Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Title: Monument 14

Author: Emmy Laybourne

Publisher: Fiewel and Friends

Publishing Date: June 5th, 2012

Pages: 294

Genre: Young Adult Apocalyptic 

Series: Monument 14

Source: Audio

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.
“Laybourne’s debut ably turns what could have been yet another post apocalyptic YA novel into a tense, claustrophobic, and fast-paced thriller.” (Publishers Weekly)
When Dean raced out the door to catch the school bus, he didn’t realize it would be the last time he’d ever see his mom. After a freak hailstorm sends the bus crashing into a superstore, Dean and a group of students of all ages are left to fend for themselves.
They soon realize the hailstorm and the crash are the least of their worries. After seeing a series of environmental and chemical disasters ravage the outside world, they realize they’re trapped inside the store.
Unable to communicate with the ones they love, the group attempts to cobble together a new existence. As they struggle to survive, Dean and the others must decide which risk is greater: leaving… or staying.
Monument 14 is a post-apocalyptic YA novel that transcends age barriers. If you like heart-stopping suspense, realistic characters, and new takes on survival novels, then you’ll love the first book in Emmy Laybourne’s Monument 14 series.

Monument 14 is about 14 kids, kindergartners to seniors, who get stuck in a superstore after a massive hail storm attacks them. While they are in the store a chemical compound is leaked into the air, making them unable to leave. 

What made me pick this book up: 

It was on audio. I think this is one of those books that I have been wanting to read for a while, since I saw my dad, I think it was my dad, reading this.

What did I like about the cover: 

It looks so ominous, with the kids standing on the roof, looking at a black cloud

What made me read this book: 

It was on audible, and I always like anything apocalyptic, or of the sort.

What did I like the most: 

I liked the story, from the moment it began it had me enthralled and wanting more. I really liked how intense it was as soon as the book started, and then reading about the kids in the store. I loved reading about how smart they were and how they learned to survive, and how the older kids took care of the younger kids. Nico was my favorite character, all he wanted to do was help and be prepared for anything. Josie was also really great, she was like a mother to the little kids, and she did what she needed to do for them. Out of the little kids I loved the twins, they were so sweet and they were so little.

Slight spoiler coming up..

I also really liked how the compounds affected each of the kids differently, based on their blood type. That really made it interesting to me, and something different as opposed to, the same thing happens to each person.

What didn't I like: 

Okay, so this a problem for me. It makes me wonder if I want to keep listening to the books, or read them. I had a really big problem with the main character being incredibly whiny. All he wanted to do was complain, which is understandable given the situation, but honestly. And he kept wanting to just talk about and drool over a girl. All he talked about was her, and how perfect she was. It was incredibly annoying. Now, I don't read as much from a guys perspective, and not usually at all from a teenage guys perspective, so maybe this is how they really think? Either way, I groaned every time he talked about her, and I was just like, dude move on. Otherwise, I didn't like the narrator. He was so bad. He was whiny too, and I'm wondering if that's why I found the main character that way, just because of the narrator. It drove me crazy when he did the high pitched voices of the little kids. It was really hard to get through, simply for that reason alone. I know the second book is read by the same narrator, and I'm wondering if it will be better just to read it myself, and hear my own voice in my head. 

Would I read the rest of the series?

Since writing this review I actually read the second book, so review for that coming soon. And yes, I will read the third one

Overall, it wasn't bad. The story was unique and interesting, it had intense moments and it had some really sweet moments. The other characters were mostly okay. 

A little snippit

“We ate it like it was medicine. Like it was magic candy that could somehow restore us to a normal life again. We ate ourselves numb and got in our bags and went to sleep.
There was a lot of crying from the little kids and occasionally one of us would yell, "Shut up!"
That's how we got by, that first night.” 
― Emmy Laybourne, Monument 14

Emmy Laybourne is a young adult novelist and screenwriter whose debut, Monument 14, has sold over 100,000 copies in the US; was called “Frighteningly real…riveting,” by the New York Times; and is a best-seller... in France! Emmy recently collaborated with director Brad Peyton (San Andreas, Journey 2) on the adaptation of Monument 14 for the screen for Strange Weather Films.
Emmy is currently writing the Berserker series, which tells the story of a family of Norse teenagers with ancient Viking superpowers on the run in the American frontier. Publishers Weekly called Berserker "a bloody and fast-paced mash-up..." Yes -- the genres are Cowboys and Vikings!
Before her life as an author, Emmy performed original comedy on Comedy Central, MTV and VH1; and acted in the movies "Superstar," "The In-Laws" and "Nancy Drew," among others. She’s the daughter of cable pioneer Gerry Laybourne and TV producer Kit Laybourne, and is sister to sit-com show-runner Sam Laybourne.
Emmy is famous with SNL fans for her role as Mary Katherine Gallagher's best friend in "Superstar" -- and also to Comedy Central die-hard fans for a song she wrote and performed with her brother called, “We Can’t Make Love Because We’re Related.”