The City of Ember--Overview and Review

The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau, A+

A masterful work of science fiction, The City of Ember launches DuPrau's promising career. The story brims with strong images and extended metaphors, undergirded with a lucid style that is easy to read. At its heart, Ember is a salvation story with many clear parallels to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

The main characters, Lina and Doon, grow up in a city where darkness reigns except for the ever-present streetlights and lights inside houses. Darkness, too, creates a seemingly impenetrable barrier around their known world, so that schoolchildren are taught that Ember is the only city that is and nothing else exists beyond the Unknown Regions.

At twelve years of age, Lina, Doon, and her classmates randomly select their occupation. Each is assured that their job is a small but vital part in ensuring that the social machinery of Ember keeps working. "Ember will prosper if all citizens will do their best," says the mayor. Yet, Doon along with a growing number of disgruntled denizens are aware that the city faces dreadful, insurmountable problems. Food shortages. Blackouts. Some (mostly) new supplies and equipment can be found, but only at great price. Pleased at having received her favorite job, Lina is baffled by her former friend's pesimism, that is, until the electricity blackouts begin occuring more frequently and the rumors of major supply shortages prove to be too true to ignore.

It seems that the mysterious Builders of Ember, who stocked the city full of food and supplies in the first place, either miscalculated or something has gone horribly wrong. When the Builders created the city, they expected that people would live there for only 200 years. After the alotted time, a box containing instructions was to open, informing the mayor of the next steps to take. Tragically, this message was lost. Now, in the year 251, the hydro-electric generator seems poised to fail, undoubtedly plunging Ember into utter blackness.

At this moment of fear and insecurity, Doon and Lina enter the workforce. Doon longs to make a mark on his world, perhaps even being the one to save the city. Just when he discovers the situation is near hopeless, his friendship with Lina is rekindled. Along with her unquenchable curiousity, she brings to the partnership a vision of a city of light that she feels in her heart is out there somewhere. As the situation becomes precarious, Lina's senile grandmother (kin to the major who lost the message) unwitttingly discovers the box with the Builder's instructions. Lina finds the message but not until after her one-year-old sister had had her chance to "inspect" it with her teeth and toddler hands.

Together, the duo work to unscramble the instructions. Just as they discover the pathway out of Ember to freedom, they also uncover the mayor's criminal plot to embezzle food and supplies. Foolishly, they inform the mayor's guards and end up as fugitives, unable to make their life-saving announcement to the public. On the run, Lina, her sister, and Doon take the only "door" out of Ember: the river the flows under the city. Stunned, the three emerge into the outside world, realizing that Ember is underground. They see for the first time moon, stars, grass, trees...sun, birds, animals. Compared with the world they had known, this new "world" is seemingly boundless. A discarded journal that they find reveals that inhabitants of Earth's cities founded Ember as a safety precaution in case of a massive disaster on the surface.

Equipped with the truth regarding the genesis of their city and the only route to salvation, they long to get the message to the others. Finally, they find another path that leads underground to a clifftop overlooking the massive cavern housing Ember and all its inhabitants. Unable to climb back down, they hurl a note to the people below, hoping someone will believe them and the town will make an exodus to safety.

Several allusions, extended metaphors, and themes make this story more intriguing than just another sci-fi childrens' story. It is Plato's Allegory of the Cave retold. Just like the discovery that Plato's enlightened man makes, the main characters find that their world was just a shadow of the near limitless world above the surface of the earth. They too face opposition by men and women who refuse to believe in the truth when they seek desperately to save their city from impending darkness. I won't elaborate much on the clear relationship between darkness and ignorance, light and truth since it is so well elucidated elsewhere.

DuPrau also uses two extended metaphors which, while common, find new life in her story: the seed and the caterpillar. When hope seems lost, Lina's mentor gives her a seed, reminding her that though it looks dead, life will emerge from beneath the soil. Across the city, Doon witnesses a caterpillar metamorphosize into a moth, giving him encouragement that an exit to freedom is imminent.

