Critical Reception
The City of Ember was praised for its setting and main characters, Lina Mayfeet and Doon Harrow. Kirkus Reviews praised the characters finding them "likable" for their courage, but also for their flaws of human pride. The reviewer noted how "their weaknesses often complementing each other in interesting ways". Sally Estes from Booklist commented how readers would be able to connect to Lina and Doon's courage amidst the conflicts. Robert Sutton from Horn Book Magazine compared the novel to Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, noting how "the darkness of Ember is essentially literal" with the generator failing and running out of power. Sutton noted how DuPrau does not explain the history of Ember all at once, which would confuse and overwhelm the reader and instead, "allows the events of the story to convey the necessary information". Lina and Doon were described as "good sorts" that are "deeply etched". Dian Roback from Publishers Weekly also praised the "full blooded characters" as every bit as good as the plot which would hook readers until the end. While Jones Johns from School Library Journal found that the setting isn't as ingenious as the ones in Joan Aiken's Is Underground and Lois Lowry's The Giver, he found that the characters and pace of the plot will keep readers hooked.
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