I was twice recommended this book by students and finally decided I had time to squeeze it in to the reading queue. It's a bit like other dystopian teen books, only it's shorter and written for a slightly younger crowd. It uses its own lingo which is pretty easy to figure out... To kill someone is to cancel them. An old person is a gummy. The Big Shake seems to be an earthquake that changed the world and led to things as they are at least where Spaz lives. Spaz is a boy who is also our protagonist and suffers from epilepsy, hence the nickname. His world is called the Urb, short for suburbs, perhaps? Within the Urb are latches and each is ruled by a different crime boss and has its own dangers. He works as a street thug for the Bangers, but he once had a family and a younger sister who he loved. It's his connection to Bean, his little sister, which brings him on the journey of a lifetime and teaches him about hope, courage, and something he's never considered before -- a future. I'd recommend this one!

I liked the concept of this book. It was well written and pretty intense for the age of readers it's aimed at.

Not bad...was hoping for better.

Spaz, an epileptic outcast unhappy with his role in a thieving street gang, learns his foster sister is dying of leukemia and crying out for him. Spaz journeys to visit her one last time, defying physical and social boundries with the help of an ancient writer and a special young woman of the elite class. The narrator IS a Spaz, from the moment he steps on the page and starts spouting his story in a mix of hastily explained jargon. Spaz is a likable hero with an authentic voice.

More than just a journey story based on primal archetypes, Philbrick creates a futuristic society divided by class as result of a severe natural disaster. Within the plot he explores what the future might be like in terms of medicine, pollution, genetic engineering, family, culture and class. He brings in diversity issues by creating a protagonist who is an epileptic struggling to survive in a world of flashing computer images, and peoples the story with a multigenerational cast of characters.

The setting is completely realistic as a horrific vision of what could come to pass: synthesized people, living on synthesized foods, exposed only to synthesized images pumped into our brains by probes. Cyberpunk for middle-schoolers, this is a wonderfully fast paced sci-fi adventure with appeal to reluctant readers, fans of Lois Lowry and future Neal Stephenson readers.

It's Star Wars. But with a different setting and characters.

The "futuristic" language threw me out of the story every time I came across it, which was often. Reminded me a lot of Feed, which I loved.

hella confusing maybe because i read it in school but rlly wasnt worth it

The Last Book in the Universe takes place after the 'big shake.' There are now two classes of people, the 'normals' who live in squalor in the Urbs and the 'proovs' who have been genetically improved, and who live in Eden. The main character Spaz learns that his sister is sick and embarks on a journey to save her life.

Though it was a quick read, it took me a while to get into it. So if you start the book and aren't sure about it, I say keep going, it's worth it in the end.

I liked all the characters, especially Little Face! It's a very hopeful book with a cute message.