|
This is a great book for ages 8 and on. This book is all about mystories. Buy this book now.
The welcoming plot and vivid characters grasps the reader instantly. The City of Ember will be impossible to put down. I recommend this thrilling novel to anyone who is in need for a burst of excitment. Don't begin this book without time to read it from cover to cover. Enchanting, truely enchanting.
The City of EmberBy Jeanne DuprauPublisher: Random house# of pages: 270Age Rating: 9+My Rating: 5 StarsSynopsis:It is always night in the city of Ember. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness for long minutes. But I was wrong, this book is one of my favorite books, it was SO NEAT.This book may be listed for children but it's a must read book for children and teens. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. One of the things I really like about this book is that the author's sturdy, clear writing.I never felt rushed through the whole book and it was all clean.I can't wait to read the second book.I give this book 5 stars.Enjoy. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored because an understanding of fire and electricity has been lost, and with it the idea of a Moveable Light. But there is no moon, no stars. What will happen when the generator finally fails.Review:When I first picked up this book, I thought that it would be one of those ok children book.
"Besides," they tell each other, "there is nowhere but here" Among the many other things the people of Ember have forgotten is their past and a direction for their future. For 250 years they have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. The author wrote the book so that it was simple enough for a 9 year old but old enough for than 17 year old.The younger children may not like the idea of the dark underground city. :D:D
It's easy to relate to these characters, who often feel - and are - out of the loop. After graduating from school, Doon starts his job in the Pipeworks, hoping to really contribute to the community, and learn how dark the city's problems are. Ember is running out of supplies. Their love for their city and desire for a better life elsewhere are emotionally realistic, and breaking out also challenges them physically. Lina wants a foot in every pot, and all the help she can get - her grandmother, also her guardian, is on death's bed.Lina accidentally stumbles upon a centuries'-old escape plan, to the world outside Ember. Surviving a journey in a toddler's mouth, the Instructions now have bits missing, and Lina and Doon must piece together what they can to find a way out of Ember, and a way of saving their city.Jeanne DuPrau's contribution to the fabulously innovative subgenre of dystopian YA is outstanding. Life in Ember feels somewhat historical, so steampunk fans may flock to this, too.Good news: there are two more novels in this sequence, as well as a prequel. Me want.
To the people living in it, Ember appears to be the entire world, and that world is edging towards some kind of breakdown. She does this without resorting to exploding buildings or battles with monsters (viewers of the movie may be disappointed--or relieved--to find there are no giant man-eating moles). One is the basic idea of the story. The City of Ember is one of my favorite books for children/young adults. Ember is a home run of a book. DuPrau puts these real people into a situation in which the tension builds organically, starting with something being vaguely wrong with Ember and growing to looming disaster both for Ember and the protagonists.
It is rare that I have encountered such realistic characters in an adventure book.
I love the way the true nature of the world is revealed to the teenaged protagonists and even as an adult reader I was fairly tingling with excitement as they found the way out of Ember's doom.The other success of the book is a more rare one for the science fiction and adventure genres: despite the fantastic scenario, the human characters are never dwarfed by the demands of the plot.
Doon is a primitive scientist in a society that has never heard of science.
My son, an avid reader, read it in grade school and also liked it very much.The book does two things brilliantly.
Yet there is enough action, conflict, and suspense to keep a reasonably good reader turning the pages.In all this, DuPrau also manages to write the book as an ode to careful observation, dogged problem-solving, and independent thinking.
In most books in this genre, the heroes are little more than cartoon characters who are too busy Doing Heroic Acts to reveal much individuality.
Doon and Lina, the heroes of Ember, can each be described as impulsive and unrelenting, two qualities that seem to contradict each other and yet manifest in each character in very different ways.
Much as I love the star ships, ray guns, and nerdy jargon that inhabits most popular science fiction, I was pleased to see scientific values presented in an unadorned, pure form.
Thoughtful children will love it, and they will learn some deep truths about people and society by reading it.
|
