Monument 14 by: Emmy Laybourne (2012)
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
294 pages
Genre: Dystopian/ YA/Survival
Summary: The year is 2024 and a horrible hailstorm, a
tsunami, earthquakes and a chemical spill tears the nation apart. Fourteen kids
ranging from kindergartners to seniors in high school are stuck in a
superstore. They must work together to stay alive. Dean, one of the high school
kids, is a writer and this story is his journal of what happens inside the
store.
Review: From the very first page of this book I was captivated.
If you haven’t read this book yet then you absolutely need to. It isn't perfect, but it reals you in. I really enjoyed it and will be reading the next
one.
“I expected the story of our hailstorm to be all over the news. It wasn't. Our little hailstorm was nothing.” (pg. 33)
Warning: Once you start reading this book you will not want
to put it down. Even the cover is captivating. You will also start to wonder what your response would be, and how
you would act, in this situation of survival.
Let’s talk about the characters. I have a mostly love with a
tiny bit of hate relationship with the characters in this book. At first I was
concerned that the age of some of the children would annoy me, it is hard for
me to read books where the main characters aren't at least 17. I was dead wrong
to be concerned. Every kid in this book makes you feel for them in some way or
another. They are in no way annoying; they are interesting, cute, funny, and heartbreaking.
The author not only created wonderful memorable characters, but she made them
believable. These kids are trapped without their parents in a superstore when
the world around them is crumbling and their actions make them seem real, from
screaming for their mothers, to being so tough that you would never guess how
young they are. Alex, Dean’s younger
brother, is my favorite character and I promise you will love him too.
There is only one problem with this book and yes it deals
with the characters I just raved about. This book doesn't do a great job at portraying women. They are kind of cliched and somewhat stereotyped. The strong
boys fight it out to be the leader of the group, but what about the girls? They are
usually portrayed as the weaker ones. I also want to note that I do realize that this book reads a
little like the breakfast club, which is a little annoying, but this
divide between cool and uncool kids is still present in our society. Therefore that
part didn't bother me that much, especially because in the end the kids show us that it isn't about who is popular and who is not. What is really nice is that Dean is the main
character of this novel and he is just an average kid.
I don’t want to say anything else about the plot and the
actions the kids take to survive. I want you to be surprised like I was. All I
will say is this; the chemical spill is interesting and a twist that I thoroughly
enjoyed. I know I have some negativity in this review but this is still a really good book.
I do have some good news. If you read this book now, you
only have to wait until May to get your hands on the next one. Trust me when I say
that you will be waiting impatiently. The one thing this book doesn't give you
is answers to all of your questions.
Rating: 5/5 BUY Monument 14