The City of Ember

noodles54 - What if I told you there is a world underground? I read the book The City Of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. The genre of this book is science fiction. My opinion to this book is that it is really good. I read this book a couple of times and I also saw the movie. Of course, the movie wasn't as great as the book. The book starts off by introducing the characters. The first chapter is Lina. Lina's overall character is usually very energized. In the book it explains that she loves to run. Once you turn twelve you are assigned a job at the end of that school year. You don't get to choose but all you can do is hope you don't get a terrible one. The job that Lina wanted was messenger. She was perfect for it since she knew the city from each direction and she loved to run. The next character that was introduced was Doon. Doon was really hoping to get a job that had something to do with the generator or the underground sewers. He wanted to change the city. He wanted to change the city because the only “sun” light they will receive is the old and dim light bulbs hanging from the highest point of their underground world. Lina's job wasn't what she expected. She got pipe works… She was devastated to read those words and to say them out loud. Turns out Doon got messenger and they decided to change jobs. Lina was living her dream and Doon was down in the pipes. When Doon finally saw the generator he was so impressed yet disappointed. Weeks go by and their doing all of their jobs until people start so suspect the mayor of the city. Doon and Lina go and find out what the mayor has been hiding this whole time and it was a lair filled with food that could be provided for the whole city. There is also this box. A box filled with secrets and a code. It was kind of futuristic and it really old. You'll have to read the book if you want to find out the secrets and codes that are in the box. Lina and Doon find out more secrets about the city and find a way out to another world…? You'll have to read the book to find out if Doon and Lina make it out safely or at all...

Starred review from March 10, 2003
In her electric debut, DuPrau imagines a post-apocalyptic underground world where resources are running out. The city of Ember, "the only light in the dark world," began as a survival experiment created by the "Builders" who wanted their children to "grow up with no knowledge of a world outside, so that they feel no sorrow for what they have lost." An opening prologue describes the Builders' intentions—that Ember's citizens leave the city after 220 years. They tuck "The Instructions" to a way out within a locked box programmed to open at the right time. But the box has gone astray. The story opens on Assignment Day in the year 241, when 12-year-olds Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow draw lots for their jobs from the mayor's bag. Lina gets "pipeworks laborer," a job that Doon wants, while Doon draws "messenger," the job that Lina covets, and they trade. Through their perspectives, DuPrau reveals the fascinating details of this subterranean community: as Doon repairs leaks deep down among the Pipeworks, he also learns just how dire the situation is with their malfunctioning generator. Meanwhile, the messages Lina carries point to other sorts of subterfuge. Together, the pair become detectives in search of the truth—part of which may be buried in some strange words that were hidden in Lina's grandmother's closet. Thanks to full-blooded characters every bit as compelling as the plot, Lina and Doon's search parallels the universal adolescent quest for answers. Readers will sit on the edge of their seats as each new truth comes to light. Ages 10-13.