Monument+14

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

It was interesting to have this novel written like a sort of journal of the events as they unfold. Dean was a pretty like-able character, even if at times he was quite strange or dark. It seems tricky to pen a character that people can like but also be a bit weary of. Another thing I really loved was the disasters. You had some typical ones, but then there were some I never even think about. There are so many things that can go wrong if even one thing crashes. This novel was set in 2024 I believe, so not too distant future. Really, it could have been set tomorrow and things would have been about the same. I see why the author set it ahead and it worked. It's terrifying to think of how bad off we would be if something of this magnitude happened globally. I mean, terrible things have hit certain areas, but we haven't (knock on wood) had anything with such a global devastation. I think this would be a great novel to add to the final list because it was exciting and I don't know that many teens have heard of it yet.

-Brittany Moore, Hall Memorial Library

This one is a huge thumbs up. I can't keep it on the shelf and it goes out to both boys & girls. Great synopsis above that I can't add to. This is a well constructed & well written book that deserves to be on the list. Sally Nelson, Leach Library, Londonderry

This is a very riveting book. The narration is very straightforward (it's a journalistic narration) rather than stylistically interesting, but it works for this type of survival story. The characters are interesting as an ensemble. I flew thru it, and it is close enough to our present setting that it feels like a nice break from the dystopia format we're used to (but may be similar enough to that genre to be attractive to its faithful fans). - Liz, Merrimack Public Library

Survival fiction in a superstore! Or post-apocalyptic, depending on your definition of post-apocalyptic. I really like this premise in general, and I think it's done really well here. The book works quite well as a standalone, to me, and I was actually a little (though only a little) surprised that there are more books after it. Maybe I should point out that there's drinking, drug use, violence, and sex. But like.. it all totally fits, and isn't glorified in any way. Anyway, I quite liked it and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. - Julie A. Nashua PL March 2013

I liked this one when I read it in April of 2013, and I was drawn to the characters enough to plan on reading the rest of the series at some point, but I haven't yet, 2 years later. The large cast of characters will draw boys and girls, middle-high school age. -Kirsten Rundquist Corbett, Sandown Public Library  I like the story, and it's popular with teens, and appeals to our boys especially. I shouldn't stereotype books based on gender, but so many of the books on the Flume and TTT list tend to appeal to girls more than boys. The book doesn't have pretty writing, but the style works for this survival story. It was on last year's Teen Top Ten list, and the second book in the series is on this year's TTT list, so it is getting lots of promotion already. -Kelly Budd, Keene High  I loved this book. The characters were very believable and the plot was great. It was like Lord of the Flies in a superstore! Please keep this on the list. Pat Adams Allenstown Public Library  I really enjoyed this book, and its sequels. My teens have all been very happy with it so far, and one teen grumbled that he hadn't been able to ready the latest one that he'd checked out because his dad had stolen it to read to first. :) Great action, realistic characters, gets you thinking "what if?" and keeps the pages turning. I think it would be a good fit for the list. -Lucia Von Letkemann, Wiggin Memorial Library, Stratham