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Holistic Guidance - The City of Ember (The First Book of Ember)
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List Price: $5.99
Our Price: $5.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Yearling
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780375822742
ISBN: 0375822747
Label: Yearling
Manufacturer: Yearling
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 270
Publication Date: 2004-05-25
Publisher: Yearling
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Release Date: 2004-05-25
Studio: Yearling
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Editorial Reviews:
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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.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Lina and Doon unlock the secrets of Ember
Comment: The City of Ember is a setting like no other--a dimly-lit postapocalyptic town where the essential instructions for survival have been lost to the generations. The uneasy but unquestioned ignorance about what "The Builders" had in mind for them threatens the citizens of Ember, who have gotten all too comfortable in their cocoon, and whose corrupt leaders don't want to answer too many questions.
It's up to twelve-year olds Lina and Doon to unlock the secrets that will ensure everyone's survival.
The City of Ember is one of the most creative settings I've encountered in a novel for young readers. I am always on the lookout for stories that are fun to read aloud with kids and adults, and Ember fit the bill. When I originally looked at the covers for this series, I thought it would be too scary for an elementary school audience, but it's fine for a thoughtful, mature kid who is an agile reader. The City of Ember is no scarier than Harry Potter and employs has a refreshing science fiction angle for those who are tired of reading about wizards and magic, dragons and magic...and more magic.
The overall series is worthwhile with one notable misfire: I give The City of Ember 5 stars; The People of Sparks (Books of Ember) 3.5 stars; the misbegotten and unnecessary prequel The Prophet of Yonwood (Books of Ember) 1 star; and the redemptive finale The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember (Books of Ember) 4 stars.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Poorly plotted knockoff of Lois Lowery's The Giver
Comment: At the opening of The City of Ember, twelve-year olds Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow wait anxiously, along with their twenty-two same aged classmates, to learn their fate. The pre-teens will draw lots to determine their Assignment, a job they will hold for the following three years. Lina disappointedly picks Pipeworks laborer, while Doon's lot is to be a Messenger. They later trade and team up in hopes of finding a way out of the over two hundred-year-old underground city before the artificial light source is snuffed out for good. They worry about the once-plentiful supplies that have since become scarce, and the power outages that have begun to occur with increased frequency and duration. Adding to Lina's worries is a stressful family situation; her parents have died, leaving her in the care of (and for) her senile grandmother and toddler sister. Fortunately, kind persons lend a hand when the kids' sleuthing leads them to a shocking discovery and into hot water with a dishonest authority figure and his minions.
But even with the benefit (to the book, not the reader) of excessive similarities to the many times better Newberry winning novel, The Giver, The City of Ember has self-made problems: hokey pictures of the B movie based on the book, the benign description of a boat ride that should instead have had readers on the edge of their seats, the fact that certain persons had never before encountered matches or candles in spite of the city's 240-some-odd year existence, and the overall feeling that "the first book of Ember" does little more than provide the setup for the rest of the series.
Anyone who has read The Giver by Lois Lowery will no doubt see the statistically significant parallels between the stories. Unfortunately, The City of Ember lacks two things important to ensuring a terrific tale: fabulous writing and a unique, engaging plot. Skip this sad excuse for a series in favor of: The Giver by Lois Lowery, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy and the Olympians), or A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Maybe more for adults?
Comment: I see that most of the bad reviews are from kids -- which is who the book is targeted for. I will make a note not to use it in class. I went into this book already hearing bad reviews from adults. I have never read The Giver, but I have heard others say it is like that.
