City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

 

In my continued quest to read more middle grade novels, I decided to pick up City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. This is the first book in a pretty famous dystopian series for young readers. A movie version was released in 2008, and a graphic novel version in 2012. A lot of my students over the past few years have mentioned reading it and liking it, so it's got some staying power. Despite all that though, I went into my reading not expecting too much. I was mildly curious about it, but figured that I would be satisfied with just reading the first book to see what it was all about. Of course I was wrong. This book is shockingly good, and now I've been roped into reading an entire quartet.

The plot follows two young friends named Lina and Doon. They live in Ember, a self-contained city carefully constructed by a group known as the Builders hundreds of years ago. The city was initially supplied with everything its citizens would need to survive, but as Lina and Doon reach their adolescence, things are starting to run out. Clothing and shoes are worn to bits and falling apart, many types of food are completely depleted, and, most alarmingly, their electricity is starting to flicker and fade. The light from lightbulbs is the only light in the entire city, so losing electricity has grave implications. Everyone is on edge and unrest is beginning to rise.

Lina and Doon are just as worried as everyone else and are very interested in finding a way to save their city. When Lina runs across a mysterious document hidden away in some old family heirlooms, she thinks she might have finally found a way to help everyone. With Doon's assistance, she begins to piece together a possible solution involving a way to leave Ember and lead everyone to safety. There are other forces at work behind the scenes, however, that will do anything to stop her.

I really ended up enjoying this novel. The characters were lovable, the writing was fluid and easy to read, and the story was compelling. DuPrau does an excellent job of creating a very ominous tone throughout. The youth of the characters blended perfectly with the darkness of the plot; it was one of those situations where a young character's inexperience made everything they noticed feel exponentially more scary. When Lina and Doon notice that there are less lightbulbs available, or talk about rationing common items like paper, it gives you this delicious sense of dread. It makes the story feel more weighty. It reminded me a bit of The Giver, another middle grades dystopian novel with young characters discovering the flaws beneath the surface of their world. I was totally engaged the whole time I was reading and was very invested in seeing how Lina and Doon would end up. 

The overall themes of the text remain somewhat unclear at the end of the story. Lina and Doon are still working to unravel the mystery of why Ember was built at the conclusion, so the reasons for the dystopian setting aren't fully known. There are some hints pointing towards environmental concerns maybe, but I expect more details will be revealed in the following books. As it stands, the first book contains messages about friendship, teamwork, and responsibility. I am very interested to see what other messages are conveyed as additional details about the world are revealed.

The story concludes on a cliffhanger, so of course I had to go online and order the other three books right away. I actually had to go on eBay and find used versions to do it, because they have redesigned the covers since I picked up my copy of book one, and I wanted all my books to match. On a side note, the new covers are vastly inferior to the old ones, so I was happy to do this. Once they arrive, I plan to get started on book two right away. Hopefully they are in good condition.

It's always such a nice treat to be surprised by a novel. I was figuring that City of Ember would be mildly enjoyable, and instead I found it to be truly entertaining. I actually am looking forward to continuing the rest of the series in the coming weeks.

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 26/50 (keep)

Total Books Read in 2021: 51