City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau

"The novel . . . takes place in the dark city of Ember, a decaying place with no natural light surrounded by the vast Unknown. Although ancestors had arranged for information on leaving Ember to be made available after the inhabitants have spent 200 years there, a corrupt mayor lost the information many years before the novel begins. Two hundred and forty-one years later, Ember's electrical lighting frequently fails, supplies are dwindling, and the populace is growing increasingly frightened. Twelve-year-old Doon and his acquaintance Lina are intent on finding a way to save Ember. After Lina finds a mysterious and fragmented paper titled "Instructions for Egress," they think they have a way out. Can they escape from the villainous mayor and his soldiers?" Reviewed by School Library Journal.

"It was a well written book (with) great characters and a cool way of showing you a new world!" Reviewed by Asha, Homeschooled

"All kids in ember have to start work at age 12. The mayor comes to the class's last day of school forever and the students draw their job, written on a piece of paper, out of a sack. They work at that job for 3 years, and after that, if they did it well, they stay at it. I don't know what happens if they fail, it never happened in the book." Reviewed by Shaina