Monument 14 was a quick and mostly compelling read. The book has an interesting premise, for the most part. Life as we know it has ended, at least for the near future, and a dozen (or so) students find themselves for better or worse "trapped" in a superstore. The students vary in age, of course, from kindergartners to seniors or juniors. They must find a way to work together to make the best of a very bad situation: the outside world has turned hostile and there is no guarantee that they'll be able to leave the store in the next few months.
The narrator is one of the older students, a guy named Dean; he happens to be trapped with his brother, Alex. While there are plenty of characters, I didn't really feel connected to anyone. This one was not great at characterization or relationships. Dean happens to have a big, big crush on one of the girls he's trapped with...but she has a boyfriend, another one of the characters. And Dean is having to balance his "love" for her with his need to not make a bigger-than-him enemy.
For those who don't mind a premise-driven post-apocalyptic, this one may work well enough. It was definitely interesting in places, and intense too. But I didn't love it.
Read Monument 14
- If you like survival-catastrophe-thrillers
- If you don't mind a little teen drama (high school stereotypes abound)
© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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