Summary:
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.
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.
Summary & Photo taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 294 pages
Publication Date: June 5th 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
This was such an intense read! When the book start appearing all over the interweb I was really hesitant to even consider reading it it but then NetGalley added it to to their catalogue I just had to request it and even though it took me a while to get to it I'm ultimately glad I did request it.
Emmy Laybourne created an intensely emotional read involving the most unexpected survivors if a a disaster such as the one the takes place in Monument 14 happened. Children taking a stand in a world or at least in a city that is no longer safe while still trying to maintain some sort of society what more could a reader ask for? Or, rather what more could THIS reader ask for? The answer: Not much.
I loved this book from page one where we meet out main character Dean and his first person point of view in which we will come to know all that goes on around him. I really liked Dean. For one he was just a regular kid going to school with his kid brother and going through the motions of regular high school life when his world changes in the blink of an eye and he is narrowly escaping death. The other was that he wasn't a perfect character. He had flaws and he behaved like a normal kid. He was scared and he didn't become all pretentious like so many characters seem to do in books like this.
In fact, Dean, Alex (his younger tech genius brother) and Niko were my favourite characters because they seemed so level even though things inside the store they were trapped in did get a little hairy sometimes. I really didn't care for any other characters and I'm pretty sure I would have sent them packing during the chemical spill that plagues the state after the disastrous tornado. The lot of them were very one dimensional and to me they were a little on the useless side though I do admit they added to the book in a few ways.
While I really enjoyed this survival tale there were somethings to be desired. The fact that the girls in the novel were rather high on themselves and the jocks were a bit uppity too. I mean the book had the classic high school stereotypes that just irk me. Perhaps it's because I'm only a couple years out of high school myself and I didn't experience the whole cliques thing that was very much apparent throughout this novel.
I will say though that there was a lot of action, drama and a lot of sad points and high points along with some points in the novel that were extreme WTF!? Moments but that's what makes a really good novel. Yes there were things that I didn't like but there were many more things about the story and Dean that made the book a thrilling and addictive way. I love survival stories and this one really is one of the better ones that I have read and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series because of the cliffhanger ending where this one left off.
I highly recommend giving this book a go but if you're recommending this for a young adult please be advised there is minimal swearing and a couple of more adult themes in the book. However, if that's no problem for you what are you waiting for? Go get the book! I recommend this thrilling and sometimes chilling action packed read to YA lovers with a love for apocalyptic reads and survivalist themes.
Emmy Laybourne created an intensely emotional read involving the most unexpected survivors if a a disaster such as the one the takes place in Monument 14 happened. Children taking a stand in a world or at least in a city that is no longer safe while still trying to maintain some sort of society what more could a reader ask for? Or, rather what more could THIS reader ask for? The answer: Not much.
I loved this book from page one where we meet out main character Dean and his first person point of view in which we will come to know all that goes on around him. I really liked Dean. For one he was just a regular kid going to school with his kid brother and going through the motions of regular high school life when his world changes in the blink of an eye and he is narrowly escaping death. The other was that he wasn't a perfect character. He had flaws and he behaved like a normal kid. He was scared and he didn't become all pretentious like so many characters seem to do in books like this.
In fact, Dean, Alex (his younger tech genius brother) and Niko were my favourite characters because they seemed so level even though things inside the store they were trapped in did get a little hairy sometimes. I really didn't care for any other characters and I'm pretty sure I would have sent them packing during the chemical spill that plagues the state after the disastrous tornado. The lot of them were very one dimensional and to me they were a little on the useless side though I do admit they added to the book in a few ways.
While I really enjoyed this survival tale there were somethings to be desired. The fact that the girls in the novel were rather high on themselves and the jocks were a bit uppity too. I mean the book had the classic high school stereotypes that just irk me. Perhaps it's because I'm only a couple years out of high school myself and I didn't experience the whole cliques thing that was very much apparent throughout this novel.
I will say though that there was a lot of action, drama and a lot of sad points and high points along with some points in the novel that were extreme WTF!? Moments but that's what makes a really good novel. Yes there were things that I didn't like but there were many more things about the story and Dean that made the book a thrilling and addictive way. I love survival stories and this one really is one of the better ones that I have read and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series because of the cliffhanger ending where this one left off.
I highly recommend giving this book a go but if you're recommending this for a young adult please be advised there is minimal swearing and a couple of more adult themes in the book. However, if that's no problem for you what are you waiting for? Go get the book! I recommend this thrilling and sometimes chilling action packed read to YA lovers with a love for apocalyptic reads and survivalist themes.
* I received a free copy
of this book from the published via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest
review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and I was
not compensated in any way.
To "Like" Emmy on Facebook CLICK HERE
To "Follow" Emmy on Twitter CLICK HERE
To become a "Fan" of Emmy on Goodreads CLICK HERE
To visit Emmy's Website CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via Chapters Indigo CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via Amazon CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via The Book Depository CLICK HERE
