The Last Last-Day-of-Summer

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer

Lamar Giles2019
"The Last Last-Day-of-Summer reminds me that all children deserve to exist in magical spaces where their imaginations and familial bonds will them into heroism. Every single child should have the freedom to be one of The Legendary Alstons. And I, for one, am grateful to Giles, and this brilliant story, for that reminder." —Jason Reynolds, author of Newbery Honoree Long Way Down “The legendary heroes of this legendary book are already legendary when the story begins! From there things can only get legendary-er!” —Tom Angleberger, author of the Origami Yoda series "Lamar Giles has written an instant classic—readers won't want their time with the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County to end." —Gwenda Bond, author of the Lois Lane series The Hardy Boys meets The Phantom Tollbooth, in the new century! When two adventurous cousins accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they find the secrets hidden between the unmoving seconds, minutes, and hours are not the endless fun they expected. Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have. That is, until a mysterious man appears with a camera that literally freezes time. Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put aside their differences to save their town—and each other—before time stops for good.
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Reviews

Photo of renee badenoch
renee badenoch@restingbookface
3 stars
Nov 9, 2022

What a fun read! A fast-paced sci-fi action romp about two boys on their last day of summer, just before that last day gets interrupted by an evil time-stopping villain from another dimension. Robots, time travel, clever word play, giant time-sucking platypus, this book has it all. Loved the touching relationship between Sheed and Otto, two cousins otherwise known as "The Legendary Alston boys." I had trouble figuring out how to categorize this. It felt like a mashup between Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, and Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth (so, so many time puns). Written by Lamar Giles, the co-founder of We Need Diverse Books, this book is #Ownvoices.

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