Savage Drift. (series: Monument 14.)

Laybourne, Emmy.  Savage Drift. (series: Monument 14.)      Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends    2014  309p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-250-03642-1 jr/sr   Conflict  VG-BN

In this book, the third in the Monument 14 trilogy, the majority of the survivors had shuttled from camp to camp before finally ending up in a refugee camp in Canada.  Their world was beginning to look up for the most part, as some reunited with their families and others made plans for the future.  This all came tumbling down when Niko found out his lost love, Josie, had survived.  Niko (with the help of Dean, Jake, and the pregnant Astrid) takes off to find her.  The travel routes are difficult and dangerous.
    

This novel demonstrates the versatility, ingenuity, and flexibility of teenagers.  The characters encounter numerous road blocks in their travels.  However, they meet these situations with resolve and caring for each other.  Friendship and compassion have supported the participants throughout their travels.
    

Readers will enjoy this novel, which illustrates friendship, conflict, determination, and compassion.      

Summary: This book is the gripping conclusion to the Monument 14 trilogy. The young survivors who escaped disaster are once again forced to fall back on their own resources and determination to save each other from the government’s unusual interests.      

Post-Apocalyptic novels                         --Linda McNeil   

Laybourne, Emily. Monument 14: Sky on Fire.

Laybourne, Emily.  Monument 14: Sky on Fire.    Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends    2013  215p  ISBN 978-0-312-56904-4  ms/hs  Hardback    E-BN  Science fiction 

This post-apocalyptic YA novel is a sequel to Monument 14.  Brothers Dean and Alex and the others have survived so far by working together. This the story of Alex taking off to get help and Dean staying behind to protect the little kids. Escalating disasters make this a gritty, tension-filled read.     Having learned to work together to survive, the optimistic kids realize that someone needs to attempt to get news of their survival to Denver International Airport, where the army is evacuating survivors.  The answer to who goes and who stays is dependent upon each individual’s blood type.  It has been decided that type O’s (who became bloodthirsty and mean) and AB’s (who became paranoid and delusional) would stay behind.  The five-year-old twins are included in this group.  The other group, lead by Niko (the oldest and himself an AB) and Dean, are blood types A (who blister and die upon contact with air) and B (who exhibit reproductive failure and become sterile).

The two groups are resourceful and improvise as the situation warrants the need to do so.  The travelers encounter hardships and individuals who steal their equipment and their bus.  They also meet an old man who helps them out when the situation becomes dire.  The group that stays behind has to deal with intruders (the army guys who stole the bus) and a lot of emotional issues.  With all of the drama going on around them, the older ones manage to keep the five-year-old twins safe and secure.

The author has written a raw and dramatic novel showing what things might be like after a nuclear holocaust.  The story line includes pregnancy, self-defense, killing, theft, kindness, and a group of optimistic problem-solving children.  This is a very well-written book that will appeal to many young readers.  It is recommended as a basic book for any middle- or high-school library.  It would make an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries.   

Summary: This post-apocalyptic YA novel is a sequel to Monument 14.  Brothers Dean and Alex and the others have survived so far by working together. This the story of Alex taking off to get help and Dean staying behind to protect the little kids. Escalating disasters make this a gritty, tension-filled read.    

Dystopian novels, Survival-Fiction                                --Linda McNeil

Laybourne, Emmy. Monument 14.

Laybourne, Emmy.  Monument 14.  Macmillan/ Feiwel & Friends      296p  $16.99      978-0-312-56903-7   hs  VG-BN Realistic Fiction    

     

This is the story of six Colorado high schoolers, two middle schoolers, and six little kids caught in a gigantic hailstorm on the way to school one morning on their two school buses.  Mrs. Wooly, one of the bus drivers, rescues these kids from both of the buses and ensconces them in the Greenway superstore.  One of the fourteen kids is a boy scout and another is a technical nerd.  The rest range from the superstar football player to five-year-old carrot-topped twins Henry and Caroline.

After Mrs. Wooly gets everyone settled and sealed into the superstore, she leaves to get help.  Shortly the group moves to the media department of the store to watch TV.  It is then that they learn that a volcano has erupted on the Canary Islands and caused a half-mile tall mega-tsunami to race eastward and wipe out the east coast of the U. S.  The result is the creation of super cells that race across the country and over the Rockies, pelting everyone with giant hailstones and destructive winds, only to be followed by an earthquake that has ruptured NORAD’s germ warfare site, causing even more disaster.

The novel tells the story of how these fourteen kids come together to organize, comfort each other, and survive in a monstrous environmental disaster. 

The character development in this novel is superb.  The reader is drawn into the little personality clashes and mini-dramas going on among the characters while they are trying to figure out how to survive.  The relationships between the older kids and the younger ones are also well portrayed, with the older ones taking on parental roles in trying to protect the younger ones from the frightening truth about what is going on outside of the store, and what their chances of survival are.  The writing is superb and edgy, and readers will keep turning the pages in this gripping post-Apocolyptic saga.

Natural Disasters-Fiction, Post-Apocolyptic Fiction   --Linda McNeil