Monument 14
By: Emmy Laybourne
Set in Monument, Colorado, Monument 14 is suspenseful story of survival. 14 kids are on their way to school when a giant hail storm suddenly starts. The hail causes the school bus to crash into a giant super store. While the bus driver goes for help, the kids take shelter in the Wal-Mart like store. After entering the store, the security doors slam shut and the kids are trapped inside. The kids are a mix of ages, six high school students, two eighth graders and six little kids. When The Network, the communication hub for the town, goes down and their bus driver doesn’t return, the kids are cut off from the outside world. Trapped in the store with a mix of nerds, popular and unpopular kids, they must learn to co-exist by using their wits and the resources available to them in the superstore. When they try to escape, they find that the outside air and water are contaminated due to a chemical weapons spill, poisonous gas and an earthquake. Will they escape and find their parents or has the whole town, and maybe even the whole world, been destroyed?
This is the first book in the Monument 14 series. It is well written with strong characters and an interesting plot. Readers of survival fiction should like it. It is best suited for older teens due to some mature situations in the book.
Review By: Jan Bridges