BOOK REPORT (WEEKLY READING REPORT)

Student Name : Rachmadian Hidayat

Class : English Literature E

Book title : The City of Ember

Author : Jeanne DuPrau
Publisher : Publishers Weekly
Number of : 171 pages
pages

* Characters, characterization, and settings:

Characters and characterizations

Lina Mayfleet : Loves to run, ambitious, big sis, hard-working, chatty, sociable

Doon Harrow : Serious, helpful, anger, kind, competitive, sympathetic

Mayor Lemander Cole : Greedy, liar

Looper Windly :

Granny : Kind

Poppy : Cute,

Lizzie Bisco : Selfish, insensitive, careless

Mrs. Evaleen Murdo : Kind

Clary Laine : Hard-working, shy

Loris Harrow : Wise, hard-working, kind

Allis Fleery :

Barton Snode : Serious

Nammy Proges : Kind

Sadge Merrall :
The Builders :

The Journal-Writer : Ambitious

The Believers :

Setting :
Ember City, Piperworks, world above the Ember City

* Summary of each chapters/subtitles in the book:

Chapter 1 – Assignment Day

The sky in Ember’s city is always dark. The lights are turned off between nine at night and six at
morning. For younger people, until they reached the age of twelve, went to school. On the last
day of their final year, which was called Assignment Day, they were given jobs to do. Twenty-
four students are sitting in their classroom on Assignment Day. Everyone’s nervous, because the
job that they will get is completely random. And they have to work for at least three years before
ask to change their job. They have to draw a paper that written with profession that they will get
in Mayor’s little bag. Lina’s friend Lizzie got Supply Depot Clerk, Lina feel bad for her because
that job is boring. Other kids make their choices, and finally Lina gets up. She get Pipeworks
laborer. She doesn’t like this job, she feels like buried alive. She wants to be a Messenger. Then
the last student, Doon Harow. He draws the paper, and says what the paper said. He got
Messenger. He feels upset, and crumpled the paper kicked it to the corner. He doesn’t want this
job. Doon is the last to draw, and he gets Messenger. He's not happy about it, crumpling the
paper and throwing it on the ground. Apparently that's a bit of a no-no in Ember, so the mayor
reprimands him for bad behavior. The mayor shook hands with Miss Thorn and departed. The
students gathered their coats and caps and filed out of the classroom. Lina walked down the
Wide Hallway with Lizzie, who said, "Poor you! I thought I picked a bad one, but you got the
worst. I feel lucky compared to you." Once they were out the door, Lizzie said goodbye and
scurried away, as if Lina's bad luck were a disease she might catch. As they all leave, Doon asks
Lina if she wants to trade jobs. Overjoyed, she says absofreakinlutely. Doon explains that he'd
wanted electrician's helper, but the lucky kid who got it wouldn't trade. Pipeworks at least puts
him close to the generator that powers the city, so he can investigate it. Anyway, whether it was
important or not, the job of messenger just happened to be perfect for Lina. She loved to run. She
could run forever. And she loved exploring every nook and cranny of the city, which was what a
messenger got to do.

Chapter 2 – A Message to the Mayor

Lina used to be friends with Doon. In the past they had a challenge. Doon failed, Lina and
friends were laughing at him. Doon felt embarrass. Now, she’s grateful to him. Lina gets home
—her grandmother's yarn shop— and tells Granny and Poppy her little sister the good news.
Two years ago, Lina's father had died from a coughing sickness going around the city, and Lina's
mother had died a few months later giving birth to Poppy. The next day, Lina goes to the
messengers' headquarters. There, Captain Fleery instructs her in how to be a good messenger.
Basically, Lina has to repeat back a message anyone gives her to make sure she's getting it right,
she has to wear red so people can identify her; and she can only deliver the message to the
person it's intended for. Lina spends the morning delivering messages. Then, a guy who wants a
message delivered is a little strange looking. He wants her to tell the mayor that a delivery will
be ready at eight from Looper. Lina goes to the mayor's office, which is in Gathering Hall (at the
town's center). An assistant guard admits her to a waiting room, but since she's bored, Lina goes
up on the roof of the hall. It's fun waving at the people down below until she gets in trouble with
the guards. The mayor is also annoyed, until Lina delivers the message. Then he smiles and lets
her go without any trouble. As Lina leaves the Gathering Hall, Doon considers saying hi, but
doesn't. He'd seen her on top of the roof during her shenanigans. But he's dirty from his day at
work, so he decides to talk to her later.

