TGIF at GReads!

The awesomeness that is Ginger (or G, as I like to call her!) over at GReads! has created a great meme that is tons of fun. Each Friday, she poses a question for anyone to answer. Go check her out and join in the fun!

Unexpected Books:

Which book did you have
reservations about 
 reading, but ended up loving
once you did?

This one is actually easy for me to answer (surprise!) since I recently ran across such a book.

Normally I don't pay much attention to what others say about books, unless "others" happens to be really good friends whose advice is normally spot-on (like you, G!). A friend told me about this book, and said that it wasn't as good as she had expected--which right away made me a bit leery. I snagged a copy nonetheless, though it sat on my shelf for a couple of weeks. 

One afternoon during a week I set aside to do nothing but read (which was much needed, trust me, lol), I decided to pull it from the shelf.

And I'm so happy I did.

This book turned out to be something that I truly enjoyed. I thought the writing and style was unique and engaging, while the characters and plot were very cool and realistic. Overall, a huge surprise from what I went in expecting.

And that book was...

MONUMENT 14 

by Emmy Laybourne

pub date June 5, 2012

product description from goodreads.com

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. 

This book is a great addition (IMO) to the YA dystopian front, and one that I suggest you pick up and read today!

And be sure to visit GReads! and hop on the TGIF train!