Synopses & Reviews
This fast-paced action novel is set in a future where the world has been almost destroyed. Like the award-winning novel Freak the Mighty, this is Philbrick at his very best.
It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the planet. In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is the rare human being who can see life as it really is. When he meets an old man called Ryter, he begins to learn about Earth and its past. With Ryter as his companion, Spaz sets off an unlikely quest to save his dying sister -- and in the process, perhaps the world.
Synopsis
This fast-paced action novel is set in a future where the world has been almost destroyed. Newbery Honor Author Rodman Philbrick is at his very best.
Nobody around here reads anymore. Why bother, when you can just shoot all the images and excitement straight into your brain? I've heard of books, but they were long before I was born, in the backtimes before the Big Shake...In a world where people only use mindprobes for entertainment, a teenaged boy is one of the rare human beings who can see life for what is really is. Cruelly nicknamed Spaz, he is subject to random seizures that make it impossible for him to use the brain-drain tech. But what sets him apart eventually becomes his salvation.After meeting an old man called Ryter, Spaz begins to learn about how the world used to be before the catastrophic earthquake that changed everything. There is a story of a promised land, rich in its bounties, that can cure any ailment and more beautiful than any place left in the desolate wasteland humanity calls home. The two set off to find Eden in the hopes of saving Spaz's dying sister, and together, seek to bring some good back to the world.Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver in this action-packed thriller from the author of the bestselling novel Freak the Mighty.The Last Book in the Universe joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content
About the Author
Rodman Philbrick is the author of six award-winning novels for young readers. His first novel, Freak the Mighty, won the California Young Reader Medal. It was received with great acclaim and has sold more than a million copies. The sequel, Max the Mighty, received starred reviews, and his novel The Fire Pony was named a 1996 Capital Choice. His more recent books for the Blue Sky Press are REM World; The Last Book in the Universe, which was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and The Young Man and the Sea, which received a starred review from School Library Journal. He and his wife live in Maine and the Florida Keys.