Against All Odds Apocalyptic Kids Rock!

Monument 14: Sky on Fire: Emmy Laybourne



Book: Monument 14: Sky on Fire
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Pages: 224
Age Range: 13 and up

Monument 14: Sky on Fire is the sequel to Monument 14 in which a group of 14 kids end up trying to survive in large store complex after a chemical plant causes a catastrophic event to happen in their town.

Sky on Fire begins right where Monument 14 left off and alternates between perspectives of sixteen-year-old Dean and his thirteen-year-old brother Alex.

Alex, Nico, Josie and three younger kids are on the school bus that brought the kids to safety in the store in the first book. They're on a quest to travel 67 miles to Denver International Airport because their friend Brayden was injured and they have heard that are medical facilities in Denver and evacuations to Alaska as well. This trip turns out to be incredibly dangerous for the kids because they do not realize that there are awful people out just waiting to hurt them. Also, if they are exposed to the toxins in the air each one will have a side effect according to what their blood type is. The kids do have gas masks and several layers of clothing, but in times of despair this may not be enough to get them through their sixty mile trek.

Meanwhile, back in Monument at the store Dean has stayed behind with the girl of his dreams Astrid and three of the littler kids. Still missing in action is the all star football player Jake. Jake went off in search for help and did not return after several days and everyone fears he is dead. Right away, Dean and Astrid have to deal with outsiders trying to get into the store because there is food shelter there. Dean begins to pull together all of the potential weapons that he can find to secure their safety. His number one weapon is a chainsaw.

Although, it seems that bad things just keep on happening to these kids they just keep on going and never give up and I totally admire that. As Alex states in his letter to Dean, "things get really bad" These poor kids have to travel through a hostile post-apocalyptic landscape with creepy people lurking in the shadows. Some of these people are horrible and violent and some are not. There are some violent scenes in the book that could be considered somewhat disturbing.

Sky on Fire is compelling to read though and I actually couldn't put it down and read the entire book in one day! Laybourne uses the alternating narration to ratchet up the suspense. The kids on the bus receive information suggesting that there is nowhere safe to go now, and no one knows who to trust or what to believe. There are relationship tensions, between several characters, and strength and courage are highlighted throughout each characters personality.

There's also growth in the relationships between the kids. It becomes clear in Sky on Fire how much these kids have bonded and become a family. Maybe a strange family strung together with misfits and outcasts, but a family nevertheless that will fight for each other and always loyal to each other until the end.

Alex's voice is witty and intelligent with fun quips that make you want to laugh in the face of a world gone mad

"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."

Dean has a more thoughtful voice

"Was it wrong to feel a heart-spike of happiness in the middle of the Apocalypse?" and "We deserve a happy ending. All of us do."

I'm not usually a fan of alternating point of views in a book, but this one totally works. I would have not wanted it any other way. It was really awesome at the end when both Alex and Dean's stories were almost weaving together!

My only complaint about this book is that it was too short. But then I always want to read more and more. However, it's suspenseful with an emotional impact and many loose ends are tied up. I am eager for the next book in the series! I'd say this book is totally LEGIT.

Happy Reading to You!

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma

Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing in common—they are 17 and
gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the
girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And… is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.


I LOVED this book! The writing reminded me a lot of Nova’s other book, Imaginary Girls. Mysterious, beautiful, lyrical writing that sometimes seems more like poetry than what you would find in a young adult novel, and
honestly the writing itself is much more mature than you will find in many YA novels these days. The main character in the story is Lauren a teen
who is seemingly normal on the outside. However, she has some serious issues brewing within her. She doesn’t really know if she likes her friends, and she has a boyfriend but she keeps a lot from him because she doesn’t think that he will understand what she is going
through, which of course causes him to pull away.

The biggest issue that Lauren deals with in this book is that she sees girls that other people don’t see – she sees the lost girls, girls who have
disappeared without a trace, all at the age of 17. She sees them in her house, in her car, and even meets them in her dreams in a strange and creepy house filled with smoke.

As you are reading, the stories of many missing girls are told. The missing
person’s notices are listed in the book and as you read them you realize that there are so many young people out there on the streets missing just like these characters that Suma has made up. Lauren is especially trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to one of the missing girls named Abby Sinclair. Lauren does some investigation on her own, breaking into the summer camp where Abby worked where she disappeared, visiting Abby's old boyfriend and even her grandparents who are states away. Lauren gets into quite a bit of trouble from doing all of this investigating, but really it’s what’s going on inside Lauren’s head that
is giving her the most trouble.