Chapter 3 – Under Ember

Doon had arrived at the Pipeworks full of anticipation. The whole place is damp, so Doon's
issued some rubber boots and other gear for his work shift. A girl named Arlin shows him around
and pairs with him on his first day in Tunnel 97. Arlin lead Doon to the beginning of the river.
After fifteen minutes or so, they came to the east edge of the Pipeworks, where the river surged
up from a deep chasm in the ground, churning so violently that its dark water turned white and
filled the air with a spray that wet Doon's face. In the wall to their right was a wide double door.
Inside that door is the generator room. Arlin walks him through fixing a particular pipe that's
leaking, and then she has lunch with her friends. Doon uses the time to check out the generator
room, where he's not supposed to be without permission.It's too loud to hear anything, and the
old man Doon talks to just shoos him away. Doon is humbled—he's spent his life studying how
things work, and the generator is clearly way beyond him. He tries to talk to the old dude at the
day's end, asking how the generator works. The man says nobody knows how it works, only how
to try to fix it when it breaks down. Doon lives with his father who owns the shop that sells odds
and ends. Doon didn't stop in at the shop to see his father before going upstairs. He wasn't in the
mood for conversation. Angry, Doon hurls a shoe heel at the door. It hits the front door just as
the door opened. At that moment, his dad opens the door, and gets hit in the ear with the heel.
Doon's father asks if he wants to talk about it. So Doon complains about his first day at work,
and his father advises him to pay attention to the little things, and maybe he'll figure something
out.

Chapter 4 – Something Lost, Nothing Found

Lina comes home from her messenger job one day to find the apartment torn apart because
Granny's looking for something. Problem is, Granny doesn't know exactly what she's looking for.
As Lina starts to clean up, she asks where the baby is. Granny forgot her down in the shop. Lina
finds Poppy tangled in a hank of yarn, and rescues her. Not good. Granny is still riffling through
things up in the apartment. Granny explains that her father had heard her grandfather (the
seventh mayor) saying that something was lost and he couldn't find it. Lina chalks it up to the
ramblings of an old man. The next day, Lina stops at their neighbor's place. Mrs. Murdo lives
alone, and doesn't work anymore since her shop closed. She's a kind woman, so Lina asks her to
look in on Granny and Poppy while she's gone, and Mrs. Murdo agrees. Lina has to carry a
message to greenhouse. Sad, her father worked there before he died. Clary, one of the
greenhouse workers, has always been friendly to Lina, so they talk a bit (not about happy things,
but about the fact that a bunch of potatoes are dying mysteriously, and potatoes are a staple of
Ember's cuisine). Suddenly, they heard running footsteps and a strange, high, sobbing sound. It
was Sadge Merral, one of the clerks in the Supply Depot. His face was scratched. He basically
had a panic attack out there and ran back to Ember before he could get lost or fall in a hole or get
eaten by monsters.

Chapter 5 – On Knight Street

Granny continues to get more confused, and spent more time searching for the unknown lost
item. Mrs. Murdo spent more time at the house, keeping an eye on things. Every worker Lina's
age gets Thursdays off, and one Thursday, Lina went shopping. She head some people talking
about a shop that had paint and colored pencils, which she wanted to check out. Lina brought
Poppy with her to the shop on Night Street. She was supposed to use her money for a new coat
for Granny, but it's been forever since she was had any colored pencils, and she was excited to
look for them. While they were walking, they saw Sadge ranting on the steps of the Gathering
Hall about the Unknown Regions being filled with darkness and monsters. People try to calm
him down. The shop is run by Looper—the funny-looking dude who'd given Lina the message to
give to the mayor on her first day on the job. She decided to buy two even though they were
really expensive. Right after the transaction, Lina notices that Poppy has disappeared. As soon as
Lina goes to the street, the lights go out. Lina can't see a thing, so she's not sure which way to go.
Poppy is still lost, which just makes Lina feel guilty about lingering over the colored pencils.
After a few minutes , the lights come back on. Lina runs around looking for Poppy. Someone
hears the description and points her toward a shop. Turns out Doon had found Poppy and taken
her inside his father's shop. Lina thanks Doon, and then leaves with her sister. Later, in her
bedroom, with Poppy asleep, she took the two colored pencils from her pocket. They were not
quite as beautiful as they had been. When she held them, she remembered the powerful wanting
she had felt in that dusty store, and the feeling of it was mixed up with fear and shame and
darkness.

