Blog 23 Analysis of City of Ember

I really liked this book a lot. And I feel like it was so close to the movie (which I loved also). But I feel like there were so many unanswered questions. I understand that The Builders put the city together, but who were they? What was the disaster that sent everyone underground? Why was the population so uncontrolled when they knew of the limited food supply. I guess when you think of the fact that now I am completely drawn in and want to read the rest of the series to see what happens, the questions are good.
Out of the three dystopia novels we read this is my favorite. I feel like it is the closest to real life. Not the underground part, but the elements within the city. The interactions between people are more real than in The Giver, where everyone around Jonas is almost robot, and Among the Hidden, where the main characters in the book are ignored/scorned by society. I also liked the idea of corruption and selfishness. They added to the realness of the story in that these were issues readers could relate to. Especially when Lizzy confesses about stealing the rare foods. I think everyone can relate to that feeling of 'me first', and then see Lina's point of view as right once you realize how selfish the act of stealing was.