Remember the movie Where the Heart Is with Natalie Portman? Her POS boyfriend leaves her at Wal-Mart so she ends up "living" there for a bit until she has the baby. I always thought that would be fun. But not under these circumstances. 
 I enjoyed Monument 14 more than I thought I would. I figured I would like it, but I loved it! 
 The few natural disasters that occur are only near the beginning, but that was ok because the chemical weapons spill was a much more exciting element. (Though it does bring to mind a question about the chemical weapon in the book: Is this really possible? If it is, please don't tell me, I'm perfectly happy living in ignorant bliss.) 
 Emmy Laybourne gets props for having a map of the Greenway store. I love maps in books, and just because it's just a store doesn't make the map any less cool. 
 The kids face inside challenges and outside challenges. The outside ones were creepy. The kind you would find in a horror movie (it's not scary, it's just those kind of people). There are several inside challenges but the biggest one of course is "Who's in charge?" which at times felt like a popularity contest. My favorite parts were the "societal" breakdowns they were facing, and how they overcame them. 
 Hooray for a male POV! I really liked Dean. He was fairly "normal" and can be sarcastic and witty at times. I feel like I've read quite a few good male POV books this year and Monument 14 is no exception. 
 I enjoyed all the secondary characters, even the kids (who do cute kid things) but my favorite was Niko. Alex was a close second. They were probably the best decision makers in the group and knew how to get things done. 
 The girls however mostly drove me crazy. It wasn't enough to not like the book, but I couldn't see myself being BFF's with any of them. 
 For some reason I was under the impression that this was a standalone. 
 I was reading along, and there was all this stuff happening and then I realize that I only have like 15 pages left and there was just no way that it could be wrapped up that fast without being really lame (thankfully that did not happen). It ends in a good place, but you are definitely left with a million unanswered questions.