The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel Author: Dallas Middaugh | Language: English | ISBN:
0375868216 | Format: PDF
The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel Description
From Booklist
The city of Ember, the only light in a vast world of darkness, is dying, and two young teens might be the only ones who can find the way out of their darkening town—if they can escape the machinations of a corrupt mayor. DuPrau’s well-received dystopian and postapocalyptic middle-grade novel is ably adapted into graphic-novel form by Middaugh and Asker. Middaugh is not afraid to cut as needed, removing scenes and characters with the hand of a screenwriter. The result is a streamlined work that moves quickly while retaining the heart of the original story. Fans of the novel may notice the loss of some of the drama in the foreshortened scenes, but readers new and old will appreciate the muted colors of Asker’s artwork, which clearly shows the dinginess of Ember and the generic quality of people who have bred past specific races. The main characters are drawn young, but their maturity should help the graphic novel, like the book, cross over from elementary- to middle-school appeal. Grades 4-7. --Snow Wildsmith
Review
Starred Review, School Library Journal, November 2012:
“Lina and Doon have spent their entire lives surrounded by darkness. Lina is an optimist and a dreamer who just knows there is something beyond the city of her birth. Doon is much more practical. He knows that if he can just get a good look underground, he can fix the city's constant blackout problem. A chance encounter on Assignment Day allows the two children to meet and exchange jobs, essentially giving the other what they've always wanted. They start to unearth an evil plot by the city's obese and greedy mayor to steal away precious resources from the people who live there. Using clues left behind by Lina's late grandmother, they travel beneath Ember's tunnels in a desperate attempt to find a way out. Based on DuPrau's novel (Random, 2003), the story brings the city of Ember to life using many muted yellows and earth tones. While the interior vantage points from Lina's and Doon's perspectives make Ember's public buildings and homes seem large, advanced exterior shots surrounded entirely in black give readers a sense of just how isolated Ember is. Lina's wonder and Doon's frustration are easily visible through Asker's skill in detailing facial expressions, helping to visually elevate a story literally besieged by shadows. Dystopian stories can be dark, and this one is literally so, but its ultimately hopeful message will resonate.”
Booklist, October 15, 2012:"The city of Ember, the only light in a vast world of darkness, is dying and two young teens might be the only ones who can find the way out of their darkening town--if they can escape the machinations of a corrupt mayor. DuPrau's well-received dystopian and postapocalyptic middle-grade novel is ably adapted into graphic-novel form by Middaugh and Asker. The result is a streamlined work that moves quickly while retaining the heart of the original story. Readers new and old will appreciate the muted colors of Asker's artwork, which clearly shows the dinginess of Ember and the generic quality of people who have bred past specific races."
Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2012:"Effective use of light and shadow in the art give this graphic adaptation of the 2003 novel a properly spooky look. The tale is told in a visual, cinematic way with an admixture of quick reaction shots and wordless action sequences that allow readers to race along almost as fast as they can turn the pages. Asker's penumbral scenes underground and broad, grassy Eden above are strongly atmospheric and depict both settings and the clearly delineated cast (particularly the grossly corpulent Mayor) in tellingly crisp detail."
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- Age Range: 8 - 12 years
- Grade Level: 3 - 7
- Series: Books of Ember
- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 25, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9780375868214
- ISBN-13: 978-0375868214
- ASIN: 0375868216
- Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I read The City of Ember when it first came out, when a 12-year-old neighbor girl told me about it. I read it again aloud to my wife and her son. Then we saw the movie in the theater. Then we saw the DVD. Now I've just finished the graphic novel. I love this story!
At first I was sad that in the graphic novel there are so many details missing. However, I got hooked into the story. I was only going to read for a little bit but I read the whole book in one evening. And something happened to me. It happened every time I read the book and saw the movie: when Lina and Dune come out of the cave and smell the fresh air for the first time in their lives, I got chills. Then as the light begins, and the sun comes up, the first time they have ever seen the sun, I get tears in my eyes. Even though this is the fifth time I have read or seen the story, it still is magic to me.
And now that I think about it, this is simply a retelling of the Allegory of the Cave, from Plato's Republic. In that story, men are trapped in a cave, never having seen natural light. They are chained in a way so that they can only see the back wall of the cave, where projections are shown to them by way of a lamp and puppets behind their backs. They believe the puppet shadows are real, that they are all that is real. But a many may break free of his shackles and go outside the cave, and see real things, with real light. It is a metaphor for a kind of perception or enlightenment. I think Jeanne DuPrau has done a wonderful service to Plato by putting the story in this form, with children being the discoverers. It deepens the metphor, because they have not yet grown to believe all the things that adults are supposed to believe.
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