Friday, June 15, 2012

Guest Blogger: A Young Reader Reviews "Monument 14"

Every so often we are able to get kids and teens from our community to read new books and give us feedback. This week, Matthew, an 11-year-old reader, gives us his take on the newly released teen book Monument 14.

Monument 14 is a fantastic book. The story is based in the 2020’s, but unlike most books that are in the future, the world of Monument 14 is fairly similar to 2012, except that they have upgraded iPads called “Big Tabs”. In this book, Dean is just a regular high school kid who has a ridiculous crush on senior Astrid, the popular girl. On the way to school, a 10-foot long piece of hail cracks the bus windshield, which is just the beginning of a giant hailstorm. Following that hailstorm, a chemical spill and a mega tsunami hit. This leads to fourteen kids, some who are 18 and some as young as 6, taking shelter in a superstore.

This book teaches you teamwork and how to work together. It makes you feel several emotions in different parts of the story, such as anger or sorrow. Now, in this book you might find whining Chloe, or brave and courageous Niko, but you will never find two characters the same. The author, Emmy Laybourne expresses each character’s personality very well and detailed—like how Jake is the “dumb jock” and likes silly things, and hates to lose at anything. I think Emmy wrote Monument 14 very well, and she has also made it feel as though you are Dean, living the same experiences as he is. Overall, this book was very well written and it blew my mind. So, thank you Emmy Laybourne.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne is currently available in the Warwick's Young Adult section and on our website: www.warwicks.com.

Matthew, an avid reader, is a 5th grader at Stella Maris Academy

4 comments:

  1. Dean is a lovable, witty narrator. He tells his story in a way that makes you love him. He may not always do the right thing, but you still like him. That, I think, is the sign of a well-written character, when you can't not like them no matter what stupid things they do. In fact, all of the characters are well written. Laybourne has a way of making the characters feel so real, especially the younger kids, that it really disturbs you to think that something bad could happen to them. You begin to like all of them so much, even the ones you don't think you could ever like. You get to know these kids, and you really feel it when something devastating happens to them.

    Monument 14 is also one of those rare books that I believe boys will actually enjoy. It's got action, adventure and it's fast paced and will hold their attention. The character's don't just do stupid things to propel the story along. It's a book that boys can imagine happening to them. They can think of the things they'd do in a similar situation. And I'm not saying it's not a girls book. Girls will love it, too. Trust me, Monument 14 is a fantastic read, regardless of gender.

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  2. WOW! this book sounds great. It's already on my wishlist and your review makes me excited to get and read it.

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