Review: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne

Title: Sky on Fire (Monument 14, #2)
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication date: May 28, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (Post Apocalyptic)

Source: Publisher (Raincoast)

Format: ARC

Pages: 213

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The world hasn't ended...yet.

In this sequel to MONUMENT 14, the group of survivors, originally trapped together in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, has split in two. Most of the kids are making a desperate run on their recently repaired school bus for the Denver airport where they hope to reunite with their parents, be evacuated to safety, and save their dying friend.

But the world outside is dark and filled with dangerous chemicals that turn people into bloodthirsty monsters, and not all the kids were willing to get on the bus. Left behind in a sanctuary that has already been disturbed once, the remaining kids try to rebuild the community they lost. But when the issues are life and death, love and hate, who can you really trust?

Sky on Fire is the much awaited sequel to Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne. Ever since I finished Monument 14, I've been dying to get my hands on Sky on Fire. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed in the least when it came to the sequel. My only minor complaint is that the book was a bit too short, at 213 pages. The sequel continues from the ending of Monument 14 and this time it is told from two POVs, Dean and Alex, who are brothers. I would recommend anyone who hasn't read Monument 14 to not continue with this review because it might contain minor spoilers for it. 

This book has a dual POV because there are two different settings, one in the greenway store with Dean and Astrid along with three other kids, and the other is Alex on the bus with 5+ others trying to drive 60 miles to the Denver International Airport where it seems to be a sort of safe house meet up for the surviving people. To say that this book didn't keep me on the edge of my seat is a lie. I was frantically flipping the pages trying to find out what happens next in the greenway store then back at the bus. The ending of each chapter is like a mini cliffhanger that makes you read the next chapter (which is told from the other POV) as fast as possible.. and the cycle continued. It was a vicious one that wouldn't let me put down the book at all. While some may think the greenway mall POV is repetitive, since that was the setting of the first book, but it really isn't since the circumstances changed. As for Alex and the rest of the gang, boy, did they get into a lot of crap. I felt so sorry for them at times and prayed that they would all make it back safe to the DIA. 

I know many people who read Monument 14 thought Dean was a bit too whiny and lovestruck to be a pleasant narrator, but I believe he has redeemed himself in this book. Also, I am sure people will really enjoy the chapters told from Alex's POV. Those were very thrilling! As for the way this book ended, I am not sure if there will be a sequel, the way Laybourne finished the book hints at another possible book, but if she doesn't write one, readers do get a good satisfying ending. All in all, I do recommend this series to fans of post apocalyptic and survival novels, especially fans of male POVs! Though I am not fond of male POVs, I have to say that I really enjoyed this series. 

The rest of the series:

Monument 14