Today, December 23, is the third day of Persnickety Snark’s FIVE Challenge, and today’s particular challenge is…Great Series!
Adele’s list may be YA only, but I’m including all age brackets. Oh, and these aren’t all published in 2010 – I just read them in 2010. Better late than never 😉
Anyhoo, here we are, counting down from 5 to 1 – yes, I do play favourites:
Posted in Alexander Gordon Smith, Ann Aguirre, Jeanne DuPrau, Rachel Vincent, Susan Beth Pfeffer
Tagged Bloody Maria, Blue Diablo, Death Sentence, Devil's Punch, Execution, Fugitives, Hell Fire, If I Die, Life As We Knew It, Lockdown, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Steal, My Soul to Take, Shady Lady, Solitary, The City of Ember, The Dead and the Gone, The Diamond of Darkhold, The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood, This World We Live In
The City of Ember (Ember, Book 1)
Random House (US & CA: 26th August 2008; UK: 2nd October 2008; AU: 1st December 2008)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Ember is running out of supplies. After graduating from school, Doon starts his job in the Pipeworks, hoping to really contribute to the community, and learn how dark the city’s problems are. Lina wants a foot in every pot, and all the help she can get – her grandmother, also her guardian, is on death’s bed.
Lina accidentally stumbles upon a centuries’-old escape plan, to the world outside Ember. Surviving a journey in a toddler’s mouth, the Instructions now have bits missing, and Lina and Doon must piece together what they can to find a way out of Ember, and a way of saving their city.
Jeanne DuPrau’s contribution to the fabulously innovative subgenre of dystopian YA is outstanding. It’s easy to relate to these characters, who often feel – and are – out of the loop. Their love for their city and desire for a better life elsewhere are emotionally realistic, and breaking out also challenges them physically. Life in Ember feels somewhat historical, so steampunk fans may flock to this, too.
Good news: there are two more novels in this sequence, as well as a prequel. Me want!
