BOOK PICKS.

Byline: The Register-Guard

"The City of Ember"

By Jeanne DuPrau

Random House, 2003

Ages 10 to 14

In the great tradition of futuristic utopias gone wrong, DuPrau has created the city of Ember. No one can remember when the light of "day" was produced by anything but the flip of a switch. Or when anyone has ventured out past the total blackness that marks the city boundaries. But now, the daylight flickers all too often, and sometimes the city is brought to a terrifying standstill while its citizens wait for the unexpected darkness to turn to light.

Twelve-year-old Doon Harrow believes that he can fix the giant river-driven machinery that produces the daylight. When Lina Mayfleet is given the job of Pipeworks on Assignment Day, Doon willingly trades his Messenger assignment to gain access to the pounding generator.

Mysteriously, it is not the machinery but the discovery of bits of an ancient parchment that provides the clues to what must be done to save the city. After a harrowing trip down the river, Doon and Lina see sunlight and sky for the first time and discover a view into their city buried deep underground.

They wrap a message around a rock, drop it through an opening into the city and hope it will be discovered by someone willing to believe what they have written. It is picked up by an unsuspecting citizen of Ember and the reader is set for the sequel, "The People of Sparks."

Readers will likely see the similarity to novels such as "The Giver." Although this is less likely to spark controversy, it is full of high adventure and youthful heroes. Young people who like to ponder the notion of worlds to be saved will be drawn to the city of Ember. And visitors to the city of Ember will surely want to journey on to the city of Sparks.

- Linda Ague, librarian, Cal Young Middle School