The City of Ember

Rating:
Summary: great read for kids and adults
Review: I just finished City of Ember and I was amazed at how good it was. I've been reading science fiction and fantasy my whole life and was still very impressed with this good read. I picked this up because of the appealing cover design as a gift for my nephew. I thought I'd read a little to see if it was interesting. I read half the book that night and the rest the next day. If you like Harry Potter or John Christopher's Tripods series you will definetely like City of Ember. The book moves along very quickly and smoothly with engaging characters. The solutions that the characters find to the (clever plot device) shreddded instruction sheet puzzle keeps you turning back to page 94 to check and double check your own guesses. Although this is the first book in a series(?)it has enough closure at the end that you feel fulfilled and don't feel cheated. I'm looking forward to the sequel to this very satisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: The City of Ember was awesome!!!
Review: The City of Ember was an awesome book! I loved it.
I don't personally like fantasy, but this book was great because it didn't have monsters popping out of the book and things like that. It is so intruging. Some books you just read and then put it aside and then start reading it again. But with the City of Ember I didn't stop reading from the beginning to end. It was on a Saturday morning that I started it and was done in about an hour and a half. It was one of the best books that I have ever read(even though I haven't had a very long life). I will tell anyone that wants to read a good book, they should go out and buy the City of Ember.

Rating:
Summary: Excellente (yes, with an e!! As in Spanish...)
Review: City of Ember. Ah. Brings back fond memories. From long ago. Just like a few weeks ago, as I was sitting and finishing the book, grinning in pure joy at the ending. Yes that's right, The City of Ember trapped me in and didn't let me out until that last, final, reassuring Happily Ever After. Buy this book, you'll be happy!

PS- Raise you hand if you like low-tech future books!
-Cricket Noise-
Well, me! I do! So, also, go buy the Giver, and Gathering Blue. And this. Okay. Thank you.
And somebody please shut up those crickets.

Rating:
Summary: Reader Be Aware
Review: When I first noticed this book, I figured it would be similar to Inkheart, Harry Potter, and similar books. Boy was I mistaken. This book is for small children. Besides the fact that the font is extremely large, the sentences are short, choppy, and down to the point. Example: "The book was on the top shelf. He reached for the book but it was too high. He got a ladder." I felt like I had been knocked back about 6 years of school.

Setting aside the writing style, the book's storyline was actually pretty good. It is sure to entertain those who enjoy fantasy and adventure type books.

Rating:
Summary: Teacher
Review: This is a fabulous book for a read a-loud. There are parts of a "message" at one point in the book that can be written on the board for the students to literally see and help decipher. I would recommend this book for 4/5, especially gifted students.

My class is actually writing sequels, as we anxiously wait for the sequel, People of Sparks. We are also, using the book as a theme for our end of the year party.

Rating:
Summary: Not since Oz has a city been more intriguing
Review: The city of Ember is in trouble, but the complacent citizens seem to ignore the food shortages and frequent blackouts. The Builders, when they created the city some 241 years ago, made provisions for its citizens in the form of a note called "The Instructions." Unfortunately, The Instructions were not handed down through the generations as they were supposed to be, and suddenly 12-year old Lina, a city Messenger, has discovered them. After trying to tell her friends and even the Mayor about the discovery of the partially destroyed Instructions, Lina turns to a one-time school friend, Doon, a worker in the underground Pipeworks, whom she believes will understand their importance. But what can two children do with such important information, and who would even believe them?

The City of Ember is a clever novel which tells the unique story of two unintentional heroes who fight the status quo in order to bring hope to their city. The descriptions of the world of Ember are fascinating, leaving the reader to appreciate the incredible imagination of first-time novelist Jeanne DuPrau. The narrator thoughtfully informs us of the setting-the unusual and self-contained world of Ember-slowly throughout the novel, and not all at once in the first chapter. It's only in chapter 8 that we even realize that there are no animals in Ember and the words "heaven" and "boat" have no known meaning. The characters are outstandingly original yet touchingly familiar in their pre-pubescent views of the adult world. The deaths of Lina's parents and then custodial grandmother create a sympathy for her that causes us to, all the more, wish for her triumph. It is the curiosity of Lina and Doon that drive this narrative, and it is the nice balance between primary and secondary characters that keeps the reader on his/her toes. While we expect a happy ending, it's not until the final pages of the novel that we understand what has happened and why. And, as always, we forgive a good author for the blatant suggestions of a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: I read it and I thought it was great! It reminded me a bit of The Giver, Gathering Blue and Messenger by Lois Lowry only ten times better! I loved it. I liked how the plot fit together. How the mayor was greedy, just like Lina's grandfather. How everything was planned out. I really hope that Doon and Lina get married some day, and I'd like a sequal, though I don't think it would be as good as this book is. I'd like to know if Doon and Lina found anyone in their new home. Certainly, if there was a sequal, that would answer alot of questions that I have...Good questions, of course =)

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is THEE best book ever!! I finished within a week because it was so good. Watch out Harry Potter!

Rating:
Summary: the city of ember
Review: this book was great. i could not put it down and i can't wait for the sequel,the people of sparks. it keeps you guessing until the very end. the characters were so real you felt like you knew them. i would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Original Storyline
Review: The city of Ember is a great read for anyone between the ages of nine and fourteen. I am not a sci-fi fan, but I really like this book. Hopefully the rest of this book review will answer who, what, when, and where this story takes place. If you have not read this book yet, and would not like to know anything about the story then you should not read the rest of this review. It will not give away the ending; it will just give a summary of the book.
Who: The main characters in this book are Lina and Doon.
What: This story is about a city with no natural light. The only light there was, was a few lightbulbs that were hooked up to a generator. This generator is old and is about to break down. Lina and Doon are trying to save the City of Ember by fixing the generator.
Why: They do not want the city to run out of light forever.
Where: This story takes place in the city of Ember.
When: This story takes place in the year 249.
The antagonist in this story was the mayor. He was the enemy because he stole food from the city when the city was having a food shortage. He had a secret hideout in the pipeworks. Only Lina and Doon knew they were stealing. The alerted the guards, but he was giving them some of the stolen food. The guards soon put up wanted signs for Lina and Doon all over the city. The signs said that they were wanted for spreading vicious rumors, and not to believe a word they said. They also offered a reward for anyone who catches them. When Lina and Doon saw these signs they ran from the guards of the city.
For the most part I really liked this book. It was interesting and it didn't have the same old storyline. The only thing I would have changed would be if the author explained the city more in the beginning of the story. Out of one hundred percent I would give this book a 94 percent.