44. The City of Ember

The City of Ember. Jeanne DuPrau. 2003. 270 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: In the city of Ember, the sky was always dark.

Premise/plot: The City of Ember is one of my all-time favorite books. Ember was built by the BUILDERS to protect humanity from its biggest threat in dark, dark days. Hundreds of years have passed, the inhabits of Ember know nothing of the world outside. They know nothing of blue skies and yellow sun. In part, the builders wanted it that way--to protect the people from knowledge of the past. But the time has come--has almost come and gone, in fact--for the people to leave Ember behind and rejoin the world above. The problem? The instructions have been lost. And only one person even knows that something important--something vital--has been lost and is worth searching for. And few take her words seriously because she's "senile" and "not herself." Lina Mayfleet, our heroine, stumbles upon these instructions quite by accident, and really all in thanks to her baby sister, Poppy. Will she be able to decode the instructions--what remain of them after Poppy's little snack--and solve the mystery? It is too big to solve on her own. But Lina has a few good friends that she thinks are trustworthy--and clever. The one who becomes her best friend is Doon Harrow. These two grow close as they work on solving the problems that threaten life as they know it.

My thoughts: I love this book. I do. I can't believe--in a way--that it was the author's first book. It is just MARVELOUS. I love the world-building. I love how thought-provoking it is. And I love the characterization. It is one of those rare books that defies expectations. It is premise-driven, plot-driven, and character-driven.

One of my favorite quotes:

The trouble with anger is, it gets hold of you. And then you aren't the master of yourself anymore. Anger is. (89)

 ETA: I have read this book half a dozen times at least. It is a true favorite. I don't always write new reviews of books that I have read *that* many times. There are only so many ways you can come up with an original-ish summary of the plot. And my love of the book hasn't diminished through the years. I believe I first read it in 2007.

 

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