Anna Banks’s first two novels in the Syrena Legacy trilogy, Of Poseidon and Of Triton (a New York Times Bestseller), have won her many fans. Her latest work is Of Neptune, the stunning conclusion to her bestselling Syrena Legacy. She lives in Crestview, Florida, with her husband and their daughter. Here are her picks for 5 YA must-haves ... Read the rest of this post
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Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Best Selling Books For Kids, Feiwel & Friends books, Grisha trilogy, Henry Holt and Co. books, Monument 14 series, Putnam Juvenile books, Syrena Legacy trilogy, Book Lists, Chapter Books, featured, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Best Sellers, Katie Finn, Marie Lu, John Corey Whaley, Teens: Young Adults, Leigh Bardugo, Anna Banks, Emmy Laybourne, Best Kids Stories, Best YA, Add a tag
Blog: Jen Robinson (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Newsletter, survival story, Dystopia / Post-Apocalypse, post-apocalypse, emmy laybourne, monument 14, Reviews, Young Adult, young adult fiction, Add a tag
Book: Monument 14: Sky on Fire
Author: Emmy Laybourne (@EmmyLaybourne)
Pages: 224
Age Range: 13 and up
Monument 14: Sky on Fire is the sequel to Monument 14 (reviewed here), in which a group of 14 kids end up living in a big department store after a series of apocalyptic events. A third book is due out next May. Sky on Fire begins immediately after the end of Monument 14 (stop here if you don't want spoilers for the first book).
The narration alternates, chapter by chapter, between sixteen-year-old Dean and his thirteen-year-old brother Alex. Alex is on the school bus that brought the kids to safety in the store in the first place, together with seven of the other kids. They're on a quest to travel 67 miles to Denver International Airport, where they believe there may be government evacuations to safer locations. The journey is quite dangerous for the kids, because exposure to toxins in the air will cause terrible side effects. These vary according to each person's blood type. The kids have gas masks and multi-layered clothing, but don't know whether or not this will be enough.
Meanwhile Dean has stayed behind in the Greenway store with his crush, Astrid (who is pregnant), and three of the littler kids (including the absolutely adorable five-year-old twins Henry and Caroline). Former big man on campus Jake (father of Astrid's baby) is missing, having gone for help and never returned. Dean and Astrid have to contend with people attempting to break into the store, and with taking care of the smaller children. They've stayed, in part, because Dean, Astrid, and eight-year-old Chloe are all Type O, and react with extreme violence (towards everyone) when exposed to the air outside.
I must admit that I had to pause mid-way through in my reading of this book, asking myself "Can't these kids ever get a break?". Because this is a pretty bleak book, and bad things just keep on happening. Despite some dark events, the first book also had a certain sense of fun - the idea of being trapped in a big department store, with no adult supervision is cool. But the idea of traipsing through a hostile post-apocalyptic landscape in which the people who are still alive will kill you for your water bottles, well, it's not as appealing.
Sky on Fire is compelling, however. Laybourne uses the alternating narration to ratchet up the suspense. The kids on the bus receive information from someone on the way suggesting that the airport isn't safe after all, and they (and the reader) don't know what to believe. There are interpersonal tensions, particularly between Astrid and Dean, and there is personal growth on the part of several characters.
There's also growth in the general relationship between the kids. It becomes clear in Sky on Fire how much these kids have bonded into a family. Not an idealized family with no tensions, but a family that is loyal to one another above any outsiders.
I particularly enjoyed Alex's intelligent voice. Like this:
"If we two were the two last people on earth--not, by the way, as statistically implausible as it was a month ago--she would still be rude to me and I would still pretend that it didn't bother me." (Page 45)
And Dean's more poetic voice. Like this:
"Was it wrong to feel a heart-spike of happiness in the middle of the Apocalypse?" (Page 97)
Because what they were experiencing was so different, I never found the two first-person voices confusing.
For the second book of what appears to be a trilogy, Monument 14: Sky on Fire wraps things up quite well. It's suspenseful, and has emotional impact. Despite many loose ends being tied up, there are still questions left unanswered, large and small. I am eager for the next book. Recommended!
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (@MacKidsBooks)
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Source of Book: Purchased on Kindle
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© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Blog: MacKids Home (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: blog tour, fierce reads, emmy laybourne, monument 14, Teens, Add a tag
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne goes on sale June 5, 2012, and is another one of our Fierce Reads titles. Be sure to check out all the stops on the blog tour, and see Emmy and the rest of our Fierce Reads authors on tour in June!
Sunday 6/3 http://carabosseslibrary.blogspot.com/
Monday 6/4 http://www.princessbookie.com/
Tuesday 6/5 http://www.gonewiththewords.com/
Wednesday 6/6 http://snarkymamma.blogspot.com/
Thursday 6/7 http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com/
Friday 6/8 http://everafteresther.blogspot.com/
Saturday 6/9 http://www.hookedtobooks.com/
Sunday 6/10 http://bookbrats.blogspot.com/
Monday 6/11 http://withabook.blogspot.com/
Tuesday 6/12 http://www.emilysreadingroom.com/
Wednesday 6/13 http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com/
Thursday 6/14 http://proudbooknerd.com/
Friday 6/15 http://thisblondereads.wordpress.com/
Saturday 6/16 http://chickloveslit.com/
Sunday 6/17 http://marjoleinbookblog.blogspot.com/
Monday 6/18 &nbs
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