City of Ember

For starters, I know I would have never picked up the book "The City of Ember" by Jeanne Duprau had I been browsing through Barnes & Nobles on my own time; but like most things in life, I was forced to read it for an assignment.

I am not ashamed to admit that I *loved* the book. 

Not only did the plot make it an instant page turner, but it turns out it has a lot of symbolism (none of which I remember, of course...). The idea of a crumbling underground city struggling through increasingly long blackouts is a unique notion that makes people say, "Wait...what?" and that goes to Duprau's advantage. After frustratingly numerous times of being let down in several ways the reader discovers a tender respect for the leading characters, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow. 

When I heard that they were making a movie out of the book it was one of those "Oh no..." moments where you just want to shake Summit Entertainment's shoulders hard and say "Don't ruin something great!" like they did with Twilight (I'm still hoping they'll do a remake in the next 5-10 years...). In the case with The City of Ember, though, I didn't stay as in touch with all the movie-happenings and it quickly lost my interest as disappointing cast choices for Twilight were released. I didn't even watch it when it went into theaters, justifying my absence by saying that I couldn't bear to see a good book turned to big-screen crap.

Thanks to my little siblings who were so interested with the title, though, we bought The City of Ember on OnDemand tonight and sat through an hour-and-a-half of delicious buttery popcorn and empty ice-cream bowls. So I've gotta say it: Props to Summit Entertainment! They managed to capture the essence of the book without overdoing it. They chose great, not very known, amazing actors who *understood* their characters and brought them to life in a way I didn't deem possible. I literally cringed in my seat when the big wormy thing crawled across the screen and cheered on Lina and Doon on their boat ride to the surface (there is an amusement ride of their boat endeavors in planning right about now, I'm sure.).

This is truly a must-see and must-read (for those who take the time). 

-- Purple Boots --