Chapter 6 – The Box in the Closet

This was the longest power failure anyone's ever experince. It was seven minutes long. The next
day, mayor called a town meeting in Harken Square. But, the sound systemn was broken, so the
people in the back couldn't hear what mayor said, and the others at the front have to repeat
mayor's words to the rest of the crowd. Mayor said that he had solution for the town, but he
didn't tell what kind of solution that was. The crowd got angry. Doon was there with his father,
he got angry too. He thought that the mayor was lying. His father noted that Doon seeme to be
angry a lot lately. His father said that anger could have unintended consequences. Lina ran out
from the crowd. She wanted to go home and draw with her new pencils. She found Granny
taking apart a crammed old closet. Poppy was there too playing with a small box. The box had
sime kind of mysterious lock, but it's open. And it's empty. Poppy was sitting next to the box and
chewing on some paper. The scraps of paper on the floor around her were covered in tiny,
perfectly printed letters.

Chapter 7 – A Messages Full of Holes

Lina took much paper from Poppy’s mouth, and gathered up the rest of the scraps then brought
them to her room. It was written in such a perfect neat. After Lina put Granny and Poppy to bed,
she arranged the scraps of paper to form a whole. Lina glued down the scraps. She could make
out enough of the title to tell that the paper must be instructions for something like something to
help the citizens of Ember. Next day, she asked Captain Fleery (the head messenger) for help.
Captain Fleery thought it’s most likely a recipe or assignment or something else that’s not very
important. Captain Fleery told Lina all about Believers, a group of citizens who believe that the
Builders will return and solve all their problems. Lina decided to go see her friend Lizzie after
she got off work at the Supply Depot. Lizzie agreed to hang out with Lina, but Lizzie had no
interest with the scraps of paper that Lina showed to her. Then they just hanged out and talked
until Lizzie went home. Lina got an idea. She wrote a letter to the mayor about the scraps of the
paper, but after a few days, there’s still no reply. She deciphered the message and found a word
“Piperworks”. There’s also something about a riverbank and door. Lina decided to ask Doon for
help with the message, since Doon’s working in the Pipeworks and might know something
useful.

Chapter 8 – Explorations
Doon wandered the Pipeworkds by himself a lot. He found interesting bugs, but then he
accidentally squished one of his new finds when the other workers make fun of him collecting
bugs, causing him to angrily leap up and shouted back. While exploring, Doon found a roped-off
tunnel, went in. There’s nothing but a locked door, and a hatch in the ceiling that he couldn’t
reach. He found some mysterious grooves on the riverbank. Doon decided to try working in a
kind of moveable light. He went to the Ember Library looking information of fire. People in
Ember didn’t have much experience with fire. When there was a fire, it was because there had
been an accident—someone had left a dishtowel too close to an electric burner on a stove, or a
cord had frayed and a spark had flown out and ignited curtains. Then the citizens would rush in
with buckets of water, and the fire was quickly drowned. But it was, of course, possible to start a
fire on purpose. Hold a sliver of wood to the stove burner until it burst into flame, and then for a
moment it would flare brightly, giving off orange light. Doon didn’t find much on fire. But he
found an interesting book of old phrases. Words like "hogwash" were a complete mystery since
no one in Ember knows what a hog was or why you'd want to wash it, for example. Being "all in
the same boat" makes no sense because no one knows what a boat is, either. Interesting, but not
useful. He put the book back on the shelf and was about to leave when the door of the library
opened, and Lina Mayfleet came in.

