2.41k reviews for:

The City of Ember

Jeanne DuPrau

3.77 AVERAGE

adventurous hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Pretty good. It's a really interesting idea and kept me reading. Quick read.

I actually really enjoyed this book. Even though the storyline may not be the single most original thing ever, it still managed to entertain me without having to be over the top. I would recommend this book as a nice relaxing book to read on vacation, or when you just want to see the world from a different perspective.
markie's profile picture

markie's review

3.0
adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

I've been meaning to read this one for a while, and when my youngest son created a Scratch game about it last week, I knew it was finally time. The book creates an intriguing and creepy setting for the city, and it has echoes of Dark City, The Village, The Giver, The Truman Show, Tron Legacy, and many other favorites. A streamlined adventure that isn't cluttered with extra details, even though it sets up a series that goes beyond this first book.

I received this book as a gift when I was in 6th grade (about 15 years ago) and it has stayed in the deep corners of my mind ever since. Amazing concept. I didn’t actually realize that it was a series and I’m excited to read the rest

A great read-aloud with my kids.

This book was good, but not fantastic. I really liked it, but I wouldn't buy it and read it over and over again. The idea was extremely interesting, and it was a good book. Do read it if you like this sort of thing.

Great worldbuilding, but a bit too predictable (probably just right for the targeted readers).
A lot better than the movie!

good :)