City of Ember

This book wasn't as good as I thought it would be. For years I had heard talk of how "cool" and "good" this book was. Now that I've actually read it, I can sort of agree and yet I sort of disagree. First of all, this book was stretched out way too far. The author could have easily written this all in a matter of twenty pages. There was little or no action until the last twenty pages of the book. I will give it credit though, it was a good idea. The author, however, used traditional, predictable methods. First and most obvious was making the mayor the bad guy. How many books and movies have I seen with that? A lot. Next, there are the guards that like to harass people. I recall seeing that on the "Pirates of the Carribean" and the book "The Magic Trea House: The Knight At Dawn". Third, the baby named Poppy was always used as a plot transition. One moment she wanders off and get lost, the next she partially ruins an important escape map. I talked to some of my classmates who have read this book and they claim that the first two books aren't very good until you get to the third and fourth, then it is worth it. So, I'm going to see what I think until then and after.
Grade: 63%
Reason for Grade: Like I said, the author is predictable. There is little violence, and little cussing. The plot line also wasn't the best. I wonder why they would make a movie out of this book, unless they're saving up for the last two like the kids in my class said.