Desire is a theme that runs throughout the story. Positive desires propel both Doon and Lina to greatness. Doon longs more than anything to save his city, hoping to make his father proud. Driven by dreams of a city of light, Lina holds onto hope that there is something more to her world than what she sees. On the other hand, Lina experiences the force of lust. In the words of her mentor,

"There is so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It's not just outside, it's inside us too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It's like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets."

These words remind her of the hunger she had felt for a set of colored pencils, a hunger that had caused her to neglect watching her sister, who almost became lost. This same hunger led the mayor to embezzle food and supplies for himself. Doon, too, was not exempt, letting longing find expression in anger several times in the book.

In conclusion, Ember has depths to explore below the surface that make this a fascinating beginning to DuPrau's career in science fiction.

Youth Book List

As an educator, I review quite a few books every year, looking for teaching material, recommendations, and discussion starters. Having begun a master book list covering the books that I am reading for personal pleasure, it makes sense to keep a list of the books reviewed while wearing my teacher shoes. Undoubtedly, I'll overlook several books that I read more than a year ago, but I'll try to include all the books I've reviewed since beginning my job as a sixth grade English teacher.








The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

A young girl travels to the far north to rescue her friend while seeking to unravel the mystery of Dust and its dangerous role in her fantastic world. Pullman successfully weaves adventure, fantasy, and a bit of imaginative physics together in the first book of the trilogy His Dark Materials. (Rating: A / G.L. 6+)


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter demonstrates to the wizarding world the power of sacrifice, loyalty, and love as he battles Voldemort in Rowling's last HP book...an outstanding finale. Parents, screen the book for your children due to some strong language use and shocking imagery. (Rating: A / G.L. 7+)







Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

The stakes are high during year six at Hogwarts. Harry suspects Malfoy of carrying out a deadly plan for Voldemort, Snape seems to confirm Harry's long suspicions, and Dumbledore enlists Harry's help in unraveling the mystery of Voldemort and his rise to power. Year six also finds Harry and friends struggling with an equally daunting task: trying to figure out the opposite sex and the rules of love. (Rating: A / G.L.: 7+)








The Prophet of Yonwood - Jeanne DuPrau

In this prequel to The City of Ember, 11-year-old Nickie travels with her aunt to fix up an old home, armed with big plans and an even larger curiousity. She meets a Mrs. Beeson, whose ambitions to protect her town from nuclear disaster ensnare Nickie in a misguided witch-hunt for all "sinners." Readers will be underwhelmed by this book and left confused as to what truly is the source of truth and righteousness. (Rating: B- / G.L.: 6+)






The Final Storm - Wayne Thomas Batson

The conclusion of the Door Within trilogy hums with intense battle sequences, life and death struggles, wrestling for the souls of men, all the things that made the first two books enjoyable (but on a larger scale). Readers will revel and rejoice in the last few pages of the book as they imagine for themselves that final battle and the manifestation of a new Kingdom that will never end. (Rating: A+ / G.L. 5+)





The Rise of the Wyrm Lord - Wayne Thomas Batson

Readers of the first book in The Door Within trilogy may be surprised that Aiden has a minor role in this second installment, but they will surely enjoy meeting Antoinette--brave, stubborn, faithful,...hair dyed red. The action intensifies as Paragor unleases an ancient menace and the battle for men's souls wages ever more fiercely. You'll want to pick up the third book as quickly as you can. (Rating: A / Grade Level: 5+)






The People of Sparks - Jeanne DuPrau

After escaping the dying city of Ember, Lina and Doon lead their people above ground into a strange, new, marvelous, and deadly world. The Emberites find help and shelter from the people of Sparks, but as tensions mount, Lina and Doon hope to avoid the same mistakes their ancestors made which led to the great Disaster. (Rating: A- / Grade Level: 4+)






The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau

A masterful work of science fiction, The City of Ember launches DuPrau's promising career as a novelist. In a city where no one has the answers to food and supply shortages, where darkness reigns but for the ever-present amber streetlights, where even the Builders could not have foreseen the imminent disasters, two young heroes seek for answers. Salvation must be found! (Rating: A+ /Grade Level: 4+)

