The City of Ember

DuPrau, J (2003). The city of ember. New York: Yearling

Can you imagine finishing school and going to work by twelve years of age, working with no technology, and only ONE light bulb that lights the entire city?  Well, that is exactly what happens in “The City of Ember”, told from a third person omniscient point of view. The light comes on at 6:00 a.m. and out at 9:00 p.m, and the darkness goes on forever outside the city limits, or that’s what the people of Ember believe, except for Lina and Doon!  These main characters are experiencing a person against society conflict, because the mayor and his guards are trying to keep the city of Ember darkened. 

Lina, a protagonist, has always wished to be the messenger, because they spend most of their days outside. However, when it came time for the mayor to draw names for the jobs, she received Pipeworks (which is underground and dirty).  On the other hand, Doon, another protagonist, has always wanted to help the city in some way, but he drew the job as messenger.  Now, both Lina and Doon were upset with their jobs, so they decided to trade in order to have equal happiness, or so they thought.

Now the lights have begun flickering!  Lina has a strong imagination and she has dreamed of a new city outside of Ember, but will she ever find it?  Well, Lina finds a document that she thinks is important to finding a new city, but her little sister has torn it to shreds.  As well as they could, she and Doon put the pieces together to decipher the instructions. Little did they know, the document would unlock the unknown. But will they be brave enough to endure all the terrible things, such as the mayor, the guards, and their fears, that will get in their way to search for the new city?

For those of you that really appreciate fantasies, this book is for you!  All two hundred seventy pages were so entertaining that I could not put the book down.  I actually read it all in one day!  The City of Ember is a part of a series, and I’m looking forward to purchasing the next book which is called The People of Sparks.