Emmy Laybourne books

Emmy Laybourne is an American YA author and former sketch comedian whose debut novel Monument 14 launched a dystopian trilogy about teenagers surviving a chemical apocalypse. She has also written YA thrillers and Viking fantasy.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Scream and Scream Again! 2018 Buy
Life Is Short and Then You Die 2019 Buy

Berserker Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Berserker 2017 Buy
Ransacker 2019 Buy

Monument 14 Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Dress Your Marines in White 2012 N/A
Monument 14 2012 Buy
Jake and the Other Girl 2013 N/A
Sky on Fire 2013 Buy
What Mario Scietto Says 2014 Buy
The Most Important Meeting In My Life by Max Skolnik 2014 N/A
Savage Drift 2014 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Dress Your Marines in White 2012 Buy
Jake and the Other Girl 2013 Buy

Sweet Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Expelled 2015 N/A
Sweet 2015 Buy
Tatlı Tehlike 2013 N/A
Svůdné zúčtování 2014 N/A

Laybourne came to fiction after years working as a comedian and actress, and that background shows in her pacing. Her books move quickly, with dialogue-heavy scenes and a knack for ensemble dynamics. Monument 14 in particular works because of how well she handles a large cast of kids who would never normally interact, thrown together by circumstances beyond their control.

The series made her reputation as a YA dystopian writer during a period when the genre was very crowded, and it held up partly because the threat was specific and grounded rather than vaguely authoritarian. A chemical spill from a nearby plant, not a totalitarian government, is what traps the kids in the superstore, and that specificity gives the series a different texture from most of its contemporaries.

After Monument 14, she moved into different territory with Sweet and the Berserker books, showing she wasn’t committed to staying in one genre lane.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Emmy Laybourne written?

Emmy Laybourne has written seventeen books across five series.

What was Emmy Laybourne's first book?

Emmy Laybourne’s first book is Dress Your Marines in White, published in 2012.

Is Emmy Laybourne's work suitable for younger or older YA readers?

Her books skew toward older YA. Monument 14 deals with violence, chemical exposure, and survivor trauma, and the Sweet series involves a thriller on a cruise ship with mature themes. The Berserker books are somewhat more accessible to younger teens.

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