Chapter 9 – The Door in the Roped-Off Tunnel

Lina said that Doon’s father had told her that he was in the library. Doon tagged along with Lina
back to her home. Mrs. Murdo was watching Poppy; Granny had gone to bed earlier. Doon
agreed that it looked important. He said that he had seen some closed off tunnels, though they
were not near the river. Lina asked if she could come to check it out with Doon, and he agreed to
let her into the Pipeworks the next day after everyone left at quitting time. When they came to
the closed-off tunnel, Lina could feel the doorknob to the locked room for herself. There was no
light in that tunnel, so there was nothing to see. Suddenly they heard something. They heard
someone coming. They went back to the lit tunnel and hide, looking around the corner and
listening. A harsh scraping sound. A thud. A pause ... and then the sound of an impact, a short,
explosive breath, and a muttered word in a gruff, low voice. Then slow footsteps, getting closer.
They flattened themselves against the wall and stood motionless. The footsteps stopped briefly,
and there was another grunt. Then the steps continued, but seemed to be fading. In a moment,
from a distance, there was another sound: the chink of a key turning in a lock, and the click of a
latch opening. Someone had gone down the roped tunnel and opened the door! Then Doon and
Lina tried to take a peek. They saw a glimpse of someone’s leg, dark coat, and untidy hair. Then
had vanished into the shadows. Lina and Doon left the Pipeworks and discussed about that
mysterious person.

Chapter 10 – Blue Sky and Goodbye

Lina couldn’t sleep well that night. She reminded of the things that happened that day in the
Pipeworks. Lina went in to Granny room and wake her up. She found that Granny has come
down with a fever. Doctor told Lina to stay in home to take care of Granny. Granny asked Line
whether they’d found “it”. Lina assured her that they have “it”. Next day, to keep Poppy
occupied. Lina suggested to draw. Lina drew the city, and coloring the sky with blue. But, the
reality was the Ember’s sky was black. Granny called Lina and told her that she was okay, and
Lina could go back to sleep. Lina woke up at six, when the lights came on. She found Granny
very pale and very still, all the life gone out of her

Chapter 11 – Lizzie’s Groceries

Mrs. Murdo took care of the girls the day after Granny’s death, giving them good meal and a
chance to rest. Mrs. Murdo talked about the Singing. An event that happen in once a year, when
all the people of Ember gathered to sing the three great songs of Ember. Mrs. Murdo told Lina
that Lina and Poppy should came live with her. Lina saw Lizzie coming out of the Supply Depot,
then called her, but she didn’t stop or slow down. And she seemed too distracted to care that
Lina's grandmother died. Lizzie talked about her new boyfriend. But just at that moment, Lizzie
tripped. She'd been strutting along being beautiful, not paying attention to her feet, and the edge
of her shoe caught on an uneven place in the pavement. She staggered and fell, and as she fell
she lost her grip on the sack. It hit the ground and toppled sideways, and some cans spilled out.
Lina helped her gather them up, but then she notice that the cans were full of special food, and
things she’s never heard of. Lizzie said she found them in a backroom in storage. The next day,
Lina decided to ask Lizzie where she got the cans. Lizzie said that they were from the storeroom
worker named Looper. Lina remembered Looper from the time she delivered a message for him.
Lina was totally tempted. Then she realized that it was unfair to keep nice things fo a few people
to enjoy. Lina told Lizzie that she didn’t want any of Looper stuff.

Chapter 12 – A Dreadful Discovery

Doon finished fixing in the Piperworks and decided to go to that secret tunnel again looking for
clues. He shocked, he found a key in it. He quietly opened the door and saw a brightly lit room
packed with jars, boxes, packagesm clothes. Before he stepped back and pulled the door closed,
caught a glimpse of a fleshy ear, a slab of gray cheek, and loose, purplish mouth. That day, Lina
had more messages to carry than ever. There had been five blackouts in a row during the week.
As she headed home, Doon came and told her that he saw inside the locked room. He saw the
mayor inside that room. The solution that mayor said was just for him, not for the people. Lina
also told about Looper’s strange stuff. And she reminded of that day they saw a glimpse of a
man, and that was Looper. They decided to tell the guards about the mayor’s stealing, and so
they left a note to one of the assistant guards, who seemed eager to help. Before they went to the
guards, Lina told Doon that her Granny died, and he’s really sympathetic. His sympathy made
her tears fell down. Then Doon wrapped his arms around her.

Chapter 13 – Deciphering the Message

Lina decided to go to Clary. Lina need a help from Clary with the instructions. Doon said it just
an instruction, someone’s name or whatelse. But Clary found something important. She found
that the document was titled “Instructions for Egress.” As in, a way to exit Ember. After
knowing that, then Clary left. Lina ran to Doon’s apartment, and told him what she knew. Then
they were deciphered the instruction together. Doon planned to announce it to everyone during
the Singing if they found the way out.

