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kallania's review
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I read this for the first time at least 15 years ago for my Tween Bookclub at the library.
Picked it up for 2$ on kindle and decided to reread it for nostalgia. 15 years later it was still a worthwhile read and I intend to borrow the second book from the library.
Picked it up for 2$ on kindle and decided to reread it for nostalgia. 15 years later it was still a worthwhile read and I intend to borrow the second book from the library.
Moderate: Police brutality and Death
Minor: Dementia
zachswain's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.0
BLUF: Well paced dystopian story about an isolated civilization, its degradation, and their discoveries about their origin.
I picked this up as my daughter has it on her 5th grade list of books for their school's book club. After reading it, I think middle school is probably a better target audience, but 5th graders will still take a lot away from it and enjoy the read. It's quick, relatively simple, with few advanced concepts or relationships, no romance, no violence, no scary scenes (one death from natural causes). Most conversations are completed within a few sentences.
The book is about as anodyne as you can get regarding a dystopian, post-apocalyptic society. Problems are "on the horizon", not here in the immediate, and nobody is suffering terribly. I think some of the concepts, such as the necessity of an isolated society forcing people into jobs at a young age, will be lost on middle schoolers, but it should be thought provoking and make for a good discussion topic. The same with the discovery ofcandles, matches, and the like...things that the main characters have never seen, heard of, or used before. It might be a difficult concept for a child to understand, especially one that has grown up in the age of the Internet, but should be a great lede for discussion.
I wish more time had been spent at the end on explanation of origin, but that's middle aged me having just read the first book of the Wool trilogy (I'd consider that a more mature version of City of Ember) which had several hundreds more pages in which to put exposition, conversation, and detail.
For what City of Ember set out to do, I think it accomplished it fairly well. Including the first chapter of the next book as a sort of epilogue was brilliant and got me wanting to read it as well.
I picked this up as my daughter has it on her 5th grade list of books for their school's book club. After reading it, I think middle school is probably a better target audience, but 5th graders will still take a lot away from it and enjoy the read. It's quick, relatively simple, with few advanced concepts or relationships, no romance, no violence, no scary scenes (one death from natural causes). Most conversations are completed within a few sentences.
The book is about as anodyne as you can get regarding a dystopian, post-apocalyptic society. Problems are "on the horizon", not here in the immediate, and nobody is suffering terribly. I think some of the concepts, such as the necessity of an isolated society forcing people into jobs at a young age, will be lost on middle schoolers, but it should be thought provoking and make for a good discussion topic. The same with the discovery of
I wish more time had been spent at the end on explanation of origin, but that's middle aged me having just read the first book of the Wool trilogy (I'd consider that a more mature version of City of Ember) which had several hundreds more pages in which to put exposition, conversation, and detail.
For what City of Ember set out to do, I think it accomplished it fairly well. Including the first chapter of the next book as a sort of epilogue was brilliant and got me wanting to read it as well.
Minor: Death
catwhisperflubbs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It's good! Yeah.
Moderate: Death
chrysanthxmum's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Dementia
nrogers_1030's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I probably would have liked this more when I was younger. Good read for the age it’s intended for.
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Minor: Dementia
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Minor: Death
chaptersofmads's review
3.0
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Dementia and Death
Minor: Death of parent
steppecreature's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, and Death
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