Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne [Throwback Thursday]

Throwback Thursday is a upcycled weekly meme hosted by Sabrina at I Heart YA Fiction. To participate, read an older release or a book that has been on your shelf for awhile. Post your review, then link back to I Heart YA Fiction using the Mr. Linky! (Or repost an old review - there's no reason those books from a couple years ago shouldn't get some love!)

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Title: Monument 14

Author: Emmy Laybourne

Publisher: Macmillan BFYR

Pub. Date: 6.5.2012

Genre: Young Adult

Rec. Age Level: 14+

Add on Goodreads.



Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 blew me away. I devoured this debut novel and, when I finished, I found myself in a satisfied stupor wondering where the past few hours had gone.

I sometimes have difficulty connecting to male main characters, so, when I opened Monument 14 and discovered that the narrator was one of the boys trapped in the superstore, I paused for a moment. I was entirely too interested in the premise to ever put down the novel, but I wondered if Dean would detract from my reading experience... I very much wanted to put myself in the position of the main character and I didn't know if I could make myself think like a teenage boy. I can't guarantee that Dean's thinking and actions were entirely true to life, but he felt realistic enough to me that I never forgot the fact that he was a boy, but I could still understand his emotions and motivations. In the end, I grew to like Dean a lot and I was happy that he, rather than one of the girls trapped in the superstore, was the narrator.

One of the most interesting aspects of this novel was the presence of small children as well as teens. I think having small children trapped as well added another dimension and sense of urgency to the situation. I found the differences between the reactions of each age group really put things into perspective... for both the characters themselves and the reader. It's already crazy that these teens are trapped and had to learn to trust one another and work together, but then to throw in small children that are alternately panicked or wanting to play and do something fun... the situation was terrifyingly real.

The giant hailstorm, the chemical weapons spill, the bus crashes, and the other events that lead to the fourteen kids being trapped inside the superstore all seemed carefully thought out and contained just enough detail to create a realistic picture within the reader's mind. The entire novel felt very cinematic. I actually found myself matching characters from the novel to people I knew in real life. Each character felt so impossibly real that my mind needed a three-dimensional body to go along with the personality Laybourne created.

Monument 14 has landed a spot on my Best of 2012 list. I'm already anxious for the next installment, as the novel ended on a cliffhanger... I seriously get shivers just thinking about the intensity of the final scenes!

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

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There are times when I finish a book and I can't help but think to myself: why did you take so long to read this!? That's exactly what I was thinking when I finished Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits. This book has a compelling premise and a seriously swoon-inducing romance between two flawed and very different individuals who somehow seem absolutely perfect together.

Pushing the Limits alternates between Echo and Noah's point-of-view, which works perfectly for this premise and these characters. Since both have their own set of complicated problems and difficult pasts, it felt important that both characters had an opportunity to share their POV regarding both the issues they're currently facing and the growing feelings between them. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't end up preferring one narrator over the other; they complimented each other well and I found myself excited to hear the other's take on situations and conversations.

It's been quite some time since I've read a novel that focused on romance. I was feeling a bit burnt out and uninspired by those that I'd been reading; I wanted a romance with depth but all I felt like I was really getting was fluff and bad matches. Pushing the Limits reawakened by love of romance. Echo and Noah - and their story - made me want to fall in love again. McGarry's story evoked the excitement of first real, deep, complicated love that we all inevitably feel... and as horrible and distracting as it can be when you're going through it (as Echo and Noah clearly illustrate), there is something epic and wonderful about it as well!

I highly recommend this first Pushing the Limits book from McGarry. The second book, Dare You To, has just released and I'm super excited to see if McGarry achieves the same level of emotion with her sophomore offering as with her first.

Harlequin Teen, July 2012, Hardcover, ISBN:  9780373210497, 392 pgs.

Review: Transcendence by C.J. Omololu

When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider. 

As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. 

What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both. 

Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?

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C.J. Omololu's sophomore novel, Transcendence, has very little in common with her debut Dirty Little Secrets... except for the fact that they're both captivating reads.


Omololu's debut is about a girl dealing with her mother's uncontrollable urge to hoard - think along the lines of the A&E's Hoarders - and is very much a contemporary YA titles. In comparison, Transcendence is, at times, a contemporary novel and, at others, historically set. Some of the novel deals with very real issues, like crushes and familial relationships, while other scenes deal with the idea of reincarnation and a collection of people that can remember the past lives they've lived. In short, Omololu's sophomore novel brings many different elements to the table.