In 17 & Gone, nothing is as it seems. The book is filled to the brim with mystery – not just about the lost girls, but about Lauren herself, and through reading the book we get to know Lauren just as she grows into
knowing herself, and it is a wild, surprising, and totally unpredictable story about growing up, and growing into who you are when you turn out to be something completely different from what you ever expected.

I don’t want to say anything else and spoil the book for you, but I will say this is the best YA novel I have read so far this year.

Happy Reading to You!!

The Hunt is On!

This book is totally amazing! You can't help but love Jasper Dent in his plight to not become a serial killer just like his father. Jasper or Jazz as his friends call him has a keen sense of what makes a serial killer tick because his father taught him everything he knows. However, Jazz likes to mix things up by instead trying to catch a serial killer in his own home town. As things heat up, Jazz realizes that this sneaky new serial killer is actually copying his own father's nasty work. Jazz and his friend Howie work together as a well oiled machine to try and stop the horrible chain of events from unfolding. Barry Lyga has created a whole world that I never even thought existed in this incredibly exciting story of a young man struggling to find his self and break free from his father's cruel hold on him. You must read this book to find out what happens!

What I Just Finished Reading!

Pure is Sci-fi fantasy, Dystopian, and Poetic Post-Apocalyptic

"Pure" is an engaging and exciting post-apocalyptic saga. The main characters are young enough that this could have been categorized as a young adult novel. First we have Pressia who is a deep thinking risk taking sixteen year old girl who has lived with the outcome of the Detonations that went off when she was a little girl. She has witnessed horrors upon horrors and has somehow still survived. The worst part of the world she lives in is that the Detonations didn't actually kill everyone, they either burned them or fused them to other beings, animals, and/or even structures and the earth. There was a dome built that housed many people and when the bombs went off those in the dome survived with no harm. Because of this, those in the dome are called Pure. Pressia comes in contact with Bradwell, who is a renegade young man trying to start a revolution, but not having much luck on his own. Partridge lives in the dome but he is seeking something else in his life. His overbearing and sadistic father keeps a tight rule over those in the dome. This story comes to life as Partridege finds a way out of the dome and these three young people come together. The three have to come up with a plan to stay alive in a world where you don't really know who your enemies are. And you never know what dark horror might be lurking around the corner. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was happy to find that there were additional characters that turned out to be heroes too.

Enjoy the Intensity in Historical Fiction

All I can say is that reading "Code Name Verity" takes you back in time to World War II and it is an emotional and intense ride from the start. You get to read the story through written pages and notes. One side of the story is of Queenie the British spy who has been captured by the Nazi's in Nazi occupied France in 1943 after she made the crucial mistake of looking the wrong way while crossing a busy street in the town of Ormaie, France. The Gestapo orders Queenie to unravel the tale of how she met her best friend Maddie and how they went down in the plane Maddie was flying over France. Queenie manages to stay alive in prison as long as she's writing what the Gestapo approves of. Otherwise, she is horribly tortured. The second half is the story of Maddie and how she has to hide and survive in France after crashing the plane. The two stories woven together are totally compelling and the courage that these two young women possessed was amazing. I felt as if these were real people and I was reading about their lives as if it really happened all those year ago. "Code Name Verity" is definitely a tribute to women and has resonant themes of friendship and courage throughout the book.

Nominated for the YALSA Teens Top Ten Award for 2013

Sweetest Thing Indeed

The Sweetest Thing
by Christina Mandeleski
336 Pages
May 2011

The Sweetest Thing is an adorable story about a teenage girl Sheridan who loves to bake. Her nickname is Cake Girl and all she wants is to make cakes and have a boyfriend like any normal high school girl. Then her dad gets a new gig as a television chef star and her whole world bursts into chaos. On the other hand, she has been searching for her mom who left her several years before. She's just about to find her mom, but who knows what will happen if and when they see each other again? Will Sheridan find her mom? Will she find that perfect boyfriend who likes her for who she is? Read this book to find out!

Happy Reading to You!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Passion Beyond the Grave

I just finished "Such Wicked Intent" the second book in the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein and it was just as good as the first book! I highly recommend these books if you like secrets, mysterious creatures, and love triangles.

What's Behind the Zombie Phenomenom

A recent article in the Tween Tribune called, "In hard times, zombies make us feel better" it was noted that zombies seem to be everywhere these days. I just posted on Facebook about the amazing and terrifying movie trailer I saw last night for the upcoming World War Z movie based on the ever famous book by Max Brooks and also starring the one and only Brad Pitt! Zombies are also hitting hard on the popular TV series "The Walking Dead," where every week humans have to try and escape from a pack of hungry flesh eating zombies! The article also talked about "prank alerts that have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states and across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead." Whoa that sounds pretty crazy all right.

