The City of Ember (19 page)

Dear People of Ember,

We came down the river from the Pipeworks and found the way to another place. It is green here and very big. Light comes from the sky. You must follow the instructions in this message and come on the river. Bring food with you. Come as quickly as you can.

Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow

They wrapped the message in Doon’s shirt and put a rock inside it. Then they stood in a row at the edge of the chasm, Doon in the middle holding Poppy’s hand and Lina’s. 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.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks to the friends who read and commented helpfully on my manuscript: Susie Mader, Patrick Daly, Andrew Ramer, Charlotte Muse, Sara Jenkins, Mary Dederer, and Pat Carr. My gratitude to my agent, Nancy Gallt, who brought
The City of Ember
into the light, and my editor, Jim Thomas, who made it the best book it could be. And my love and thanks to my mother, my first and best writing teacher.

J
EANNE
D
U
P
RAU
is the bestselling author of
The City of Ember
,
The People of Sparks,
and
The Prophet of Yonwood
. She lives in Menlo Park, California, where she keeps a big garden and a small dog.

To learn more about Jeannie, visit her Web site at
www.jeanneduprau.com
.

Also by Jeanne DuPrau

THE CITY OF EMBER

THE PROPHET OF YONWOOD

Text copyright © 2003 by Jeanne DuPrau.

Map by Chris Riely.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books,

a division of Random House, Inc., New York,

and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.randomhouse.com/kids

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

DuPrau, Jeanne.

The city of Ember / by Jeanne DuPrau.

p. cm.

SUMMARY:
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day

to be a messenger, to run to new places in her beloved but decaying city,

perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

[1. Fantasy.] I. Title. PZ7.D927 Ci 2003 [Fic]—dc21 2002010239

RANDOM HOUSE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-375-89080-2

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