Transcendence took awhile to fully capture my attention. It wasn't until Cole and Griffon started interacting more regularly and Cole finally understood the reason for her visions that I felt fully invested in the novel's events. Even then, there were times when I wasn't sure what direction the novel was taking. I found the Akhet and the idea of reincarnation really interesting, but I didn't really know what the novel was supposed to accomplish. Eventually, it was established that a villain was somewhere in the mix and things sped up. 


I sometimes took issue with Cole's behavior. I understand that she was expected to accept a pretty big idea in a relatively short amount of time, but I wanted more from her at times... There is a point in the book where Cole refuses to speak to Griffon and acts like a complete child. In the end, Cole's reaction is what set some other necessary events into motion, but I wish that Omololu could have achieved this another way. Griffon's maturity and Cole's immaturity just felt odd to me... Most of the time, I accepted that Griffon was falling for Cole, but, at times like this, it almost felt wrong... Like he was a man and she was just a child. Awkward...


Still, most of my issues with Transcendence took place near the middle of the novel and I was well-hooked by the end. In fact, after how this first book ended, I'm really looking forward to the next installment. I'm really interested to see what other things Cole will uncover about her past lives (has she ever been a parent or has she always died young??) and to see what other characters are Akhet... and if their lives have overlapped with Cole's in the past as well!

Bloomsbury, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780802723703, 336 pages.

This post is part of the Transcendence Blog Tour organized by Bloomsbury.

Review: Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Jett is a girl disguised as a boy, living as a gambler in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. Honoria Gibbons is a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Both young women travel the prairie alone – until they are brought together by a zombie invasion! As Jett and Honoria investigate, they soon learn that these zombies aren’t rising from the dead of their own accord … but who would want an undead army? And why? 

This gunslinging, hair-raising, zombie western mashup is perfect for fans of Cowboys vs. Aliens and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

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I didn't think I was going to be able to finish this novel. It started out at an extremely slow pace and the characters were just... weird. So, I set Dead Reckoning aside. For weeks. And then I decided to give it another try... and I fell in love and couldn't stop reading.


First off, I'm not a fan of the novel's description. Not only does it make Dead Reckoning sound much more happy and girly than it really it, it doesn't mention the third main character, White Fox, at all. I feel like the description is trying to promote some type of girl power vibe, which is somewhat present in the novel, but not to the extent implied. 


That said, Jett and Gibbons are definitely strong, unique women. Once I got used to Gibbons' quirks and learns more about Jett, I kind of loved them. A lot. And, though we didn't get to know White Fox quite as well, he grew on me as well. In fact, I'm actually very curious to see what happens to them next. When the characters finally started to grow on me and I became more invested in the story, I though to myself, I actually don't mind this, but I don't think I'd read a sequel... but now I take that back. 


For me, the best part of Dead Reckoning was the interactions and relationships between the three main characters. They are all ridiculously different that being together at the beginning is a mess, but, as they grew on me, they also grew on one another. At one point, White Fox notices that the two girls are bickering like sisters - and it was true! And then I realized, this odd little trio actually works together. Whoa.


Dead Reckoning combines many elements that really shouldn't work together: westerns, zombies, steampunk, and cults, but Lackey and Edgehill make it work. I'm not sure how they came up with such a crazy idea for a novel, but it's obvious they thought it through because I never found myself thinking "okay, that's just too far-fetched"... as I read about zombies, westerns, cults, and steampunkery. 


I also found Dead Reckoning to be rather funny. And sometimes quite touching. And sometimes scary. And other times exciting. I was surprised by how much I felt as I read this novel, considering that I'd almost given up on it.


I'm so glad that I gave this novel a second chance, and I'm hoping that my review will convince you to give this crazy book a try. It won't be for everyone, but there are readers out there who are going to love the hell out of it!

Bloomsbury, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9781599906843, 336 pages.

This post is part of the Dead Reckoning Blog Tour organized by Bloomsbury.

Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another. 

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.” 

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself? 

