Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Pages: 294

Received: Received copy from Angel at Mermaid Visions

Release Date: June 5, 2012
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca

Goodreads Synopsis:

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

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. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

My Review:

This book has been on my radar for quite some time. I loved the idea of all these kids trying to get through all these disasters together. I was sadly, a little disappointed by this book and felt like I just wanted to get to the end.

This book had great potential for me, especially hearing about these escalating disasters that tear the world apart, but it seemed that these disasters were not taken as far as they could have been. There were a few mentions throughout, mainly with the chemical weapons spill but then it was quickly forgotten about again, until the next time.

I will admit, I was engrossed in the story at many points throughout. Laybourne jumps right into everything coming apart and I was hooked. But I found myself pushing to get through sections because it slowed down a lot. Laybourne really brings out the creepy parts, but in my mind they were few and far between.

I felt like a lot of the book was the kids playing house with one another, learning to get by in a superstore and watching the older kids taking care of the younger ones. It felt a lot like teenagers being forced to grow up quicker because they have these young ones to care and look out for.

This book was definitely enjoyable at times and a very quick read (I finished it in a day). But I just felt like I wanted more from the book. I could see what was coming from the beginning (though I didn't completely expect that ending). I am a tad interested to see how Laybourne will continue this story.