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The City of Ember

The First Book of Ember

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The City of Ember

By: Jeanne DuPrau
Narrated by: Wendy Dillon
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About this listen

 Ember is the only light in a dark world. But when its lamps begin to flicker, two friends must race to escape the dark. This highly acclaimed adventure series is a modern-day classic—with over 4 MILLION copies sold!

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to dim. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. Now, she and her friend Doon must race to figure out the clues to keep the lights on. If they succeed, they will have to convince everyone to follow them into danger. But if they fail? The lights will burn out and the darkness will close in forever.

Nominated to 28 State Award Lists!
An American Library Association Notable Children’s Book
A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection
A Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice
A Child Magazine Best Children’s Book
A Mark Twain Award Winner
A William Allen White Children’s Book Award Winner

“A realistic post-apocalyptic world. DuPrau’s book leaves Doon and Lina on the verge of undiscovered country and readers wanting more.” —USA Today

“An electric debut.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred

“While Ember is colorless and dark, the book itself is rich with description.” —VOYA, Starred

“A harrowing journey into the unknown, and cryptic messages for readers to decipher.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Dystopian Fiction Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Friendship

Critic reviews

USA Today
"DuPrau’s first foray into fiction creates a realistic post-apocalyptic world. Reminiscent of 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."

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
"Thanks to full-blooded characters every bit as compelling as the plot, Lina and Doon’s search parallels the universal adolescent quest for answers. An electric debut!"

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
"Well-paced, this contains a satisfying mystery, a breathtaking escape over rooftops in darkness, a harrowing journey into the unknown, and cryptic messages for readers to decipher. The likeable protagonists are not only courageous but also believably flawed by human pride. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment."

Starred Review, Voice of Youth Advocates
"While Ember is colorless and dark, the book itself is rich with description. DuPrau uses the puzzle, suspenseful action, and lots of evil characters to entice readers into the story. They will find the teen characters believable and gutsy. Part mystery, part adventure story."

The Horn Book Magazine
"The device of a hidden letter, complete with missing words, is used with such disarming forthrightness that readers will be eagerly deciphering it right alongside Doon and Lina."

An ALA Notable Children’s Book

A Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice

A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection
All stars
Most relevant
I loved it
we need more chapters though
we need to find out the ending

amazing 😁

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I am three quarters of an hour into this audio book, and struggling. Irritating sound effects at the beginning, and the narrator appears to have just graduated from the 'Let's exaggerate every voice' school of acting. An old woman is unbearably quavery - she has given the Mayor an infuriating gasp/shriek in most sentences - children must have high squeaky voices.

Wendy Dillon has a good voice when not putting her slant onto the characters. Perhaps someone could point out to her that we ordinary listeners have our own imaginations too, and we quite like to concentrate on the story, not the reader.

Over-acted

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I had seen the movie and decided to try to book to see if they had missed out anything interesting. The writer creates a very detailed world and I was always interested to see what was uncovered next. The further into the story I got the harder it was to switch off.

The narrator did a good job with very distinct characters, the mayor was particularly well done. There were also various sound effects added throughout, like running water, which made me feel even more immersed in the story.

Great little story

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lol there is more books to this that I didn't know about. can't wait to continue

Lol Great book

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I felt like a child all over again, captivated by the story and every descriptive detail

Voice Impressions and the background sounds

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