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

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Beach reads can be great, but they imply a certain amount of fluffiness that simply doesn't come to mind when I think about Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door. Not that you'd know that just from a quick glance at the cover art and brief description... so I was surprised when I quickly discovered that My Life Next Door is most definitely not a turn off your brain and settle in for a comfy, sedate ride kind of book. Instead, it was filled with angst, painful decisions, and intense romance and friendship and family drama. 


The characters of My Life Next Door are one of the best aspects of the novel. Each has a very distinct personality (even the littlest of the Garrett's) so, despite there being quite a few children running around in various passages, each character was easily identified. I honestly felt like I knew these characters. Like maybe I lived on the other side of the Garrett's growing up and we all happened to be neighbors. I found myself tightly wrapped in the emotional ups and downs of these characters. 


The main character, Samantha, is not perfect, though she's spent much of her life trying to fit the image her mother so carefully cultivates. I cheered each of Sam's rebel moments, proud of her for doing something for herself rather than her mother. And I appreciated the fact that Sam really didn't do anything that would be harmful to herself. Her rebellion wasn't full of drugs, alcohol, and sex, but rather the bravery to accept the sometimes messy, but rewarding parts of life outside of one's comfort zone.


Huntley Fitzpatrick is a talented writer and I can easily imagine her novels gaining a healthy following, much like Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti's novels. I, for one, am anxiously awaiting news of her next project!

Dial Books for Young Readers, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780803736993, 395 pages.

Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

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.

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Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 blew me away. I devoured this debut novel and, when I finished, I found myself in a satisfied stupor wondering where the past few hours had gone.

I sometimes have difficulty connecting to male main characters, so, when I opened Monument 14 and discovered that the narrator was one of the boys trapped in the superstore, I paused for a moment. I was entirely too interested in the premise to ever put down the novel, but I wondered if Dean would detract from my reading experience... I very much wanted to put myself in the position of the main character and I didn't know if I could make myself think like a teenage boy. I can't guarantee that Dean's thinking and actions were entirely true to life, but he felt realistic enough to me that I never forgot the fact that he was a boy, but I could still understand his emotions and motivations. In the end, I grew to like Dean a lot and I was happy that he, rather than one of the girls trapped in the superstore, was the narrator.

One of the most interesting aspects of this novel was the presence of small children as well as teens. I think having small children trapped as well added another dimension and sense of urgency to the situation. I found the differences between the reactions of each age group really put things into perspective... for both the characters themselves and the reader. It's already crazy that these teens are trapped and had to learn to trust one another and work together, but then to throw in small children that are alternately panicked or wanting to play and do something fun... the situation was terrifyingly real.

The giant hailstorm, the chemical weapons spill, the bus crashes, and the other events that lead to the fourteen kids being trapped inside the superstore all seemed carefully thought out and contained just enough detail to create a realistic picture within the reader's mind. The entire novel felt very cinematic. I actually found myself matching characters from the novel to people I knew in real life. Each character felt so impossibly real that my mind needed a three-dimensional body to go along with the personality Laybourne created.

Monument 14 has landed a spot on my Best of 2012 list. I'm already anxious for the next installment, as the novel ended on a cliffhanger... I seriously get shivers just thinking about the intensity of the final scenes!

Feiwel & Friends, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780312569037, 294 pages.

Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. 

Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

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I'm in awe of Courtney Summers. I've come to the conclusion that she can't write anything I won't end up in love with. 


I'm completely freaked out my zombies in realistic settings - because I seriously believe that the zombie apocalypse will happen someday and I am so, so screwed - but I couldn't pass up a book by Summers. Honestly, I've become dependent on the fact that she releases a new novel every year, and I couldn't not read This Is Not a Test just because zombies and gore make me a bit nauseous. And, though I can't say that any of Summers' novels are particularly happy, I find them oddly comforting. These are the novels that people refer to when they say reading makes them feel understood and less alone.


The best thing about This Is Not a Test is that yes, it's a zombie book, but it is so much more than that. For me, it was everything I loved about Summers' past novels, including the intense emotion, flawed characters, and desperate situations PLUS zombies. I mean, Summers' novels always crackle with intensity, so much so that I didn't believe she could turn it any higher, but she definitely proved me wrong.


