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| Read from February 26 to 28, 2013 |
Published: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 294 pages
Source: Amazon.com
Series: Monument, #1
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.
Monument 14 is an explosive and thrilling read that left me shocked, stunned and amazed. This book was purely epic!
I will admit that I had some trouble at the beginning of the book. I couldn't connect to the writing style and none of the characters appealed to me. Luckily though, I kept reading the book - the second half is so much better. But still, I had troubles with the characters. Maybe it was because there were so many (fourteen) at one time, I couldn't remember who was. All I remember off the top of my head are Dean, Caroline, Niko and Alex. And the only one I thought was manageable was Dean. All the others seemed whiny at times {I can understand the little kids, and at some times, the teens, but not always}.
Monument 14 shines out in the post-apocolytpic genre, though. I mean, deadly storms, a chemical weapons spill and hugh hail? Yeah, Monument 14 is insane. Laybourne does a fantastic job at making these awful and tragic events realistic, scary, terrifying and believable. I hope they never happen, but I could visualize it all thanks to Laybourne's writing style!
And I really like the idea of being trapped inside a superstore. Think about it: you have everything you need. Food, clothes, even entertainment stuff like books (yes!), toys, etc. But then again, it's scary. After you run out of that stuff, what do you have left? It's terrifying, which is one of the reasons that I enjoyed Monument 14.
Overall, this was a quick read that was fun and fresh, but I do have to say that I much prefer the second half to the first. Brutal, shocking and fascinating, Monument 14 promises and delivers an action-packed tale of survival!
MY RATING
Monument 14 shines out in the post-apocolytpic genre, though. I mean, deadly storms, a chemical weapons spill and hugh hail? Yeah, Monument 14 is insane. Laybourne does a fantastic job at making these awful and tragic events realistic, scary, terrifying and believable. I hope they never happen, but I could visualize it all thanks to Laybourne's writing style!
And I really like the idea of being trapped inside a superstore. Think about it: you have everything you need. Food, clothes, even entertainment stuff like books (yes!), toys, etc. But then again, it's scary. After you run out of that stuff, what do you have left? It's terrifying, which is one of the reasons that I enjoyed Monument 14.
Overall, this was a quick read that was fun and fresh, but I do have to say that I much prefer the second half to the first. Brutal, shocking and fascinating, Monument 14 promises and delivers an action-packed tale of survival!
MY RATING
I totally agree that the book was a bit hard to get into. With such a large crew of characters, it was hard to really connect with them, or really, to remember who they all were. But as the book progressed, it definitely improved, and that ending left me wanting more!
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Brad!
Thank you, Aneeqah! Sky on Fire was so much better though! :)
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