I tend to like young adult novels, and this is one I did enjoy. I really wanted to know what was going to happen -- and I plan on reading the next books in the series to know what's going to happen to them and why they went down there in the first place. I found parts of the book thought-provoking -- when the two main characters are able to see their city from the outside and realize where they just came from; and the book that they found at the pool's edge written by a woman that went into the city in the beginning -- the idea that babies were put in there so that they will not miss what they don't know about. I'm intrigued...and that's what I like to be when I'm reading a book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great city to explore
Comment: I may not have heard about this book had it not picked up a movie deal. And yet, now that I've read it, I'm torn as to whether or not I want to see the movie. Not because it's a bad book/story...quite the contrary. I'm worried that it could get ruined. I bought a copy for my brother for his birthday and the new edition includes pix from the movie. One picture included captures Bill Murray as the mayor during one of the opening scenes. Seeing that picture redeemed my hope...I think he could probably do a good job pulling off the pretentious and condescending demeanor required for the role. Hopefully the rest of the cast does well and hopefully the departures from the text are for the best. The book itself was very simplistic and obviously a children's book (8-10 is target age I believe), and yet it explores deeper themes and presents the characters intriguing and mature conflicts.
Characters, Setting, etc
The central character in the story is Lina, a young girl living in a city of darkness and dreaming of a city of light. Her character is interesting and powerful. She's not overly audacious, but she does have an adventurous spirit and once actions really start unfolding, her courage shines through and she is willing to make the tough decisions to move forward.
The other main protagonist, Doon, is a more presumptuous character. It's not so much that he has more audacity than Lina, it's just that his is unbridled while hers is restrained. He is impetuous and quick to rush in while she is thoughtful and meticulous.
I think the two protagonists serve as a good counterpoint to one another and the author does a good job of using them to help show children the need to take risks and be brave while also being judicious and thoughtful before taking wild risks.
Most of the secondary characters get very little fleshing out. Even the mayor is kept at a distance, though we get good insight into his actions and thoughts, enough so we can establish him as a counteragent to our protagonists despite his authoritative stance and his claims of doing what's best for the people.
Having seen the preview for the movie, I was able to deduce the state of the City of Ember. Trying to block that out, I enjoyed the portrayal of the city and its existence. The descriptions of the layout of the city and the darkness beyond was well done. I loved the detail used to explain many of the simple things we take for granted in our world.
Plot, Pacing, etc
The plot itself wasn't anything revolutionary, but the details and the execution were intriguing. We have a city surrounded by darkness. Its only light is provided by a river water run generator pumping electricity into the city, but since nobody in the city really understands electricity or how the generator works, the city is in peril since the generator is obviously breaking down.
The quick paced style and simple language helped the story move along quickly and I see how it could definitely hold the attention of a younger reader. As an adult, I think I would have liked some more twists and turns in the adventure but since the audience is children, I think the overall complexity is good. (This is my main point of worry for the movie...because the plot itself is relatively simple, I'm worried that the movie makers may ruin things by adding unnecessary complexity to appease adults)
I thought an interesting thematic element was making vocabulary and language be part of the obstacle Lina and Doon face. As Lina initially begins trying to understand the instructions she's found, she has difficulty plugging in the right words just because she may not have the same vocabulary as the adult that originally wrote it. Audience is always very key when selecting the language used in writing. Once Lina and Doon progress on their journey, they find new objects they don't understand. Even though the objects are labeled, these common objects are foreign to the children and they find themselves confused as to their intent. I applaud the author's insight to incorporate this subtle narrative on the evolution of knowledge and language in her story.
Overall
As I mentioned, I think the pacing was great and would do a good job of keeping a younger reader interested and engaged to the end. As I saw the pages fall out from underneath me, I began to be VERY worried as I neared the end of the novel that there would not be a good stopping point. In fact, the last 10-20 pages of the book flew by and tied up a lot of the material nicely while at the same time leaving many questions left unanswered and ready for a sequel. In fact, I'm glad I read this book years after its release because I desperately want to know what happens next and I'm glad I could just go grab the sequel now rather than waiting for it to be written.
I think this story is intriguing and wholesome and provides a good mental playground for child readers. I think the characters are accessible and the adventure is fun. The themes of the story are subtle but it provides good messages about teamwork, planning, and working things through. It's definitely not an anti-adult novel, but it does provide children a method of escaping to a world where the children are the heroes and they know and do better than the adults, perhaps due to their youthful exuberance, curiosity and passion.
I'm looking forward to continuing with the series and seeing the movie.
3 solid stars
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book and it kept me reading.
Comment: 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.
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