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Searching... Mishawaka Library | Children's Graphic Novel | 33028009951999 | Graphic DuPRAU | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In the spring 2003, kids, parents, teachers, librarians--whole communities--discovered and fell in love with Jeanne DuPrau's story about a doomed city, and the two children who found a way out. Nearly 10 years later, that story, The City of Ember, is a bona fide classic, with over 1.7 million copies sold. Now experience Jeanne DuPrau's vision anew as artist Niklas Asker faithfully brings to life the glare of the lamps, the dinginess of the streets, and the brilliance of the first sunrise.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-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.-Ryan P. Donovan, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
This effective graphic novel adapts DuPrau's popular middle-grade dystopic adventure. Middaugh smartly selects dialogue that brings characters to life, while Asker's figure designs, muted tones, and deft panel shifts suit the spirit of exploration, the gritty atmosphere, and the tale's growing tension. This incarnation will please fans of--and invite new readers into--Ember's enticing universe. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Effective use of light and shadow in the art give this graphic adaptation of the 2003 novel a properly spooky look, but it reads overall more like a summary than a developed story. Though sticking to a sketchy iteration of the original's plot rather than the somewhat altered film version (no cave monster, sorry), 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. The terse exchanges between characters use DuPrau's words, but as dialogue they sometimes come across as stiff: "if I go, I must leave Poppy, mustn't I?" frets Lina. "How can I take her on a journey of such danger?" Still, 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. No substitute for the original, but an agreeable alternative for younger or less-able readers. (Graphic science fiction. 8-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
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.--Wildsmith, Snow Copyright 2010 Booklist