The Last Book In The Universe (2015) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a captivating futuristic novel where it's author, Rodman Philbrick, does a masterful job of engaging the reader through its characters and plot. "If you're reading this, it must be a thousand years from now. Because nobody around here reads anymore. Why bother, when you can just probe it?" From these very first sentences of the book, the reader is pulled in to this fascinating story.The story tells of a journey taken by Spaz in a post-apocalyptic world (as a result of "the big shake", or earthquake). He starts on his journey to reunite with his younger sister after he finds out that she is gravely ill. However, this journey will be difficult and dangerous as he has to cross three zones that are ruled by powerful latch bosses. He is accompanied by Ryter, an old man that he tried to steal from in the beginning of the story and one of the last few people remaining who can read and write, and a very young boy named Little Face, who communicates through gestures and sounds. As they move from one zone to another, they run into trouble but are helped by a young proov girl (a genetically improved human). They finally reach Spaz's sister, Bean, and realize that the only way to save her from death is to take her to Eden, where the Proovs live. The only problem is that normals (people who have not been genetically improved) are not accepted in Eden. And so the plot thickens.The author does an exceptional job of depicting two worlds, the Urb (where the normals live) and Eden, and how each has its own strengths and weaknesses. What I find interesting is how the themes of addiction, abandonment, poverty, and violence in this futuristic world are the same themes that we see in our world today. At the end of the book, there is a glossary of words that are used throughout the book which helps the reader to understand some of the slang being spoken by the characters. The well-described scenes and adventurous plot will appeal to a variety of readers, and is suitable for students grades 6-12. This book lends itself to activities such as compare+contrast, cause/effect, and the 5 steps of the writing process to name a few. This is a great book for students who want to read a book filled suspense and adventure. The book is also available via CD and is read by Jeremy Davies (who has been in movies such as "Twister" and "Saving Private Ryan"). I tried reading the book while listening to the audio CD, however the audio CD was a bit too slow for my pace. Another excellent complimentary book would be "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. This book also deals with the same subject of a futuristic utopian society.
I really enjoyed this story of a grim futuristic world sharply divided between the "normals" in Urb and the "proovs" in Eden. Lots of comparisons could be made here - for example with "The Giver" especially in the aspect of old man/mentor passing on knowledge to a younger man. The story was violent but did not use bad language. Speaking of language, do not let the strange vocabulary in the first chapter throw you off. The slang words help make this universe convincing. The words are consistent throughout and are clever ("googan" means buffoon or silly person). I really liked the richness the new words added to this distopia.The story is suitable for middle school, but it deals with deep topics: leadership, compassion, policial power, mob rule, the dangers of removing oneself from reality, isolation and elitism, and more. There were a few holes for me: *SPOILER* at the begining, Spaz references mindprobes which supposedly have been recently disabled. Also could Ryter's grandfather have seen the Grand Canyon? Does the tremendous devastation of the Big Shake only go back three generations? However, I think younger readers will be touched by the story of a damaged, shrinking young man whose is transformed through the friendship of a wise, old man and his own love for his foster-sister and his determination to reach her.
What do You think about The Last Book In The Universe (2015)?
I thought this book was very related to our present time but also very different. This book is one of my favorite books because it has a futuristic background. This book is like realistic future for us and about 100 years. It is very exciting at the end because Bean doesn't die. The book has so much slang it is crazy even old people say slang. It is so weird that Billy Bizmo is his dad and Ryter dies by being wheeled.
—Ari
Such an interesting premise - a future without books. A future where everything you want to think or dream about is shot into your brain with a needle. When I first heard the idea behind this book, I was intrigued. I checked it out and read it that same day (it's a really easy read and I sped through it at lightning speed).However, the book did not live up to its premise, at least to me. It was okay, and I can see how others would enjoy it more, but to me, it just wasn't my cup of tea. There was a lot of slang, a lot of violence, and the storyline seemed forced, like the author had come up with a really cool setting for a story (a post-apocalyptic world) and then had to come up with a story to fit into that setting. It just didn't gel for me. I've always enjoyed apocalyptic stories (I think it's a fascinating look into how the author thinks, and I've always loved to play the 'what if' game) so I enjoyed that portion of the book. I think that the book just tried to fit too much in too small a space in order to keep from being overly long and scaring off its target audience. But in the process, the storyline felt under-developed and simply didn't do anything for me. If the author had spent more time building the story and the characters, that would have gone a long way with me.IMHO.
—Hava
The Last Book in the Universe takes place far into the future after the world has been destroyed by an earthquake known as the Big Shake. It is about a boy nicknamed Spaz. He receives a message from his adopted sister that she is dying, and wants to see him. He then goes on a quest to get to her, but first he has to get through the different gangs that control each part of the Urb. An old man names Ryter, who is an author working on the last book in the universe, hence the name of the book, comes too, along with a little boy who doesn’t know how to talk. Spaz nicknames him Little Face. They pick up a genetically modified girl, or a proov, along the way. tI liked this book, although the ending was unsatisfying. The main point of the story is to convince people to take care of our earth. Spaz and his friends have never seen the color blue because the sky is grey. They have never seen grass, and his entire world is concrete and mortar. However, Eden, the home of the proovs, is a paradise. The sky is always a clear blue, and the entire city is one extended garden. Normal people are not allowed in, though. It sends a clear warning about our society and having social classes. We need to learn to accept that everyone is a person, regardless of appearance, race, religion, or political views. tI think that this book is a really good read. Beyond just being enjoyable, it prompts you to check how you are treating others. I know it sounds cliché, like just another book about how we need to take care of our environment, but it’s really not. It’s unique and interesting.
—Lauren
