DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. Yearling, 2004. ISBN 978-0375822742 270 pp. $8.99

*****

I just finished City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau and it is an amazing first novel. The book has been floundering about in my library and I had been putting off reading it until a parent cam ein raving about how her two kids loved it so I figured I’d take it home. Twelve year old Lina lives in the city of Ember, a world of perpetual night. The only illlumination is in the form of floodlights around the city beyond which is only darkness. As the book progresses, twelve year old Lina and her friend Doon discover some of the dark secrets of the city and begin to fear that it will not last for much longer. The one generator is failing, no one understands how electricity works, food and supplies are running short and the blackouts are becoming more frequent. With the discovery of an old set of instructions, the pair set out to determine its meaning and possibly a way out of Ember.

Another take on City of Ember!

Snicket, Lemony. The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events #10). Harper, 2003. ISBN 978-0064410137 352 pp. $13.99

I also recently read the 10th Lemony Snicket book The Slippery Slope. I just wanted to share my favorite line from it: “I know that having a good vocabulary doesn’t guarantee that I’m a good person, “ the boy said. “But it does mean that I’ve read a great deal. And in my experience, well-read people are less likely to be evil.” Here, here.