I've yet to stop myself from falling in love with all of characters in Summers' books. It's a bit ridiculous really. I've even gone so far as to name pets after them. (Okay, one pet. My cat, Milo, is named after a character from Fall for Anything.) Like Summers' past novels, the characters in This Is Not a Test each have a distinct personality. I always feel that I truly understand what motivates each character's actions and emotions, whether they're the main character or small, seemingly unimportant character.


I can't stress enough how much I adore each and every novel Summers' has written and, though This Is Not a Test is in some ways a departure from her previous novels, it is, at it's core, what readers have come to expect from  her. Plus zombies. And while this book may sound horribly bleak, I've come to find that Summers' always leaves her characters, and her readers, with a shimmering ray of hope. Even during the zombie apocalypse.

St. Martin's Griffin, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780312656744, 320 pages.

Review: One Moment by Kristina McBride

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget. 

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead? 

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding? 

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

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Since the moment I finished Kristina McBride's debut novel, The Tension of Opposites, I've been waiting for her to offer readers something new. When One Moment arrived unexpectedly at my doorstep, my wait was finally over. But now the moment of truth was upon me... would my high expectations be met?

Yes! Those expectation have been met and exceeded and I want to jump up and down and tell everyone how undeniably brilliant One Moment is. (Phew.) It has been a couple weeks since I finished reading McBride's sophomore novel - and by "reading" I mean "inhaled in a matter of hours" - but it refuses to leave my head. I find myself thinking about it when my mind randomly connects things in real life with small, sometimes seemingly insignificant details from the story.

The other day, someone mentioned a quilt. In the novel, right after the accident in which Maggie's boyfriend Joey ends up dead, Maggie huddles on her couch wrapped in a quilt her grandmother made. I was immediately transported back to Maggie's world and found myself thinking about and revisiting parts of her story. I might just be a crazy person, but I like to think that it's Kristina McBride's ability to appeal to her readers' emotions and pull them fully into her characters' worlds that keeps bringing me back to One Moment time after time... no small feat!

While both of McBride's novels are contemporary YA that feature rather dark, sad events and female protagonists, they're a world apart. While I could clearly tell that One Moment was a "McBride" novel, it was unique and had it's own power completely separate from that of The Tension of Opposites. Maggie is very different than McBride's first protagonist, yet I still connected deeply with her, just as I did with Tessa.

There is so much more I could say about One Moment, but I fear becoming spoilery, so I'll stop while I'm ahead. If you're already a fan of McBride, for goodness sake, preorder One Moment! For the rest of you, if you like a well written contemporary YA rife with emotion, mystery, drama, and romance, you simply must read this novel... and The Tension of Opposites while you're waiting!

EgmontUSA, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9781606840863, 272 pages. 

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

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I was completely taken with Leigh Bardugo's debut. Shadow and Bone is marvelous... seriously. The world is richly detailed, the main and secondary characters are engaging, and the fantasy elements distinctive. I couldn't put it down!


Alina doesn't think she's anything special, until she accidentally taps into previously unrealized power within to save her best friend... power that marks her as Grisha. The Grisha are revered in Ravka and are much above Alina's current station in life. She is taken under the wing of the Darkling, the mysterious and powerful leader of the Grisha, and is forced to leave her best friend behind in order to train among her new found peers in a world she knows nothing about.


The time Alina spends training with her fellow Grisha successfully allowed the reader to observe external and internal changes of the heroine and was a great opportunity to learn more about the culture and world of the Grisha. I love how much depth and detail is present in Shadow and Bone, as it is usually the aspect of YA Fantasy I find lacking.


Bardugo doesn't make things easy for the reader. The reader and Alina are often unsure of who to trust, sharing the same insecurities. Except the reader doesn't have the weight of saving Ravka on their shoulders like the unsuspecting heroine...


And there's romance! And two possible romantic interests! And no love triangle! How is this possible, you ask? I'm not telling... because that would be very spoilery. And who wants that!?


Great YA fantasy doesn't come along every day... do not miss Shadow and Bone!

Henry Holt & Co, Hardcover, June 2012, ISBN: 9780805094598, 368 pages.


Be sure to check out the book trailer too!

Waiting on Wednesday feat. Lies Beneath

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
Delacorte/Random House/6.12.2012
Description (from Goodreads):
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.


The only brother of murderous mermaids...? Seduction and murder... and accidentally falling in love? Count me in! Plus, that cover is soooo pretty!

ADD it on Goodreads.

WoW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!