Reviews

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

timinbc's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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.

char_ennen's review against another edition

4.0

love this world. it slayed in the fourth grade and it slays now

akagisa12's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

ambersapphire98's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

nikkit_nzl's review against another edition

4.0

This had an interesting plot and I enjoyed it! I was surprised to find it in the children section of our library, I would have said it was a good young adult read.

trin's review against another edition

4.0

YA sci-fi. If you’ve read anything, ever, you will pretty much know everything that’s going to happen in this book, but it’s still well-told and engaging. I liked the main characters, spritely Lina and the unfortunately named Doon, and I liked some of the smaller details about the City of Ember. I actually really want to see the movie now, to see that vast darkness and flickering light made real. I will also be looking for the sequel.

artemystiic_'s review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

estherhutchinson's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

vaughtgn's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

4.0