The City of Ember (Ember #1)

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau is the first book in the Ember trilogy.

The city of Ember is a city with no natural light. It is either underground or perhaps covered in a dome that blocks the sun. Electricity is on from six a.m. to nine p.m. each day. Everything needed for the city is kept in the giant storage facility or grown in one of the five green houses.

But in the 214th year of the city, supplies are beginning to run low. And the generator is having problems, causing blackouts.

At the age of 12, kids finish school and start working. Each year there are jobs that need to be filled and the 12 year-olds choose from them. In this year's class, Lina is a messenger and Doon works in the Pipeworks - the underground water system that supplies water from the river to each building in Ember.

Doon has noticed that the city is starting to look older. He is convinced he can improve the generator if he can only gain access to it. Lina is happy just running through the town delivering messages.

When Lina's grandmother finds a box with an ancient message inside, they try to make sense of it to find salvation for the city. Unfortunately, before Lina finds the message, her baby sister has chewed some of the important parts.

Using the incomplete message and what they know of the city, will Lina a Doon find a way to save Ember?

DuPrau, Jeanne. (2004). City of Ember. New York: Random House.