The City of Ember

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Summary: A great read!
Review: I read lots of children's and YA books. I could not stop reading this one. The idea of a world only lit by electric light was so intriguing. This book is going to be very popular with sci-fi/fantasy readers. Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet are twelve years old and have just finished their education. Now they must work for the good of the city of Ember. They begin working in their new jobs, Doon in the pipeworks under the city and Lina, as a messenger. Something is going on in their city though. Why isn't anyone else worried? Why is the city experiencing terrifying blackouts? What can two kids do to save their people? A mysterious message, danger, greed, corruption...the kids are terrific characters. I am looking forward to the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: The City of Ember
Review: This was definitely one of those books you just can't put down because you can't wait to see what happens next! The characters are fabulously developed, as the story is, too. I enjoyed this book so much, that immediately after reading it, I read the book out loud to my fourth grade class. The students LOVED it and have been begging me all year to read the sequel to them. We eagerly anticipate its' release.
The students found themselves trying desperately to piece the clues of the story together. As a class we would mull over the clues and foreshadowing and make predictions about what was to come. Each student had a copy of the Instructions for Egress that we filled in together as we read. I have never seen students more eager to finish recess so we could sit down and find out what happens next!
As an adult, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this juvenile fiction. I found myself telling my friends all about it! As for my fourth grade class and myself, we give this book 22 thumbs up!!

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Summary: My Review of The City of Ember
Review: My two daughters, 10 and 7 and I really enjoyed this story a lot. It is a great story to read aloud to your children -no violence or harsh words -we highly reccommend it!

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Summary: Excellent addition to any library!
Review: The City of Ember is a great fantasy story, yet isn't too far out of the realm of possibility, particularly when considering the possibility of some sort of global disaster. This book centers on a city of people who live far beneath the ground due to some disaster over 200 years earlier. The current inhabitants know nothing of the world above them. And as their electricity supplied by the original "builders" begins to fail, they face an uncertain future. What lies beyond their city? What will happen if the lights go out and never, ever come back on? The story not only is a great escape for the reader, but it also delves into the basics of human nature--the need for survival, fear of the unknown, the pursuit of happiness, and much more. This book is a "keeper."

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Summary: An Amazing Book
Review: The City of Ember was created around 240 years ago by the Builders. This city is only lit by the lamps in the city's streets and in people's home, there is no sunlight. Beyond the city there is total darkness and nothingness. The people of Ember have learned that their city is the only light in the vast darkness and that there is no other life beyond their city. Lina and Doon are best friends and have just finished school, at age 12, and started working at their new jobs. Jobs are given to the students by drawing job names out of a bag. Unfortunately, Lina gets Pipeworks as her job. Working at the Pipeworks entails fixing things that go wrong underground. Doon pulls out Messenger for his job, which he did not want. A Messenger runs around town carrying messages for people. Doon suggests to Lina that they switch jobs. Lina, who wanted to be a messenger, complies easily. When Lina comes home after her first day of work she finds her grandmother digging through the closet saying that she must find something that was very important and was lost a long time ago. Lina spots a beautiful box a latch that had opened. Lina's sister Poppy was chewing on a paper that she had taken from the box. On the paper there was very neat, perfect, lettering. Because of Poppy chewing on the paper many of letters where missing. Lina believes this is an important paper that the Builders left for the people of Ember to use in a time of need. Ember has been slowly running out of food and light bulbs in the last few years. Recently there have been more frequent and longer power outages. If the people of Ember can not get more supplies or travel out of Ember, they may be stuck in darkness forever with no way out. Lina decides to tell Doon about her discovery of the paper. As the two crack the code it is even more evident that the paper is very important indeed. The City of Ember was and excellent book with much suspense and plot twist. I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and adventure.