Chapter 14 – The Way Out

The next day was Song Rehearsal Day. Everyone was let off from work at twelve o’clock to
practice for the singing. No one came with any messages to be delivered, so after a while Lina
left her station and found a step to sit on in an alley off Calloo Street. She pulled back her hair
and braided it to keep it from sliding around. Then she took from her pocket the copy of the
Instructions she'd made just after she sent her note to the mayor. She unfolded it and began to
study it. This is what she was doing when, a little before twelve o'clock, she looked up to see
Doon running toward her. He must have come straight from the Pipeworks. They found the rock
marked with an “E” and when they looked around, then found a ladder leading down to a ledge
next to the riverbank. They found themselves on a ledge, which connected to a hall. There was a
door at the of the hall. They opened it using information from the Instructions. They found two
boxes and brought them back out to the light. The boxes named “Matches” and the other named
“Candles”. They figured out that the matches created fire, and the candles could hold the fire.
Then, using light from the lights, they explored more. They found a thing called a boat and thing
called paddles. They found out that the instructions said they have to go to downstream the river
using boat and paddles.

Chapter 15 – A Desperate Run

Doon wondered how they’re supposed to get everyone out with just one boat. They decided to
look around a little more, and they discovered another door in the room. This one led to a large
room with more boats. They found the way out. They planned to announce it during the Singing
in the next day. Then they headed home. Doon packed a pillowcase for the trip. Before he left, he
looked at the worm. The worm had transformed into a moth. When he about to closed the
window, he noticed some guards came up to his building and asked Nammy Proggs if she’s seen
Doon. Doon was wanted for spreading vicious rumors. Nammy Proggs lied, she said that Doon
went to the trash heaps. Doon tried to escape without being seen. Lina couldn’t sleep well after
their night discovery of the boats. Doon came, interrupted their breakfast the next morning. And
told Lina to escaped together immediately. They could leave a note for Clary explaining how to
follow the instructions and find the way out. Lina didn’t like this plan, but she had no choices.
Lina went to deliver the note to Clary. Bunch of guards spotted Lina. The guards ran after her,
shouting. Doon watched, sick with horror. She's much faster than they are, he told himself. Shell
lose them- she knows places to hide. He stood frozen next to the window, hardly breathing. They
won't catch her, he thought. I'm sure they won't catch her.

Chapter 16 – The Singing

The guards catch Lina and brought her into a room. The mayor came in, and made a boring
speech. When the lights turned went out, she escaped. She ran for the stairway door, and climbed
the stairs to the roof. She could saw and heard the people of Ember singing. Then the lights went
out again. Lina thought about shouting ath the people gathered below her and telling them the
truth, but when she made up her mind to do it, it turned to the sounds of panic. She was stranded
on the rooftop, unable to saw a thing. Then she saw a flickering light in the distance. It’s Doon
with his candle, walking toward the Pipeworks. Lina ran to the back edge of the roof, dropped
easily down onto the roof of the Prison Room, and, seeing no guards in the crowd that was now
streaming into the street, she jumped from there to the ground and joined the throng of people.
She made her way down Greystone Street, going at the same pace as everyone else so she
wouldn't stand out. When she came to the trash-can enclosure behind the Gathering Hall, she
squatted down and hid. Her heart was beating fast, but she felt strong and purposeful now. She
had her plan. As soon as she spotted Mrs. Murdo and Poppy on their way home, she'd put it into
action.

Chapter 17 – Away
Worried about Lina, Doon made his way to the Pipeworks. He left a note for his father, only
saying that they’d found the way out, and it was in the Pipeworks. Suddenly the lights went out;
Doon remembered that he had the candle and matches, so he could light his own way. Doon
starting freaked out. Lina didn’t come. He made two choices, save Lina or go by himself. Then
Lina came up with her little sister that bundle hugged to her chest. They went inside the
Piperworks and Lina fastened Poppy to her chest for the climbed down the ladder. They figured
out that they need to use the ropes on the riverbank to lower the boat in. They got the boat into
the river, and Doon jumped in. Lina handed Poppy to him, and climbed in. Doon hauled on the
rope that held the boat to the bank until he was close enough to reach the knot. He struggled with
it. Water splashed into his face. He yanked at the knot, loosened it, pulled the rope free--and the
boat shot forward.

