The Last Book in the Universe

Plot summary

The story is set in a post-disaster, dystopic future city, called the Urb, which has been disturbed by an earthquake known as "The Big Shake". The Urb is plagued by poverty, thieves, gang warfare,and the use of mindprobes. These mindprobes include variations such as "trendies" (mindprobes about Eden). They are analogous to hard drugs and enable users to temporarily escape their harsh lives through images like movies being played in their heads. Genetically improved people, called "proovs," live in a city called Eden, with a beautiful society, food and water. Eden is separated from the Urb by the "Forbidden Zone," a deadly and dangerous minefield. Spaz is a 14-year-old boy who cannot use mindprobes because of his epilepsy and whose adoptive family has abandoned him because they feared the symptoms of his illness. Spaz runs errands for Billy Bizmo, the latch-boss (leader) of his own gang, the "Bully Bangers," in a section of the Urb. On one of his errands, Spaz is sent to "rip-off" Ryter, a very old man who possesses the lost arts of literacy and literature.

Spaz soon meets Little Face, a five-year-old orphan who only says the word "chox", because he didn't learn how to speak. Spaz also meets Lanaya, a proov who charitably gives out edibles(a futuristic food) to Spaz. At first, Spaz is very hostile towards Ryter, when Spaz arrives to "rip-off" (steal) Ryter's meager possessions. Contrastingly, Ryter understands Spaz's situation and does his best to help him, offering no resistance. Eventually Spaz learns that Bean, his beloved adoptive sister, is dying of the blood sickness (leukemia). Ryter and Little Face accompany Spaz on a journey to find Bean. The trio starts by traveling through "The Pipe", a large, rustic water pipe that leads to other latches. Along the way, they pass through latches controlled by various other bosses, having adventures along the way. One of the latches is ruled by the "Monkey Boys,". Spaz and company find out that the latch-leader, Mongo the Magnificent, is dying because of a probe being in his head for an extended time. Ryter convinces one of the tek bosses to take Mongo's place. In the next latch, the group sees everything burning and finds Lanaya being attacked by very hungry people. She is rescued by Spaz and Ryter and she joins them on their journey. Spaz and company start traveling towards the latch where Bean lives. Eventually, through many dangers, toils, and snares, the story's heroes find a dying Bean. Lanaya and Ryter decide to take Bean to Eden, along with Spaz and Little Face. They ride along in Lanaya's takvee to her and her "contributors" (Jin and Bree) home, which is a castle.

At this point in the novel, it is brought to attention that Lanaya is a special proov who has been bred to eventually become a Master of Eden. To assume this title, she has rights and privileges that other proovs do not called "learning opportunities". They take Bean to a proov hospital called the Primary and she is cured of her sickness using gene therapy. Ryter, Spaz, and Little Face enjoy the paradise of Eden, being unfamiliar with grass, a blue sky, fish in a stream, and apples, among other things. Some time later Ryter, Spaz, and Bean are thrown out of Eden because the elders who rule over Eden decide they are unacceptable. Little Face is secretly adopted by Lanaya's contributors. The elders disregard Beans's high intelligence, proved by having beaten one of Lanaya's contributors (Jin) in chess. Their presumption is that someone from the Urb could never naturally be better than a proov in any way. Lanaya reveals to the elders that the mindprobes, which come from Eden, cause too much damage to the people who use them in the Urb. As a result, all the mindprobes throughout the Urb are deactivated, causing rioting and anarchy outside Eden. Bean is deposited at her home, and Ryter and Spaz are returned to their latch.

Back at Spaz's home latch, Ryter is blamed for the deactivation of the mindprobes and is wheeled by jetbikes which kills the old man. The stress caused by this assault triggered an epileptic seizure for Spaz. Before his death, Ryter tells Spaz that Spaz is the last book in the universe. Billy Bizmo, the leader of Spaz's latch, reveals to Spaz that he is his biological father and that his mother died at Spaz's birth.

The story ends with Lanaya sending Spaz a message about things will get better in Eden and how she believes they can fix it all in time. Spaz takes on the name Ryter, continuing the original Ryter's work, writing The Last Book in the Universe using a device called a voicewriter that transcribes when he speaks to it.

Characters

Major Themes

Major themes, in a list created by Scholastic, included reading, technology, challenges and overcoming obstacles, courage, bravery, heroism, and individuality. Scholastic also wrote in conclusion, "the story is ultimately about those who have the courage to become conscious in a world that invites us to choose illusion and denial."

Background

The novel is an adaptation of a short story previously written by the author in a collection called Tomorrowland. The story was also influenced greatly by Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

Reception

The Last Book in the Universe has received mixed reviews. Many critics praised the novel for its involving plot. Debbie Carton, a reviewer from Booklist, called it a "fast-paced adventure" with a "moving conclusion" and "memorable characters." A number of critics agreed: Scholastic called the story "chilling and inspiring." A reviewer from Publishers Weekly wrote, "[the book's] futuristic dialect combined with striking descriptions of a postmodern civilization will convincingly transport readers to Spaz's world."

However, Susan L. Rogers from School Library Journal pointed out that there are too many distractions that pull the reader's attention away from the main theme. She also noted that the science in this science fiction novel was "vague." Publishers Weekly added that the story was "not fully developed," complaining that some scenes, such as the ones involving the Monkey Boys and the Furies, were "a bit abrupt."

Awards