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The City of Ember [Book of Ember #1] [Secure eReader (recommended)/Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/Adobe]
eBook by Jeanne DuPrau
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eBook Category: Science Fiction/Children's Fiction
eBook Description:  The city of Ember was built deep underground 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.
eBook Publisher: Random House, Inc./Random House Books for Young Readers, Published: 2003
Fictionwise Release Date: May 2003
This eBook is part of the following series:
59 Reader Ratings:
Available eBook Formats [Secure eReader (recommended)/Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/Adobe - What's this?]: SECURE MOBIPOCKET FORMAT [434 KB], SECURE MICROSOFT READER FORMAT [735 KB] - Requires Microsoft Reader 2.1.1 for PCs, or Microsoft Reader 2.2.2 on Pocket PC 2002 handheld devices. Some older Pocket PCs can be upgraded. Learn More., SECURE EREADER (RECOMMENDED) FORMAT [310 KB], SECURE ADOBE FORMAT [1.5 MB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [456 KB]
Secure Adobe: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
Microsoft Reader ISBN: 9780375890802
Adobe Reader ISBN: 9780375890802
Mobipocket Reader ISBN: 9780375890802
eReader ISBN: 9780375890802
GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTIONS: Available to customers in: US What's this?
 
"DuPrau's first foray into fiction creates a realistic post-apocalyptic world where everyone has lived underground for so long that they assume it has always been that way. . . . Reminiscent of post-apocalypse fiction like Robert O'Brien's Z for Zachariah, DuPrau's book leaves Doon and Lina on the verge of the undiscovered country and readers wanting more."--?USA Today
"The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment."--?Starred, Kirkus Reviews "While Ember is colorless and dark, the book itself is rich with description. . . . Part mystery, part adventure story, this novel provides science fiction for those who do not like science fiction."--?Starred, VOYA
The Instructions When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future. "They must not leave the city for at least two hundred years," said the chief builder. "Or perhaps two hundred and twenty." "Is that long enough?" asked his assistant. "It should be. We can't know for sure." "And when the time comes," said the assistant, "how will they know what to do?" "We'll provide them with instructions, of course," the chief builder replied. "But who will keep the instructions? Who can we trust to keep them safe and secret all that time?" "The mayor of the city will keep the instructions," said the chief builder. "We'll put them in a box with a timed lock, set to open on the proper date." "And will we tell the mayor what's in the box?" the assistant asked. "No, just that it's information they won't need and must not see until the box opens of its own accord." "So the first mayor will pass the box to the next mayor, and that one to the next, and so on down through the years, all of them keeping it secret, all that time?" "What else can we do?" asked the chief builder. "Nothing about this endeavor is certain. There may be no one left in the city by then or no safe place for them to come back to." So the first mayor of Ember was given the box, told to guard it carefully, and solemnly sworn to secrecy. When she grew old, and her time as mayor was up, she explained about the box to her successor, who also kept the secret carefully, as did the next mayor. Things went as planned for many years. But the seventh mayor of Ember was less honorable than the ones who'd come before him, and more desperate. He was ill -- he had the coughing sickness that was common in the city then -- and he thought the box might hold a secret that would save his life. He took it from its hiding place in the basement of the Gathering Hall and brought it home with him, where he attacked it with a hammer. But his strength was failing by then. All he managed to do was dent the lid a little. And before he could return the box to its official hiding place or tell his successor about it, he died. The box ended up at the back of a closet, shoved behind some old bags and bundles. There it sat, unnoticed, year after year, until its time arrived, and the lock quietly clicked open. Copyright © 2003 by Jeanne DuPrau
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