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry - Mildred D. Taylor

Cassie's family fights to hold onto their land and livelihood in the segregated South while Cassie learns to face life with her chin up -- (A- / 6+)


Sing Down the Moon - Scott O'Dell

The Navajo branch of the Trail of Tears is illuminated from a young woman's perspective in this haunting and beautiful historical work -- (B+ / 6+)


Rascal - Sterling North

Sterling North recounts his explorations of the Wisconsin countryside with his racoon, Rascal--a true portrait of a naturalist -- (B / 5+)


Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes

Rub shoulders with John Adams, Paul Revere, and others as you travel with Johnny through Boston on the brink of war -- (A / 6+)

The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth George Speare

Roman occupiers. Jewish zealots fomenting rebellion. A boy bent on revenging his father's death. Jesus Christ. One powerful story -- (A / 6+)


Shadowmancer - G.P. Taylor

Taylor shows his familiarity with the northeast English landscape and English myths in this ambitious attempt at Christian fantasy -- (B / 6+)


Harry Potter (#1-5) - J.K. Rowling

Controversy surrounds this hugely popular fantasy series, but few deny Rowling possesses a wide imagination and keen sense of humor (B+ / 7+)






The Door Within - Wayne Thomas Batson

In the tradition of C.S. Lewis, Batson has written a rather solid Christian fantasy book which combines adventure and faith without coming across as being preachy. Aidan, the main character, enters the kingdom of Alleble through the "door within" and discovers what a Mighty King can do with a little pawn. (Rating: A- / Grade Level: 5+)


Eragon; Eldest - Christopher Paolini

Young fantasy writer Paolini shows great promise, cranking out the first two installments of what will likely be a solid trilogy. Young Eragon must strengthen his skills and his resolve if he ever hopes to challenge the evil Galbatorix. Tolkien, Lucas, and LeGuin are clear influences -- (A- / 7+)


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

Certainly one of the finest of the Chronicles of Narnia, Dawn Treader is an exploration of tempation and the faithful Christian walk, resplendent with Lewis's imaginative power -- (A+ / 4+)

Atheists Worship Three Gods

As I see it, atheists worship three gods: Nature, Coincidence, and Time. Let me explain.

When confronted with the astounding variety of life on Earth with all its manifested beauty, an atheist marvels at Nature's handiwork. When exploring the workings of the spinning tail of a bacteria, the atheist exclaims, "Look how resourceful Nature is, even producing sophisticated machines by modifying old genes for new uses." When peering into the intricate coding of DNA with its massive information content, Mr. Atheist expresses praise to clever Nature and her awe-inspiring ability to create something out of nothing. Need more evidence that this view is pervasive among atheists? Read the article titled "A Fin Is a Limb Is a Wing: How Evolution Fashioned Its Masterworks" in the Nov. '06 issue of National Geographic.

Close kin to the goddess Nature is the patient, persistent god called Time. Occasionally, an atheist may come face to face with a biological system that defies evolutionary explanation...one that's far removed from the next less complex system. Probability dictates that there is very little chance that random mutations generated the system with all its interdependent parts and functions. In a moment of great panic and need, Mr. Atheist calls upon Time; he seldom fails. After all, given enough time, Nature and Time can work together to perform the miraculous by gradually taking just the right concerted steps in just the right concerted sequence over, say, several hundred million years. Plus, Time has the ability to confound our finite minds, and so it is easy to persuade his followers that given enough eons, anything is possible.

If you ever have the pleasure, I mean opportunity, to present a truly unexplainable phenomenon to an atheist, he will appeal to another favorite god: Coincidence. He is a crafty deity, able to explain away any difficulty with surpassing ease. For example, suppose you send up a very specific prayer (be sure to write it down) to the Lord of the Universe which gets answered in a mighty way. When you discuss this great work of God with an atheist friend, he will wave his hand nonchalantly and attribute this convergence of events as the work of Coincidence. He then need not trouble himself about it anymore. Coincidence, indeed, seems a very powerful god to our unbelieving friends.