The City of Ember

Publisher's Summary

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.

Don't miss Lina and Doon's other adventures in The City of Ember.

©2003 Jeanne DuPrau (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"DuPrau's first foray into fiction creates a realistic post-apocalyptic world where everyone has lived underground for so long that they assume it has always been that way....DuPrau's book leaves Doon and Lina on the verge of the undiscovered country and readers wanting more." (USA Today)

Good story; annoying narrator and background sound

The story is the only thing that has kept me listening to this audio book. The narrator tries too hard to come up with different voices for characters, and so felt she had to include lip-smacking and other irritating mannerisms to differentiate character voices. Some listeners might consider this a great performance, but I was ready on several occasions to shut off my mp3player and just go get a paper edition from the library. There is also background noises and music occasionally, which was sometimes distracting.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

Wonderfully Done

I really, really, really enjoyed this story. It was quite hard to put down and we really enjoyed the narrating with all the different voices for each character. Yes, the mayor was a tad wheezy, but it fit him perfectly. We've enjoyed listening to this story several times all ready!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A new family classic

My 9 year old son and I choose a book every month to listen to when we travel to and from places. He heard great things about City of Ember. We were both at the edge of our seats. Excellent book!! Enjoyable for all ages.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

How do you know what you know?

How do you know what you know? If your entire experience is one context; if your community's entire shared and accumulated knowledge is one unvarying existence; can you be responsible for what you do not know outside your own world? What reasons would you have to look for new knowledge about your world?

Very good opportunities in the book to discuss lessons with the kids and to think about implications for yourself. What would life be like without telephones? What if electricity came on only at certain times? This is how many people in the world live today.

Excellent book to listen to with the family on a road trip. The prologue hooked the kids and the story never let up. The kids are already asking to listen to the sequels.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

We loved this story!

My 12 year old son and I read together. We settle down to read and, often, to listen, as well as to read a good book together nearly every night. We love the time we spend together and the storys we discover together. This story was well written, exciting and very thought provoking. We had fun imagining such a world and way of life.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

LOVED the story, though not the narrator

Any additional comments?

Ember is a city that was built to ensure that humans survived some disaster and the city is powered by electricity from a mysterious generator. I am fascinated by the controlled environment in which the people of Ember have lived. They get the power from a source they don't really understand and rely on the dwindling contents of storerooms full of items they cannot truly understand (i.e. canned food – the storerooms fascinate me). The society absolutely fascinates me. The kids go to school until they are twelve and then pick out of a hat the job they will be doing. This Assignment Day ritual fascinates me too. (I suppose I must declare the book “Fascinating!”)
I must mention here that the narration was inferior and the assignment day scene is a perfect example of why. The mayor who runs that ritual is fat. The book flat out tells you he is big and fat. It doesn't say he is wheezing and gasping like he is on his last breath, but every time he says anything it sounds like the narrator is on her death bed. I like her cheery sounding Lina, but Doon sounds too silly and kid like. Not that our hero and heroine aren't kids, being 12, but in that society they are really functioning as adults, so let's lay off the whiny little boy voice.
There are a lot of coincidences and things that cause one to need to suspend disbelief To me, the concept was interesting enough to make me want to read the book and overlook implausibility or flaws.
I liked one thing about Lina and Doon though. They are kids, despite being working members of society and this is clearly shown in the naivety they display at various points. It never occurs to them that the world isn't fair and that not everyone would react as they would. I thought it was well done and believable.
I was interested in how the people dealt with their dwindling supplies and Lina's reaction to a colored pencil was great. I am not sure I fully understand why the founders of Ember felt so much ignorance was necessary or how they could have missed the consequences that that could have over time. Maybe this will be addressed in the sequel. I am willing to overlook a lot of the little flaws in the book but it seems to me that Ember wasn't exactly perfectly placed to survive this huge disaster, whatever it was (it’s just down a hole). And the builders really set these folks up for failure with all the stuff that had to be figured out. But then again if it were all straight forward there wouldn't be the fun of solving the mystery. While Lina and Doon try to decipher the instructions to escape Ember I really wished I had a physical book so I could try to figure out the message along with them. It was just about impossible with an audiobook though so I didn’t even try.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

I Couldn't Forget It

A Post-Apocalyptic MG book that refused to disappear into the back of my brain.