I've got a question for you - do you think that these types of strange events are created by people that just happen to have unhealthy obsessions with the dead and the decayed? According to professor Sarah Lauro, "the phenomenon isn't harmful or a random fad, but part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval. We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered, and watching a show like 'Walking Dead' provides a great variety of outlets for people."

Lauro talks a lot about the idea of having a "zombie walk," where a mass wannabe zombies get together dressed up in tattered clothes and zombiesque makeup with the traditional marks of the undead and then drag their feet around and try to do the zombie dance."

Here's the question that the Tween Tribune asked: "Do you agree with the author’s belief, that zombies make us feel better in hard times?" Well, I'm not sure but I sure do have a few zombie themed books that I can recommend to cure the zombie brain drain.

Here are my suggestions:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathon Maberry


The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


Enclave by Ann Aguirre


Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter


Check these out and let me know if you think they equal up to the vim and vigor of Max Brooks' World War Z!

Happy Reading to you!

All my best, Mrs. Librarian Lady

- article Posted on Tween Tribune on March 11, 2013

Looks A Lot Like Love :)

Source: bleubirdvintage.typepad.com via Michael on Pinterest

Love Stinks - Mrs. Librarian Lady's top twenty Anti Love Songs

Madness - Muse
I knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift
Try - Pink
One more night - Maroon 5
We are never getting back together - Taylor Swift
Not over you - Gavin DeGraw
Love & Memories - OAR
Jar of hearts - Christina Perri
When i was your Man - Bruno Mars
I cry - Flo Rida
Part of me - Katy Perry
Catch my breath - Kelly Clarkson
Numb - Usher
50 Ways - Train
More than this - One Direction
Hard to love - Lee Brice
Somebody that i used to know - Goyte
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Feel again - One Republic
Caught myself - Paramore

Best Anti-Love Movies According to Mrs. Librarian Lady

Best Anti-Love Movies - These movies will be sure to have you running away from love for sure!

Teen Tech Week 2013 Check In @ Your Library!

I made this video today in honor of the upcoming Teen Tech Week 2013 which will be during the week of March 10th-17th. I love making videos!!

What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire

What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire

Here's a fun way to see what kind of reader you are.  I fall into the Bookophile, the Cross-Under and definitely the Book-Buster, Oh I just want to hug those books!!

Shonen Knife - I am a Cat

I received this video today for my birthday and thought I'd share with you all!!

If You Want a Good Cry on Valentine's Day

There are so many talented YA authors out right now and one of my favorites is Mr. John Green. Somehow he is able to capture the realism of teen life and emotions. I highly recommend his latest book "The Fault in Our Stars" and I think it would be a tremendously sad book to read just before Valentine's Day. I have to admit that from around chapter 24 and on I basically cried my eyes out while continuing to read and sob from time to time. This book is painfully sad and it pulls no punches in its terrible descriptions of late-stage cancer. At some points, readers may even wonder why, if pain and love are so inner connected that we should care to fall in love at all. However, the amazing John Green pulls it all together in the end and we realize that a person can learn so much from being in love, and that he or she will come out on the other side of a love experience a changed person.

Karmin - Brokenhearted a great song for Anti-Valentine's Day!

Karmin knows how heartbreak gets started...

An Anti-Valentine's Day Campaign

I'm finally going to do to be able to get creative with and let loose my true feelings for Valentine's Day! I'm on a month long campaign to prove that Valentine's Day does not have to be all about hearts, love, and flowers. I'm hosting two Anti-Valentine's Day parties for teens at two different libraries! Wow that double exposure to heartbreak, disillusion, and pain. I love it ♥ I'm an evil genius muhaaahhaaahaaa! Finally something to get excited about in the cold winter weather. Here's my intro to the party invitation and I will be posting for the next month with pictures, songs, and crafts for this anti-heart celebration!

Do candy hearts and chocolates make you feel ill?
Are you running from Cupid and his stupid arrow?
Are you planning your ♥ Day escape?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
You are invited to an
ANTI-Valentine Party!!

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts (Official Music Video)

Ex Inc. will Fix U

Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus wrote this awesome book called Over You! I really liked it a lot and now want to read more of their books. The story is about a girl named Max who gets dumped by her boyfriend and tries like heck to get over him. She decides to use her pain and start her own business called Ex, Inc. She helps other girls get over their break ups and does such a fantastic job that she realizes she wants to study business at NYU. Naturally, things get complicated when Max's old boyfriend shows up. You have to read this book to find out what happens! I hope you get a chance to read this one it would be great one for an Anti-Valentine's day treat!

I heard Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts today and it totally reminded me of Max's plight. I posted the video so you can see it too!