Chapter 18 – Where the River Goes

The boat ride was rocky and scary at first. Finally, the current slows, and they continued to pass
along the river, in pitch-dark. When the water's calmer, Doon lighted a candle, and they saw that
they're in a high ceilinged cavern. They reached a pool where there's no current at all, and the
river didn't seem to continue on anywhere. The two bigger kids wade ashore, where they find a
path. When Poppy was brought ashore, she found something—a packet wrapped in some weird
material. It turned out to be a book. They sat down to ate some of Doon's food, and talked about
what happened in their rush to escape. Lina realized that she'd forgotten to give the note
explaining the exit route to Clary. But there's nothing they could do about it, so they decided to
follow the path.

Chapter 19 – A World of Light

There was a sign at the entrance of the path. It’s a message from the Builders to the citizen of
Ember, and warned them to be prepared for a rough climb. Lina and Doon took turns carrying
Poppy on their backs--she had gotten tired of walking very soon and cried to be picked up.
Twice, they stopped and sat down to rest, leaning against the walls of the passage and taking
drinks from Doon's bottle of water. They climbed for hour, or maybe two or three before they
reached the top. Their first candles had long ago burned down to the last inch, as had their
second candles. Finally, when their third ones were about halfway gone, Lina began to notice
that the air smelled different. The cold, sharp-edged rock smell of the tunnel was changing to
something softer, a strange, lovely smell. As they rounded a corner, a gust of this soft air swept
past them, and their candles went out. They were not in complete darkness. A faint haze of light
shone in the passage ahead of them. They reached a passageway. Lina was expecting to see the
city from her dreams, but instead she saw a wide, open space, unlike anything she's ever seen
before. The sky was black, but studded with little lights, and there's one giant circular light in the
sky too. The beauty of this place totally blowed them away. It's amazing, and nothing could've
prepared them for it. As they gape, the sky slowly started to get brighter. It even turns blue. Then
the sky filled with insects, which they recognized, and other, larger, flying things, which they
didn't. They decided to share a meal, and read from the book while they do.

Chapter 20 – The Last Message

The book contained a journal, written by an old woman. They were not supposed to bring
anything that showed the world they came from; no photos or maps. She's determined to
chronicle her journey, though, in case someone needed to know about it in the future. They spent
a long time on the train. The trip was supposed to ensure the future of humanity in case disaster
strikes. There are fifty men and fifty women in their group, all above sixty years old. They're
randomly paired into couples, and each couple got two babies to adopt. She paused the journal
entry because the babies are being brought in. The writer had a baby girl on her lap, and Stanley
(her new mate) has a boy on his lap. They named the children Star and Forest. They had a long
journey underground, to where the boats wait. The writer finished up her journal entry, hoping
that the pilot didn't notice. The journal entry ended there. Lina and Doon wonder what the
disaster was that was supposed to have happened. Then they wonder if there's another way to get
back to Ember, since the boats won't let them return up the river. As they're looking around, they
see a strange and awesome looking creature . Because the creature was eating something that
looked like a wrongly colored peach, they decide to look for some of those fruits because they're
probably safe to eat. Next, they discover a tunnel. When they explored it, they found a sheer
ledge that drops into the darkness. But it's not completely dark—far below is a cluster of light.
It's Ember City. They planned to send message. They wrapped the message in Doon's shirt and
put rock inside it. Lina took aim at the heart of the city, far beneath her feet. With all her
strength, she cast the message into the darkness, and they watched as it plunged down and down.
Mrs. Murdo, walking even more briskly than usual to keep her spirits up, was crossing Harken
Square when something fell to the pavement just in front of her with a terrific thump. How
extraordinary, she thought, bending to pick it up. It was a sort of bundle. She began to untie it.

* Two questions that I have for the author related to the story:
1. Why the younger people have to work at ages twelve?
2. Why the workers in the generator’s room know how to fix the generator, but don’t know about
electricity?

* One thing that I thought was the most interesting:

One thing that I thought was the most interesting is when they found ‘Egres’ means “Egress”,
and they started to resolve the Instructions.