City of Ember

THE CITY OF EMBER

By:  Jeanne DuPrau

FIRST SENTENCE

“In the city of Ember, the sky was always dark.”

SUMMARY
from goodreads

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! This stunning debut novel offers refreshingly clear writing and fascinating, original characters.

REVIEW

Just look at that first sentence.  Doesn’t it make you want to keep reading to find out WHY the sky is always dark and if it will always be that way?

Ember is in total darkness.  It is claustrophobic and the characters are scared.  Jeanne DuPrau captured the chaos and the terror felt by the citizens of Ember.  They become paranoid and some of them seem to have lost their minds.  I can tell you for sure that I would completely batty if I were in complete darkness like that.  Scary stuff!

Lina and Doon set out to save Ember from the darkness.  These two were very different from each other.  Lina was a messenger and she was very brave.  She would put herself in harm’s way for the people she cared about.  Doon, on the other hand, was moody and angry.  At least he was always there for Lina when she needed him.

The pacing of their story was a little off for me.  Things moved very slowly for a good part of the book, and then they sped up (maybe too much) near the end.  Why?

I heard that this book was made into a movie.  I will have to check that out.  There are also three more books to this series; The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood, and The Diamond of Darkhold. 

RATING

4        Plot

4        Characters

4        Attention Grabbing

3        Girlie Meter

3        Ending

18      TOTAL

4        STARS