave. Two hundred pilgrims settled in the city, stocked with enough supplies to last two hundred twenty years. It was ensured that they would remain in the city until those 220 years by forbidding adults from sharing any memories of the world outside, so that the babies would not grow up to yearn for their past and would not know of places beyond the city.
The City is run entirely on the electricity generated by the river's movements. Light bulbs are the only source of light, and citizens have no professional knowledge of the mechanics involved in the making of their city. And so, when the city runs out of supplies, everyone searches for ways to survive.
Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow are twelve-year-olds who believe that there must be ways to solve the city's problems. When she discovers an ancient parchment from the Builders that leads the way out of the City of Ember, she and Doon embark on a journey to save the citizens.
Opinion:
The City of Ember was a thrilling read, filled with adventures and suspense. It was difficult to put it down when Lina and Doon were running through the city, searching for the message of the Builders. Antagonists are aplenty when the authorities abuse their powers by stealing scarce supplies, hiding that knowledge from the general public, and attempting to arrest both Lina and Doon for "spreading vicious rumours".
I also appreciated DuPrau's creativity in writing this novel. The concept of the city, isolated from the rest of the world and having no knowledge of how their city worked, was ingenious. However, the way the society was organized was similar to The Giver or Gathering Blue, both by Lois Lowry. Children were assigned their jobs and everything just happened according to the government's interests.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this novel to all teenagers. Fantasy and science-fiction fans would especially enjoy DuPrau's work.
Target audience: Teenagers
Genre: Science fiction
Rating: 5/5
Book Review by Fiona T.
* 54 hours so far
Can be published in the Teen Newsletter
3 comments:
oh my gosh i read this book in grade 6 (it was the only book i read that year.. shh.. AND IT WAS BECAUSE THE TEACHER TOLD US TO.. but shh..) and i loved it! when i was done, i was so mad that the book had ended, since i loved it so much! but then.. i was planning to read the sequel but i didn't. kinda weird.
I didn't read the sequel yet (although I am about to!). I agree, the prologue was very captivating. I actually borrowed it from the library because the synopsis on the cover sounded interesting, but I'm glad I did.
Wow!
It is not too often that we hear such favourable comments about a book.
I hope the sequel does not disappoint.
Catherine
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