Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Genre: Children's Science Fiction, Series #1
Published: 2003
Personal Rating: 3/5
Yearly Count: 34
In a post-apocalyptic city named Ember, the people would be living in total darkness if they didn't have the city light bulbs. The dark may be upon them soon due to supplies running out - and not only light bulbs, but food, too! With their newly assigned jobs (at age 12), Doon and Lina are concerned about the conditions of Ember and begin to search for a way out.
The narrator of this audiobook had an extremely negative affect on me. I hated the way she over-dramatized the characters. Some were even made out to be like Dr. Seuss cartoons. UGH! The only thing that kept me going was the story line. I did find it interesting and wanted to know what was going on in the city. However, it was a very light and simple book and wouldn't label it a young adult novel - juvenile fiction is a better fit.
Currently, this is the first in a series of four and was made into a movie in October, 2008.
Nice, light read but certainly aimed at a younger audience. My book (or rather my 11 year old son's book) has an age range of 9 - 12 and reading level 5.5.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad the narrator bugged. I'm planning to read the second one very soon because I've been wondering what happened to Doom and Lina since I finished the book.
I've got the entire Ember trilogy in one book and I'm looking forward to it. It did appear to be targeted to a younger age range than I expected, when I flipped through it.
ReplyDeleteYep, we have this shelved in the Young Reader section (Juvenile) at work. I wonder if you would have enjoyed it more if you read it. I'll have to give the series a try!
ReplyDeleteRaidergirl3 ~ I did read on Amazon that it was Grade 4 -7, Ages 9 - 12, but in more than half of the libraries in our huge consortium they labeled it as YA. Mine happened to be YA, so I went with that and it is clearly NOT. Despite that - I'm still interested in finding out what happens next, but will go into it with a different frame of mind. :)
ReplyDeleteBookfool ~ Yep! If you are prepared for the younger focus, then you'll be fine. Enjoy!
Les ~ I can say without a doubt, that YES! I would have enjoyed it more had I read it. Also, the YA label threw me, so I was expecting something different. It definitely is a good book for young readers. I encourage you to read The Hunger Games. Now, that was a great YA book! (imho)
This series is shelved in the 9-12 year-old-section at our local bookstore, too. Which I've recently discovered is one of my favorite sections! I've wanted to read this series for a while, as my daughter really enjoyed them, but as with so many books, I just can't seem to get around to them.
ReplyDeleteSounds like that narrator would have driven me insane, too. I've only tried (and haven't yet succeeded) audiobooks twice...once the narrator was very much like that, overly-dramatic, and once they played music in the background. I didn't like either...I just wanted to hear the book read. So, do I keep trying? Is there a typical style of reading in an audiobook? Did I just happen to stumble on a couple of duds?
I loved this entire series!! I hate it when a narrator ruins the book, I've had several that I've never finished because of that. I really like the movie too =)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, Joy. I was expecting this one to be YA and was terribly disappointed when it turned out to be more along the line of juvenile fiction.
ReplyDeleteDebi ~ I'm with you - just read the words on the page as you see them, thank you very much! :) For the most part, Debi, audiobooks are narrated with little fanfare. The readers have their own inflections here and there, but nothing that stands out as drama per se. I have listened to many, many narrators and there are only a few that I will not listen to. Some of their voices take a little time to get used to, but overall, I LOVE audiobooks. I don't understand the point of the music either. I just listened to one not long ago that had music at the change of a disc. I could tolerate that, but it wasn't needed. Also, if the focus group for a book is younger, then they tend to jazz it up. Books beyond the YA label are usually straightforward. There are some companies that have group narrators - like a performance or audio play. I think The Goose Girl was like that, but once again, those type performances are for younger readers/listeners. Being that I thought this was a YA, the cartoon characters did me in. Well, not all the way - I did continue because the main characters were not portrayed that way. Thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteKristina ~ It's my understanding that authors have no control over the narrators of their books. If I were an author, I'd want some control over that because they really can make or break a book. Thanks for the encouragement for the remaining books in the series. :)
Amy ~ You snuck in there while I was writing my book to Debi. :) I liked the story line, but what really surprised me was the sentence structure - simple and repetitive. I knew it couldn't be YA. However, it was a good book for young readers. I'll give her that. I'll stop by your blog a little later and read your post.
ReplyDeleteLady K and I watched the movie and she was intrigued that it's also a book. I'll add it to her shelves, but won't do this audio. Who was the narrator? They make or break an audiobook for me.
ReplyDeleteVickie ~ Wendy Dillon was the narrator, but I don't necessarily fault her. As a children's book, they (whoever "they" may be) probably planned it that way. You and Lady K may love it. I just happen to prefer my books read with no fluff or exaggerations (or snorting! or wheezing!). :)
ReplyDeleteI quite liked the film and am looking forward to getting around to the series at some point. I hope you keep going with them.
ReplyDeleteThought the title sounded familiar! Too bad about the reader--I have only listened to two so far, but I find it fascinating how the readers use their voices (and how some voices grate on my nerves!!). So will you see the movie?
ReplyDeleteRhinoa ~ I'm not necessarily out looking for the next in the series, but if I stumble upon it - I'll probably pick it up.
ReplyDeleteTrish ~ I don't like when voices grate on my nerves, so that's not a good thing for me. LOL No, I highly doubt I'll see the movie. Ohhhhhh, well, maybe I'd rent it, if nothing else popped out at me. :)