Monument 14
by Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14 #1
Published: June 5, 2012
Genres: Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover (294 pages)
Source: Purchased
Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside.
At the beginning, there wasn’t much going on in Monument 14. The book starts off with some very graphic and disturbing disasters and I was worried that it was going to be overly realistic and not at all entertaining. That was thankfully not true. The point when I got to know all the characters was when I really started to fall in love with this book. There was such a colorful cast of characters that clashed together in fun ways. It made me laugh out loud even though there were truly terrifying things going on. Seriously. Like, the world is ending and I’m laughing me head off. I even read a few passages to my husband between laughs because he wanted to know what was so dang funny. But don’t get me wrong – even though there are some very funny moments, there were also some very touching moments that really got to me, especially the ones with the little kids.
The plot took some turns and surprises that I really enjoyed. The realism was one of the very best parts of the book. Her attention to the details had me so invested in the story and made it hard for me to stop thinking about the book when I was done. She did an amazing job of balancing humor, fear, and empathy while making all of the characters amazingly realistic. I’m absolutely convinced that Max is in existence somewhere on this earth. The writing was so enjoyable. It was succinct, visual, fast-paced and a lot of fun to read. Grab this book. I flew right through it in a day. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.
Content Rating: Medium, for a suggestive scene with some nudity detailed briefly, some violence, mentions of drug use and some language.
About Emmy Laybourne
Emmy Laybourne is a novelist, teacher and actress. MONUMENT 14 is Emmy's fiction debut. Now, if you think Emmy sort of looks like Mary Catherine Gallagher's best friend from the movie Superstar, you're right! Emmy played Helen Lewengrub in that fine film, along with many other delightful bit roles.
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
Haha the sentence the world is ending but you’re laughing your head off caught my eye! I didn’t think too much about this book but might want to give it a shot now. :)
Emmy was so funny in real life that it was easy to see why she would have so much humor in her book. It was the character’s personalities that had me laughing the most. :)
Wow, I’m surprised to hear this one had that much humour in it because I usually don’t expect any humour from my post-apoc reads. So to hear that the author somehow managed to do humour and terror in the same book is what’s truly got me interested in picking this one up. Thanks for the review, Jessica!
I know! I didn’t expect it to be funny either. But most of the humor is from the context of the story and wouldn’t be funny if I quoted it. Thanks for stopping by!