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Jan 05, 2008

Eric rated it:

The City of Ember is a young adult novel that is a fantastic allegory for spiritual awakening, though I have no idea if it was intended as such. The story is of a girl who lives in an underground and completely self-contained city created by the “Builders.” The population of the city knows of nothing outside the city, in fact, though they speak English many of the words in it like “sky” are not understood in any terms but metaphorically. The problem is that the city is falling apart, the lights More...

9 comments like (29 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2012

♥ Cheshire Catt ♠ rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

4 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2008

Alicia rated it:

Ember is a city living in fear, ignorance, and ever-increasing poverty: both literal and metaphorical darkness threaten to engulf its hapless citizens. Only two 12-year-olds -- as impoverished and ignorant as everyone else, but gifted with a bit more curiosity and get-up-and-go -- stand between Ember and its plunge into utter blackness, both in the streets and in spirit.

I have never been a person who has been afraid of the dark -- at least, not on its own terms: the pitch-blackness o More...

1 comment like (16 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2008

Michael rated it:

I asked my best friend what kinds of books his children were reading (I'm always looking for books for my niece) and he said his oldest son had read and enjoyed the City of Ember series. So much so that he'd passed them along to his parents, who had read them and found them interesting as well. Add to it a movie coming out and I decided I would give the series a try.

The City of Ember exists inside the darkness, where it's always night. Darkness is held at bay twelve hours a day by More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2008

Christine rated it:

(This is for my book report)

"The City of Ember" is all about these two regular kids saving their city. Doon and Lina had never thought of being twelve years old and getting jobs. Lina orriginaly got chosen to work in the sewers as a pipework's laborer,but Doon knew being a messenger wouldn't do anything to help save the city, so he traded with Lina. Luckily, Lina just so happened to be a super fast runner and that's why she thought messenger would be a perfect job for her. More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 10, 2011

Marvin rated it:

I am sort of a late-comer with Young Adult novels. I blame it on my age. When I was a teenager in the 60s there was no real level between children and adult literature. Teen literature was a bit of a no man's land. I didn't realize there might actually be real literature in YA until I read the Harry Potter series. Since then, I've dabble a bit with the genre and discovered some gems: The Hunger Games series, Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, and Dan Wells' John Wayne Cleaver series. Of course there a More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 22, 2011

Megan rated it:

I really really love the idea of a post-disaster society of people living underground. And I especially love the idea of reading about that society several generations in, where they no longer remember what daylight is, or why the city they live in is theren- or even where exactly their city is. I like the idea of this society making up their own myths about 'the dark' and having new origin stories and singing songs amid candles lit against the ever-present night. However, all those enchanting p More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2008

Shelly rated it:

My 12 year old son just knew I would love this book. He's been hounding me to read it since... early last spring. Finally, I have read it and Jacob (my son) was right.

Omigosh. What first hooked me were the vivid character descriptions that show more than tell, so the reader can draw their own conclusions. The story is told in third person, limited in two different perspectives. Lina Mayfleet, twelve years old, sat "winding a strand of her long, dark hair around her finger, wind More...

4 comments like (11 people liked it)

Sep 10, 2008

Alice rated it:

This juvenile allegory reminded me greatly of The Giver. Just as at the start of The Giver, the young people of the community of Ember receive their future work assignments, a device which quickly pulls the young reader into the story. Now almost adults, Lina and Doon are able to view their community with fresh eyes, and discover that the generator, the source of electric power on which the town depends, is soon to be exhausted. This will plunge the city into complete darkness. The children disc More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2008

Britt rated it:

I enjoyed this book, though it did have some bothersome bits (don’t they all?). It was very predictable, but that didn’t really take away from the enjoyment of the story (except when I got annoyed with the characters for being about 5 steps behind me, but then I’m not the target audience). We are expected to accept some things without questioning, and certain events that should be dealt with on a deeper level are just brushed over. For instance, Lina’s grandmother dies, and she hardly seems to n More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2008

Owen rated it:

I'm currently reading this book, I was at the library and just picked it up not really knowing what it was about. Anyway, as soon as I started reading it I couldn't stop. It's one of those books that you cant put down. Infact I have been late for school a few days because I stay up so late reading it.
It's not a very large book. But the story is incredible!
From what i've read so far it is about a girl who lives in a strange city called Ember, where there is no such thing as the su More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2010

Jon rated it:

DuPrau makes a typical first-time novelist mistake throughout this book: she doesn’t trust her reader to infer. In other words, she often over-explains, following up dialogue and action sequences with redundant descriptions of a character’s take on what just happened. Another disappointment is that the mystery of Ember unfolds in an entirely predictable manner. There are no great surprises.

DuPrau's characterization of Doon is one dimensional. His spurts of rage create the only More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2009

Taylor rated it:

Great book! No lights no sun just darkness all the time only the Flood lamps, But ever one of them is beginning to brake and shatter so they have Blackouts atleast once a month. No one seems to be worried about this problem because theres "No where else to go!" oh really? 12 year old Doon and Lina are the only people who seemed to be woriied that onw day there will be no flood lamps left! Will they save the day or just be like everyone else where theres "No where else to go!" More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2008

Mrs. Riding rated it:

This was my first book to read on the Kindle. This futuristic story about twelve year olds Doon and Lina was wonderful. I felt just like the guy from Amazon hoped that I would while reading on the Kindle, that I would forget the medium and enjoy the story. Twelve year olds have such a simple world, even when confronted with big issues. When I told my own children how much I enjoyed the story I heard, "Oh, yeah. That's a good book. I read it last year." I wonder why I didn't pick More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 06, 2009

Makenna rated it:

This is also an amazing book. I have read so many books lately that I have lost track of the ones I have read. I just barely remebered this one! But back to the summary.
For about 200 years (I think :] ) the people in the city of ember have had to live in darkness. The only lights they have are big lights/ street lamps. But lately the lights have been flickering and they have had some black-outs. They are also running low on food, and other supplies needed to survive. The two main characte More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2008

Julie rated it:

Ahhhh, yet another book sort of difficult to classify. It's not quite sci-fi, because it deals with actual technology...

