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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved the creativity of the setting and plot of this story. I think this book could be great for a younger reader who”s not that into a lot of books.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I quite enjoyed this one on audio, but my issue was that it didn't seem fleshed out or finished. Story lines were just dropped and characters forgotten, and the main characters didn't seem like more than general character traits, ie Lina likes to run and color and her sister!
3.5/5
3.5/5
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a unique middle grade novel about two 12-year-olds living in a city that is running out of resources and running out of light. The main characters, Lina and Doon, were easy to root for and it was fun following them as they uncovered mysteries within their city. I could see a lot of upper elementary aged kids really enjoying reading this, and the massive cliffhanger at the end of the story will definitely have them scrambling for the next book in the series.
I would have liked if the city of Ember had been more fleshed out, however. We get a general gist of the city's issues-running out of food, problems with blackouts-and there's this sense that the townspeople have little knowledge about anything. While it's understandable why they are ignorant to how much of the world works, that doesn't mean that the city itself shouldn't have an extensive history with traditions and whatnot. They have the concept of The Singing, but even that isn't really explained. Though many novels suffer from too much exposition, this one would have benefited from more in the way of worldbuilding to further suck the reader in.
I would have liked if the city of Ember had been more fleshed out, however. We get a general gist of the city's issues-running out of food, problems with blackouts-and there's this sense that the townspeople have little knowledge about anything. While it's understandable why they are ignorant to how much of the world works, that doesn't mean that the city itself shouldn't have an extensive history with traditions and whatnot. They have the concept of The Singing, but even that isn't really explained. Though many novels suffer from too much exposition, this one would have benefited from more in the way of worldbuilding to further suck the reader in.