44 pages • 1 hour read
The City of Ember
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The City of Ember (2003) is the first novel in Jeanne DuPrau’s highly-esteemed middle grade science fiction series of the same name. Readers meet the 12-year-old protagonists Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, newly assigned members of the city of Ember’s working class. In their new jobs as messenger and Pipeworks laborer, Lina and Doon begin to grasp the disturbing truth about their doomed city—and discover the chance to leave it for good. The novel examines the complexity of secrets, selfishness versus selflessness, and the importance of learning and curiosity.
DuPrau received several awards for The City of Ember, including the 2003 Kirkus Editor’s Choice award and the 2006 Mark Twain Award, and the novel was adapted for film in 2008. DuPrau is also the author of two other novels, several non-fiction books including a memoir, and short stories. This guide references the 2003 Random House edition of The City of Ember.
Plot Summary
A brief prologue describes how anonymous Builders constructed the city of Ember for arriving inhabitants who would need to live there for at least two centuries. It is implied that it will be unsafe to leave the city before that much time has passed; to keep citizens safe, the only copy of instructions for leaving Ember will be placed in a locked box.
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