A person today might have trouble living underground and relying completely on electric lights for everything, but for Emberians (yep, we just made that word up), it's par for the course, standard everyday living, situation normal. The citizens of Ember, for example, have totally adjusted to their living conditions. Things that might seem bizarre at first exposure are things that can become normal given time, no matter how harmful. See, over time, we can adjust to just about anything-including things that will eventually kill us. Which brings us back to our original point: people are like frogs. And of course, if you toss a frog in a pot of water that's already boiling, that frog'll jump right out. Surely you've heard of the frog that's boiled to death but doesn't seem to notice or care? If you put a frog in room temp water and slowly raise the temperature to boiling, the change happens so slowly that the frog doesn't notice, and it'll sit there, slowly boiling to death until-boom!- cuisses de grenouille. People are like frogs-yes, that sounds strange, but allow Shmoop to explain. What is The City of Ember About and Why Should I Care? And in case you haven't gotten enough of the characters or the world, there are three books that follow: The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood (technically a prequel), and The Diamond of Darkhold. Plus they made a movie of it in 2008 starring Bill Murray. The City of Ember has nabbed all sorts of accolades, including being named an American Library Association Notable Book, a Kirkus 2003 Editor's Choice, Publisher's Weekly Flying Start, and a bunch of others, too. If that doesn't sound like a recipe for some critical love, then we don't know what will. And since the people of Ember don't know what's been lost, how can they begin to solve the mystery of their existence? Life in Ember goes on the way it always has (well, except for the terrifying disruptions of electricity and the shortages of supplies). They're literally and figuratively in the dark. It turns out that Ember was constructed to be the last refuge of humans should disaster ruin the world… but none of the current residents of Ember know any of this. How's that? Well, the survivors of the apocalypse don't know that they're living in a post-apocalyptic era. But what DuPrau does with the doomsday scenario gives this book a unique twist. Sure, it's a simple enough premise-a classic doomsday scenario. ![]() ![]() And as the electricity begins to fail, and the food stores dwindle, Lina and Doon must try to put the puzzle pieces together and figure out what's going wrong before it's too late to save their city. In fact, a functioning Ember is all they have ever known. ![]() Nobody knows why the cans of food are running out. Nobody knows how the generator works to keep the lights on-or why it's failing. Nobody in Lina and Doon's generation has ever known anything other than life in their city, ringed by absolute darkness outside its borders. Yep, things in Ember are not quite what they seem to be. Youngsters Lina and Doon have guessed that something is wrong because the lights are dimming, the supplies are running out, and there seems to be no escape. ![]() Jeanne DuPrau's 2003 young adult novel The City of Ember paints a vivid picture of life in an underground city (named-you guessed it-Ember). Are you afraid of the dark? Be glad you don't live in Ember, then.
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