I’ve lost track of the books we have on our shelves. As books get passed down from cousins to neighbors to cousins and back again, I glance at each title for a precursory age-appropriateness, but otherwise just drop them on the shelf.
Recently, my 10 year-old picked-up this book to read:
Recently, my 10 year-old picked-up this book to read:
After reading City of Ember, my son suggested that I read it too. This suggestion came day, after day, after day, after day until I finally gave-in and cracked-open the cover. As soon as I did, I understood why my son had been so eager for me to read it. I find a tremendous amount of joy in reading the same books as my son, so we can discuss it later – and this book has a lot to discuss. For months, we’ve had this gem of a book sitting on the shelf - just waiting for us to find it!
In City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau slowly unveils a story of a tightly regulated society designed to survive. Untethered by memories of the past, the society does all that it was meant to do, for all the years it was meant to do it – but the secret of how to “egress” has been lost. Finally, when a young heroine finally unveils the secret, she has trouble finding anyone to believe her. So... taking matters into her own hands, she unravels the mystery and follows the path “for going out.”
In describing the book to others, I described the book as “Sci-Fi.” My son calls it “Future Fiction.” (I didn’t know ‘Future Fiction’ was even a genre – but a quick Good Reads search confirms my son as the literary giant in this family.) Dark and mysterious, I recommend this book for the over 10 crowd, but otherwise found the writing to be “clean” and kid-appropriate.
The Kirkus Reviews say City of Ember:
“Contains a satisfying mystery”
"a harrowing journey”
“cryptic messages for readers to decipher”
and “The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment.”
My son and I totally agree and have reserved the rest of the series from our public library. We plan to devour them all in the coming weeks.
In City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau slowly unveils a story of a tightly regulated society designed to survive. Untethered by memories of the past, the society does all that it was meant to do, for all the years it was meant to do it – but the secret of how to “egress” has been lost. Finally, when a young heroine finally unveils the secret, she has trouble finding anyone to believe her. So... taking matters into her own hands, she unravels the mystery and follows the path “for going out.”
In describing the book to others, I described the book as “Sci-Fi.” My son calls it “Future Fiction.” (I didn’t know ‘Future Fiction’ was even a genre – but a quick Good Reads search confirms my son as the literary giant in this family.) Dark and mysterious, I recommend this book for the over 10 crowd, but otherwise found the writing to be “clean” and kid-appropriate.
The Kirkus Reviews say City of Ember:
“Contains a satisfying mystery”
"a harrowing journey”
“cryptic messages for readers to decipher”
and “The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment.”
My son and I totally agree and have reserved the rest of the series from our public library. We plan to devour them all in the coming weeks.