Anyway, I seem to be reading a lot of post-apocalyptic books the past month or so. The residents of the City of Ember live in an enclosed area lit only by electricity which is beginning to flicker; supplied with food and items almost solely from vast city storehouses, that are coming dangerously close to running out. Amidst this, Lina Mayfleet discovers what could b More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 28, 2009

Ally rated it:

I was forced to watch this movie on a long plane ride, and thought it was pretty bad, but for some reason I just couldn't get the story out of my head. Since it was full of end-of-the-world scenarios, Earth Day friendly lessons, and was a young adult book, I knew it would be right up my alley.

And it was great! For some reason, the movie decided to add a bunch of plotlines that didn't make sense. The book in its true original form is a well-spun story full of action and emotions an More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 23, 2011

Katrina rated it:

I really liked this book. The idea was different and it was never boring, and, best of all, I never knew where it would take me.

It all started with that the founders of the city of Ember, so-called "The builders" built a city where the only light came from light-bulbs in the ceiling. They made storerooms for food and everything else the citizens might need. And they also made a box containing information about how to get out of the city, but the only way to open this box is t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 24, 2010

icybytes rated it:

In the City of Ember, the sky is always dark. How could this be, you may ask yourself, if the sky on Earth is a light, creamy blue? How is it possible for the sky to be as black as coal, year round? And yet, even as it seems nearly impossible to you now, it is perfectly, perfectly possible. Because this is how it is for the citizens of Ember.

In Ember, the only light comes from the giant floodlights that surround the city. The floodlights turn on and off at a specific time of day or More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 06, 2008

Jeremy rated it:

Another book set in a post-apocalyptic future, I can’t get enough of them. Jeanne DuPrau sets the scene in a brief prologue. Something major is about to happen on Earth, thought we aren’t told what that is. A city is created deep underground, along with enough supplies for people to live safely for two hundred years. After the two hundred years is up, the current mayor of the city will receive instructions on how to return to the surface, and hopefully begin civilization again.

I saw the trai More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 01, 2008

Sara rated it:

4 1/2 stars to this book. I really liked this - it drew me in from the very first page, which is pretty unusual and definitely a good thing. I read this in anticipation of seeing the film version when it comes out in October, and I'm glad I did because this has to be one of the best teen adventure novels I've read in a long time.

The city of Ember was created by "the builders" who wanted people to live there for 200-220 years before emerging; they left instructions in a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 28, 2008

Nikki rated it:

“The City of Ember” was an overall stunning book with just a few minor flaws in its science fiction writing style.
Jeanne Duprau, the author, must have had lightning strike her to come up with this story, as it is an extremely original storyline with well-rounded characters. The settings are vividly described and told with style. One problem that I found with the storyline was that it just ended and left you clamoring for the next book. I’m sure this helped sell the sequel, “The People of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2009

Aimee rated it:

We watched this movie not long ago with the kids and I kept thinking that there had to be something missing because some things I didn't quite understand. So, I decided to read the book and see what the story really was! It was a good book and one the kids will enjoy reading. I actually bought all the series and I'm on the 2nd book now....

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 20, 2010

Purlewe rated it:

A very good YA book. I listened to it as an audiobook, but I like it so much I want to read it again immediately.

The City of Ember was created by the Builders over 400 yrs ago to save humanity from their destruction on earth. But the instructions they left for returning were lost.

Lina and Doon are 2 children who have graduated to their first jobs in Ember. Lina is a messenger. Doon works in the pipeworks, under the city. Both realize that Ember is slowly dying. There ar More...

0 comments like

May 13, 2011

Deleetra rated it:

This book was a book that I wouldn't take the time to read on my own. I like that the story had a lot of mystery in it, but I don't like that the book ends with an unfinished ending. This book is a very good book, but it's just not my type of genre to read. Well, the mystery part is, but the end of the book, leaving it a mystery, is not my type of genre that I really am interested in. Despite of The City of Ember not being my type of book to read and really like, this book is actually kind of in More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Tia rated it:

AMAZING story!!!! I got so hooked into it I didn`t put it down before I was done! I recomend this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the best books i ever read! Sorry if you think other-wise but I think it was realy good.

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2008

Jen rated it:

Really good series. The first wasn't quite as believeable as the second, but it was a good start to the series. I wonder if the movie is any good...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 06, 2009

Michael rated it:

fairly good story, nice ending,and good conflict and dramatic parts, but the people are so ignorant. I don't like how the city came into being. It shows how some people feel like they know too much,and they do something massively Science Fiction-mad scientist-like, which I feel is kind of annoying.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 02, 2008

Travis rated it:

This is a book I read to the kids (I read each night while they go to sleep).

It was a fun book. The idea was very original and interesting. We watched the movie last night, which was full of action and very fast paced, which doesn't make it all wonderful, but it was a testament to the original and complex idea from the book.

There were several dystopia ideas that were presented that I thought were interesting (I love dystopia stories). She obviously avoided the actual prob More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 12, 2008

Kirk rated it:

Loved this book. The "founders" established an underground city with food and supplies to last over 200 years. Next they populated it with adults over 60 paired young children. The adults were sworn to never speak of the outside world...

Now 200 years later, the city is beginning to run out of supplies. They keep waiting for "The Founders" to return again, but must find a way to survive if the lights go out for good. The problem is, they don't know they are "u More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

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