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The City of Ember (Books of Ember) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeanne Duprau
Publisher: Yearling
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $3.05
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Rating:  424 reviews
Sales Rank: 783
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0385736282
EAN: 9780385736282
ASIN: 0385736282
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Amazon.com Review
It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. 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. "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. 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. What will happen when the generator finally fails? Twelve-year-old Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet seem to be the only people who are worried. They have just been assigned their life jobs--Lina as a messenger, which leads her to knowledge of some unsettling secrets, and Doon as a Pipeworker, repairing the plumbing in the tunnels under the city where a river roars through the darkness. But when Lina finds a very old paper with enigmatic "Instructions for Egress," they use the advantages of their jobs to begin to puzzle out the frightening and dangerous way to the city of light of which Lina has dreamed. As they set out on their mission, the haunting setting and breathless action of this stunning first novel will have teens clamoring for a sequel. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell City of Ember is now a major motion picture (releasing in October 2008) starring Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, and many more. Enjoy these images from the film, and click the thumbnails to see a larger image in a new browser window.
Product Description
NOW A MAJOR motion picture starring Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, Saoirse Ronan, and Harry Treadaway! This tie-in edition of The City of Ember features a movie-art cover and an 8-page photo insert. Jeanne DuPrau’s instant classic tells the story of the great, underground city of Ember, designed as a last refuge for the human race. But when the storerooms run out of food and the lights begin to fail, it’s up to two teens, Lina and Doon, to decipher the fragments of an ancient parchment and find a way out of Ember.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 419 more reviews...
 Great book and it kept me reading. December 4, 2008
City of Ember has a mysterious start that makes you want to go straight to the third book, which is the prequel. DONT. All the events that occured made it much more exciting to read the book without knowing how they got there. A messege to decode, friendships ended and begun, and a city running out of supplies and electricity. A must read.
 The City of Ember December 3, 2008
Gripping is the word I would use for this fascinating story. Duprau brilliantly reflects a tale of two young friends, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, who live in an underground city called ember, which was built only to last 200 years. now, 43 years overdue, the city of Ember is aged and run-down. The supplies meant to last 200 years are diminishing and the precious electricity is beginning to fail. Then one day Lina finds a mysterious faded document called the Instructions to Egress. Will Lina and Doon Be able to solve the mystery of the instructions and save the Emberites? Or will their precious light go out for good consuming Ember in darkness?
This book is for anybody who thinks friendship and family are important, or for anybody who just likes a good adventure. Readers will be tearing themselves apart waiting to read more from Jeanne Duprau!
 Although it was written for children it will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a good science fiction thriller. December 3, 2008
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race for reasons unknown (perhaps a human holocaust). The town is is supposed to self destruct in 220 years. The "Builders" leave a set of instructions to get out of town with its mayor, but they are lost through the times.
Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina Mayfleet finds part of an ancient message that was held by her grandmother who was the daughter of one of the town mayors, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon Harrow must decipher the message. They both have seen the deterioration in Ember and believe that something must be done.
Inadvertently they discover that the mayor of town and a few corrupt people are hoarding supplies before the lights go out on Ember forever! As they try to tell to the authorities that the mayor is corrupt they find themselves being persecuted by the corrupt town administration and must flee for their lives to a place described in the secret box whose instructions they have managed to decipher.
This is the first of four books written for children by Jeanne Dupreau. Although it was written for children it will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a good science fiction thriller.
My daughter will love it. December 1, 2008
I previewed this for my 9 year old daughter. I think she will really enjoy it. It was a unique and interesting story. The descriptions were vivid, and the characters were engaging. Plus, it will be interesting to discuss the idea of limited resources with her and how we can use the lessons of Ember to be better stewards and citizens of earth. Also, it was wonderful to have such young heroes, and to realize that you are never too young to make a difference.
Great book for the authors first book November 29, 2008
The City of Ember is written by Jeanne DuPrau and it was published in 2003. It was the the authors first book and as a first book I thought that it was a lot of fun to read. The book is meant for a younger audience because the heroes of the story are two young 12 year old children.
Ember is a large city in the middle of the dark. The only source of light for the city is the street lights. The street lights are turned on and off every day by the time keeper.
Everything in the city of Ember is warn out and and second-hand, everything but the food. The people in the city of Ember are able to grow limited amounts of food but most of their food is kept in the store houses. The store houses were filled with food in the past by the builders.
At the age of 12 all children are assigned a job to do. The jobs are assigned by drawing a the job title out of a hat. Lina wants to get the job of messenger. Doon wants to get a job working in the power stations of the city. When Lina draws out the job of pipe works and Doon gets the job of messenger.
Doon asks Lina to trade with him. He feels that pipe works is better than messenger at least it will get him closer to the power plant. Doon feels that if he can get into the power plant he can finally understand electricity. Electricity is one of the few things that he feels that he does not understand.
When Doon finally gets into the power plant he sees a loud coughing machine that he feels he will never understand.
As messenger Lina runs around the city delivering messages from one person to another.
The lights of Ember are no longer staying lit like they should. The power plant is getting run down. The lights of Ember are starting to go black in the middle of the day and the citizens of Ember are frightened. Lina spends most of her day sending messages to people simply so they do not have to leave there homes and have to risk being put in the dark when the lights go out.
Lina's grandmother unearths an old parchment and that parchment ends up in the hands of Lina's baby sister. The baby sister plays with the parchment tearing and chewing it into little pieces. When Lina finds the paper in the hands of her baby sister it is unreadable. The only thing that she can tell is that it is written in the fine block print of the builders. She feels that the message is important.
Lina and Doon spend the rest of the book trying to solve the mysteries of the parchment. The other people that they show the parchment to don't seem to think that it is all that important. From what little they can make out of the document most people feel that it is simply some sort of cooking instructions or something.
While Lina and Doon are trying to solve the parchment, the city of Ember is slowly falling apart. The people of Ember know that something needs to be done but no one seems to know what needs to be done. Is the answer in the strange almost unreadable parchment?
This book is definitely written for a younger reader but I still really enjoyed it. I read the book in two days. I barely put it down the entire time I was reading. I even went on to read the first part of "The Children of Spark" (second book in the series) that was in the back of the book. I later went out and bought the other three books that go with the city of Ember series. This book is great for a young reader and simply fun for an adult reader like myself.
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