BOOK DETAILS:
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, read by Wendy Dillon, published by Listening Library (2004) / Length: 7 hrs 6 min

SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 in the completed "Book of Ember" trilogy, all of which are available on audio.

SUMMARY:
The first time I listened to this book, I enjoyed it but wasn't really that impressed. I did not add it to the list of books I was considering buying. However, after the second time I re-borrowed it from the library and listened again, I realized that there was just something about the characters and their story that appealed to me. The next time a deal was available, I snapped it up.

CHARACTERS:
Lina: She is bright and active. She tries to get adult help when she believes she has found a way out of their predicament. And she doesn't give up the first time it doesn't work. I also like how she takes care of her grandmother & little sister.

Doon: He is moody and active. He doesn't understand why more people aren't trying to fix their problems. However, he has a deep need to be special & to receive recognition. This causes him to avoid opportunities to share what they've found.

I like that they used to be friends but, after a childhood incident, had drifted apart. So there is a sense of something new here, despite the very narrow nature of their world.

WORLDBUILDING:
Ms DuPrau did a good job of painting a picture of a dreary run down city and it's hand-me down wearing citizens. And I was very struck by the fact that outside the city, there is only darkness.

And we got a clear picture as we went along of how their society worked as well. It is sad that such young children are sent out into the work place, but I guess there isn't any need for additional education in their situation.

PLOT:
The Prologue seemed a bit awkward at first, with two people sort of telling each other things they probably already should have known. I really liked the stuff about the mayors and what happened to the box though.

Note: You really have to suspend disbelief that all the canned good and other supplies would last more than 200 years. (Maybe the "storage rooms" were vacumn sealed.)

The ending is somewhat of a cliffhanger, since the fate of the citizens of Ember is not resolved.

HIGHLIGHTS:
--Doon finds Poppy
--Lina sits with her ailing grandmother in the dark
--There are some adults who are helpful

CONTENT NOTES(?): There is a character with a disability who is also described as very unattractive and who is up to no good.

NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes, I wasn't fond of several of them though / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes, I actually liked some of them better than some of the females / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = / Emoting = / Speed = listened on 1.25, my usual

Ms Dillon did a superb job of reading "The Instructions," despite what happened to them.

I'm not really a fan of music in audiobooks, and this wasn't an exception. And the sounds effects were occasionally too loud. (The noises were supposed to be loud, but I want to hear the narrator.)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

excellent book for 4th to 9th graders

This is book 1 of 4 in the "Ember" series which describes a post-apocalyptic earth in hopeful terms. I like that part of the series' approach, though the overall style can be a little pedantic (in my adult opinion) for moral lessons. However, the target audience is juvenile readers so I think the clarity and overt description of moral connections is likely appropriate. All middle and elementary schoolers I have spoken to about this book have really enjoyed it.

This book has both a female and male protagonist, making the book likely equally appealing to boys and girls. How the two relate to each other and their dying city of Ember, and how the two work to to solve problems is a nice exploration into egoism, altruism and ultimately, humility.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This story will hold your attention

Living in blackness, depending on the ingenuity of the "builders" electricity to keep the impending darkness at bay is Lina Mayfleet, just graduating from school and looking forward to her new job as "runner". Lina's world is an interesting one and you'll find yourself picturing her landscape and images in your mind. But, what happens when the lights run out? Go with Lina and her friend Dune as they unravel of the puzzle of their world, and the world beyond.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great story. Well written

Both my 11 year old daughter and I found this to be a fascinating story. We could hardly wait to get in the car to hear the next installment. The characters are likeable, except for the bad guys, who are despicable. The storyline is fresh and different, except as usual the poor parents have been killed off before the story even begins. We are definitely downloading the sequel.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great story

A really good story, characters and keeps you wanting to listen to the end.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A must

My daughter (12) listens to this trilogy again and again. Imaginative and well read Brilliant value

Over-acted

I am three quarters of an hour into this audio book, and struggling. Irritating sound effects at the beginning, and the narrator appears to have just graduated from the 'Let's exaggerate every voice' school of acting. An old woman is unbearably quavery - she has given the Mayor an infuriating gasp/shriek in most sentences - children must have high squeaky voices.

Wendy Dillon has a good voice when not putting her slant onto the characters. Perhaps someone could point out to her that we ordinary listeners have our own imaginations too, and we quite like to concentrate on the story, not the reader.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful