The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Books of Ember: Book 1

Audience: 9 and up

Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Ember is a city unlike any other… to discover it’s many mysteries, read this book. When Lina Mayfleet and her classmates turn twelve, they follow the same ritual that has been followed since the founding of the city of Ember; they are assigned a job. Lina’s job as messenger takes her all around the city and she begins to learn some of the city’s secrets: supplies are running out and the city is dying. Lina and her friend Doon find a secret message left by the city’s founders; can they figure it out and save Ember before it’s too late?

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) I always love a good map in the front of a book… it was great to be able to flip to the front to see where Lina’s and Doon’s adventures take them. I also enjoyed trying to figure out the puzzle of the destroyed note. It was fun to try and piece together the partial words.

This book reminds me of a lot of other books. Not that it’s a copycat, just that it shares themes and common characteristics with many other books. For example:

1. The Giver, in both books preteens are assigned a job instead of choosing one as a grown up
2. Chasing Vermeer, the word puzzles in Ember remind me of the pentagram code.
3. Uglies, both books deal with the world after some sort of major disaster that almost destroyed all civilization.

Can you think of other books that are similar?

I worry about Lina and Doon taking care of Poppy. They have limited supplies, no knowledge of life above ground, and a baby is a huge responsibility. Which is better for Poppy, to stay with Mrs. Murdo or to go with Lina? This is a tough question to answer, I’d hate for Lina and Poppy to be split up, I hope that they made the right decision to take them on their adventure.

I love the cliffhanger ending. This is the type of ending that books in a series should have… the type that makes you want to rush out to a bookstore at midnight to get the next book.

Questions:

What do you think happened above ground to force people to create the city of Ember?

What do you think Lina and Doon will find at the first town/city the come across?

Do you think Mrs. Murdo will be able to convince the rest of Ember to leave?

Keep reading!

-Paige

Buy The City of Ember from Amazon