A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan

Summary: Farrah “Digit” Higgins may be going to MIT in the fall, but this L.A. high school genius has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group’s number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping– all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously. So much for blending in …

My Thoughts: This was such an enjoyable book to read! While the subject matter isn’t exactly fluffy, it’s handled in a way that makes this a light, fun read. I often found myself chuckling, laughing, and/or smiling while reading. Some of it is dialogue between characters, but much of it is just Digit’s take on things. This girl has a way with words. Her voice and persona are very easy to like, and she grows up a lot in this novel.

I didn’t give this five stars because there were moments during which I found Digit a bit annoying. Namely while she’s going gaga over John and seems to forget that their lives are on the line. Or when she lies and says her cell phone is at home. Normally, I wouldn’t have issue with that, but normally people aren’t being told that a terrorist group wants them dead. I would think that a 17-year-old – especially one who’s a genius – would be inclined to leave behind the cell phone (especially when she watches CSI and other such shows regularly). If she was a younger teen, I’d be less likely to find this annoying. Really, it’s a minor thing that doesn’t get in the way of the story – meaning it’s not bothersome enough to keep one from ignoring it. And her stuff with John, well. She is 17. I can see how she’s be busy enough swooning to kinda forget just how grave the danger is. But, still, he’d be trying to talk to her about the case, and she’d be thinking about why he won’t kiss her. Stuff like that. I was quite annoyed during some of those moments, because it was like she thought that was more important than living. But then again, she is a teenager. It’s hard to believe one isn’t going to live forever when so young!

In the end, this book totally left me with a smile on my face. I think one big thing that helped with that is that Digit learns a valuable lesson. After years of pretending she’s not the super math genius, she finds that being herself is so much better. There’s a line in the book at one point about living the lie being so exhausting, or something like that – she didn’t say it. One of her parents did. But, it’s like she has a new take on life, and has decided that perhaps being herself isn’t so bad after all. She also learned that she was so busy hiding herself that she didn’t truly get to know those that she was closest to in her social life. Not to mention that she’d been somewhat judgmental of them, considering them inferior intellectually. It was a humbling lesson for her, but one she took gracefully and learned from it.

In all, A Girl Named Digit is a great story. It’s fun to read, full of adventure, romance, and suspense. And there are some life lessons, too. I would highly recommend this book.

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Read It: A Girl Named Digit is scheduled for release on June 5, 2012. You can pre-order your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

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Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Summary: Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

A huge store isn’t the worst place to be stranded. There’s food and water, bedding and books. But what if it’s not safe to leave?

Six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids are trapped together in a chain superstore. Together they build a refuge for themselves inside, while outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapon spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

My Thoughts: Monument 14 is a book that surprised me. It’s one of those I took a chance on. I thought it sounded like a premise that had promise – and it exceeded my expectations. The description reminded me a bit of Trapped by Michael Northrop, but really the only similarity is the basic premise: a bunch of kids trapped in a large building – without any adults. Where Trapped was in a high school, with only teens present, Monument 14 is in a superstore, with a much wider rage of ages. While Trapped features a monstrous blizzard, Monument 14 features natural disasters and spilling of chemical weapons. Both books left me wanting more – in the case of Monument 14, a whole lot more. As in, my primary thought upon completion was: There had better be a sequel!

As such, I immediately set about some research. No mention of a series on Goodreads. Same with FictFact. Fortunately, I found the author’s website, where I learned that there definitely is another book coming (thank God!). From her site

Book One is called: “We Don’t Die”. Book Two is: “We Split Up”.

So, I gotta wonder. Why is the book I read called Monument 14? And why isn’t there any mention of “We Don’t Die” on it anywhere? Granted, there are still several months until it’s published and I had an ARC. So, I suppose, this very well could change. I think it should – to avoid confusion on the part of readers. (Although, I half expected the second book to be called Monument 5.) Confusion aside, I am quite pleased to know that another book is indeed coming. And, yes, knowing that does have an effect on my review. The ending is, well, nothing short of a cliffhanger, and if it was a stand-alone, I’d be pissed. But it’s not, so I love the book and eagerly look forward to the next one. (Please hurry!)

All of that rambling about whether it’s a series. Let’s talk about this book. It’s good. Very well-written, and the story is compelling. There’s a slight dystopian undertone, with suspense and apocalypse-like action. We get this from the first-person perspective of Dean, one of the boys kind of in the middle of the pack. He’s in high school, not all that popular, but seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I generally liked the view from his head – except for one peeping-Tom episode. Although, in Dean’s defense, it wasn’t intentional. He stumbled upon something.

Anyway …

The characters, from the youngest kids to the high school seniors, are an eclectic group with probably more differences than similarities. But they seem to understand from the get-go that they have to work together to survive. Well, for the most part. There is inevitable discord that comes from such situations – and it grows to all-out fighting in some instances. Understandably. We’re talking high stress!

Laybourne keeps the tension at just the right level, and still gives us hope. When things look their darkest, there is still hope. (That is another way Monument 14 is different from Trapped, which is much darker.) There are some surprising plot twists and turns that I never saw coming, too. As I stated above, the end left much to be desired – but that’s because it’s not over yet! I cannot wait to see what happens with these kids. Oh, and I’m wondering if we’ll still be stuck in Dean’s head at the store, or if we’ll have a way of knowing what’s going on from the group on the bus. Hopefully we get some of both.

Anyway, I would highly recommend Monument 14. And, again, I cannot wait for the next book.

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Read It: Monument 14 is scheduled for release on June 5, 2012. You can pre-order your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for the Speculative Fiction Challenge 2012.

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