Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne

Words cannot being to express how much I was looking forward to this book.  Monument 14 was one of the first times I ever screamed, "No!", when finishing a book.  It was such an exciting book, and it ended on such a cliffhanger that I was not ready to close the book.  Monument 14:Sky on Fire gave me the same reaction.  It is a bit shorter than I am used to, it is only 215 pages, but holy crap, Emmy Laybourne packs a serious wallop in those pages.  The benefit of the 2nd book is that the characters have already been introduced and the writer can focus more on the action of the story.  In Sky on Fire readers get a quick reminder about who is who in the story through a journal entry.  They are also reminded about the toxic chemicals in the air and how it affects each person.  Ordinarily this technique bothers me, but with so many characters to keep track of, I was very grateful.

***SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE 1ST BOOK*****

In the 1st book, 14 kids ranging in age with some being as young as 5, have taken refuge from a disaster in one of those supercenter places.  The kind of place where one can find practically anything.  They are attempting to survive while chaos reigns outside and there are no adults to comfort them inside.  This isn't Lord of the Flies though.  The kids, for the most part, get along, and it's the occasional adult that happens upon the kids, that introduces things that are truly scary.  As the first book ends, part of the group decides they are going to try to make it to the airport since they heard that people are being rescued there.

****NO MORE SPOILERS****
As our not so merry band of travelers set out, they get a glimpse of just how bad things actually are.  Cars are abandoned on the side of the road and so are bodies.  Everything has a sort of white mold growing on it. There are looters, killers, and people who will do anything to survive, even if that means condemning someone else to certain death.  Some of the scenes reminded me of  The Road things seemed so bleak and hopeless.  I questioned choices made some of the characters as they seemed to have dire consequences.  There seems to be a serious shortage of good people out there, and yet, you do get to see that there are still good people out there.  There are still people willing to help a complete stranger and expect nothing in return.

The action never stops in Monument 14:Sky on Fire Laybourne barely gives you a chance to catch your breath.  It's a plot technique that works.  What also works is that the story jumps from the kids who are on the road and those that have stayed behind.  We learn the fate of characters who left in book 1, and we are left guessing about others by the end of this book.  Be warned that there is another cliffhanger in this book.  There is some resolution.  There are characters that I don't think I need to worry about anymore, but that might be a false sense of hope.

I'm a huge fan of this series.  I'm excited for book 3.  Laybourne is a talented writer with a gift for getting a reader's attention and maintaining it.  I predict great things from her, and look forward to all the stories she is going to tell.

Firecracker by David Iserson

When I found out one of the writers form one of my favorite shows was having a published I was excited, when I realized that it was going to be YA I was ecstatic.  I was certainly not disappointed.  Astrid Krieger is an amazing protagonist and narrator.  I found her biting commentary a refreshing departure from the typical female characters in YA novels.  There is no trite love triangle; no girl pining over a boy who doesn't like her.  There is a pissed off teenager hell bent on revenge and very talented at discovering what people are useful for.  She speaks her mind and says what most people think but are afraid to say.

Astrid has been recently expelled from her prestigious boarding school for a cheating scandal.  To add insult to serious injury, she is confident that one of her useful associates turned on her.  To make things even worse she is forced to go to (dun dun DUUUUNNNNN) public school.  As a teacher, I found the descriptions of public school particularly hilarious.  The smell of urine, disinterested teachers, and administrators who have already made up their minds about a new student are very realistic.

Astrid only seems to trust and care about one person, her grandfather.  I absolutely adored their scenes.  It showed a softer side of Astrid and made her character more sympathetic.  The path that their relationship takes through the story arc is crucial to her development and growth as a person.

Will Astrid get her revenge on the mysterious person who caused her demise or will her whole plan go up in smoke?  Find out by reading the hilarious Firecracker by David Iserson.

Favorite Line From the Book:

"If someone wants to win me over, they should give me something useful like juice boxes or a boat"- Astrid Krieger