Reviews

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

blake4's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious

4.75

ajay913's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

burlesot's review

4.0

The City of Ember is a tale of both warning and hope. The people of Ember have had nearly all their needs supplied by the builders who stocked the underground 'bunker.' After an undisclosed disaster forces the few surviving humans below ground, the inhabitants have lost any memory of the 'outside' world. 7 generations of humans later, corruption has taken hold and the city is in danger of falling into darkness. Two children discover an ancient manuscript that might lead to the key to the city's future.

mirandacasteel's review

5.0

Great story! The kids loved it and are anxiously waiting for the next in the series.

jenmangler's review

3.0

This is my favorite book in the series. DuPrau paints such a vivid picture of life in Ember that it as very easy for me to picture in my head what it looked like and, more importantly, what it felt like to live there. When the lights went out I felt terror right along with Lina and the rest of the citizens, especially after Doon got a serious look at the generator that kept the whole system running. I really liked the prologue to the book. It set the tone and really helps orient the reader to what comes next. And I really loved the ending. Normally endings like that leave me frustrated, but with this book not at all. This is a quick, fun read.

joskixx's review

4.0

A little slow to start but an amazing ending

saville08's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jgurniak's review against another edition

5.0

This post-apocalyptic series is enjoyable for both teenagers and middle schoolers. I didn't care much for the movie but this was phenomenal.

timinbc's review

3.0

This is a good book if your goal is to let your children:
(a) repeatedly guess where a very predictable plot is going
(b) poke holes in flimsy worldbuilding

For all its flaws, this would probably be enjoyable for someone who's never read anything similar before.

I'm going to dismiss allegory and metaphor here, because I fear they are attached to the universal-plot pieces that were used rather than being part of a grand scheme.

Let's look closer.

The kids get random assignments? No wonder it's a dystopia.

There's an underground river. Fast-moving. Well, there's half the plot revealed right away. Underground rivers are the Chekhov's Gun of adventure stories. They MUST be used.

This is obviously a very advanced version of our world. Canned food keeps for 200 years. They must use nuclear power for their electricity, or they have somewhere to store 200 years worth of diesel.

Spoilers follow. I'm telling you in case your browser can't hide them.

We discover that

Spoiler

The city was sealed off Just In Case. Why would that work? And since it appears that in fact everything is sweetness and light upstairs, how did no one upstairs think, "Hey, things are pretty good, maybe we should let the Cave People out?"

And then.

Spoiler

Here we are, a zillion feet above Ember. Our heroine wraps a message round a rock, chucks it out there, and where does it land? Does it shatter the skull of an innocent child? Does it fall in a poop pile, never to be seen again? Does it bounce into a ditch, where the letters will dissolve off the paper? No, it lands at the feet of The Exact Right Person. I'm surprised it didn't bounce up, fan out into a giant screen, ignite sparklers and play The Stars and Stripes Forever while running a Powerpoint that Explains Everything and dispensing free beer. Too much? Ask yourself, are the last few items much less likely than the first?

Make this a learning book. Have a kid read and enjoy it. Then ask some questions inspired by the above. Discuss. Then go and get A Wizard of Earthsea or The Graveyard Book so you haven't left your junior reader feeling deprived.

bibi003's review

3.0

This book was cute. I read it with my book club. Our theme this round is young adult, but I think this novel fits a juvenile classification more than it does YA. A good first dystopian adventure.