Monument 14

Monument 14

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.

Woah. This book just blew my hats off. The plot is so eventful and packed with suspense and fear of what lies ahead. While there are 14 different people trapped in Greenway (the superstore in Monument, Colarado), they all have different personalities which I grew to love and appreciate, even though some of the characters are douche-bags or spoiled/angsty brats. 

The main focus in this book is how the kids strategize to stay alive for as long as possible under the leadership of Niko, who used to be a Boy Scout and had the survival instinct and knowledge drilled in him. He made a good leader, but he was terrible at socializing and expressing his thoughts. 

Meanwhile, Dean has been in love with Astrid, the swim team goddess for quite some time, but Astrid seems to be attached to Jake, who is sometimes a good person, sometimes a bully. 

I find the most lovable part of the story was the presence of the 7 kids who each has a different personality. I love Max with his wild stories, Ulysses with his limited English and pot belly, Henry and Caroline the sweet-natured and docile twins and Batiste with his ultra-religious behaviour. They are quirky but simply adorable. Sahalia desperately wants to be an adult despite being 13 years old, and Chloe who is 10 is just a rotten brat, but I appreciate their presence throughout the book anyway.

And we found out about the MORS biological weapon which was leaked during the earthquake, sending people into a frenzy amidst a cacophony of disasters. MORS attack people based on blood groups, type A blisters up and die from tissue failure, type AB undergoes hallucination and paranoia, type O turns into raging monsters and type B becomes sterile. 

The author gives you a raw chunk of what is happening without any sugar-coating, which gives a real touch to the story, highlighting how bad it is outside. The way the children actually made a temporary safe haven out of the supermarket is actually quite impressive, despite the horrors ongoing in the outside world. 

Go ahead and read it, you'll like it!

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