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knod78's review
4.0
This completes Task 9: Read a middle grade mystery of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge.
The book was a silly, supernatural mystery for younger kids. It's funny, I would have read this in elementary school since I loved Nancy Drew and RL Stine's (before Goosebumps), but not Jr. high. By then, I was on to vampires, serial killers, and other supernatural, murdery stuff.
I liked it. I didn't take too well to Otto's character, but he did eventually learn things. I definitely wanted to know more about the Mirror Antique lady and the Ellison girls. I loved the different clock watchers and trying to guess which one they were based on the description. That part of the story was quite creative. The plot was a bit predictable, but it moved through the story and it definitely kept me interested. I certainly would recommend this story for your Jr. High kids, because it has good lessons in it and it's a nice mystery. I will say that the html version I read had lots of spelling, grammar mistakes an editor should have easily caught.
The book was a silly, supernatural mystery for younger kids. It's funny, I would have read this in elementary school since I loved Nancy Drew and RL Stine's (before Goosebumps), but not Jr. high. By then, I was on to vampires, serial killers, and other supernatural, murdery stuff.
I liked it. I didn't take too well to Otto's character, but he did eventually learn things. I definitely wanted to know more about the Mirror Antique lady and the Ellison girls. I loved the different clock watchers and trying to guess which one they were based on the description. That part of the story was quite creative. The plot was a bit predictable, but it moved through the story and it definitely kept me interested. I certainly would recommend this story for your Jr. High kids, because it has good lessons in it and it's a nice mystery. I will say that the html version I read had lots of spelling, grammar mistakes an editor should have easily caught.
gracepickering's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bickie's review
4.0
Great adventure featuring two Black 11-year-old boys on bikes and their rivals/collaborators, twin Black girls. I loved Otto and Sheed's belief in themselves, creative problem-solving, and deductive reasoning. I also loved the good messages about how to be in the world. The "clock-watcher" characters made me think a bit about The Phantom Tollbooth.
I really wish the book did not start with an opening that included a comment about how "everyone knows" that there are no holidays between Labor Day and Halloween. Hello, Jewish high holidays!
There are a lot of references to the boys' past exploits (and the girls'), which helped put their current adventure in context though did not provide enough details for people thinking it might have been a part of a series. Maybe if we're lucky, it will become a series!
Ruffin Prentiss III's narration is great, with slightly different voices for the key characters and terrific enunciation and modulation. Although occasionally a little bit slow, the pace was perfect to provide time to process the unusual and unexpected events.
I really wish the book did not start with an opening that included a comment about how "everyone knows" that there are no holidays between Labor Day and Halloween. Hello, Jewish high holidays!
There are a lot of references to the boys' past exploits (and the girls'), which helped put their current adventure in context though did not provide enough details for people thinking it might have been a part of a series. Maybe if we're lucky, it will become a series!
Ruffin Prentiss III's narration is great, with slightly different voices for the key characters and terrific enunciation and modulation. Although occasionally a little bit slow, the pace was perfect to provide time to process the unusual and unexpected events.
laila4343's review
4.0
3.5 stars. Read with my son. A fun fantasy/adventure story. There was a sad part that sneaked up on us, though!
adrzeck's review against another edition
4.0
When your cousin is just hungry for a key to the city, but you'd rather spend the day watching clouds, Sometimes you just need to relax. Instead, we get time-stopping, platypus-wrangling, opportunity-battling adventures. Also time travel. The Department of Temporal Investigations would be so angry.
reemeyer's review against another edition
4.0
Super fun middle grade adventure, great story with great characters and a great setting: a quirky small town where it’s ordinary for out of the ordinary things to happen, cousins who are already legendary before the story begins.
It was fun to read a fantasy-sci fi-adventure book with POC characters living normal and not so normal lives. Race and racism and poverty and injustice and civil rights are all important, but white characters get stories without them. Why can’t everyone else? Loved this ❤️
It was fun to read a fantasy-sci fi-adventure book with POC characters living normal and not so normal lives. Race and racism and poverty and injustice and civil rights are all important, but white characters get stories without them. Why can’t everyone else? Loved this ❤️
kelleemoye's review against another edition
4.0
What a fun book! Let me count the ways: 1) robots; 2) time travel; 3) mysterious evil person; 4) giant platypus-like creatures; 5) flying cars; 6) giant fly paper; 7) monsters trapped in mirrors; 8) frozen time; etc. etc. So much is going on in this book that makes it so engaging. Take all of this and pair it with a cousin team who solve mysteries in their slightly-off county that now have the fate of everyone they know and love on their shoulders, and you have a book that is going to be a favorite!
I also would love to talk about the theme! However, I cannot talk about the theme. (I know–a tease!) The theme is part of the big reveal at the end. But I want to vaguely say that it is a theme that so many kids need to hear and we, as adults, need to talk to them about. (Though–even with this important theme, the book’s main pull is its just pure, fun adventures!)
Full review: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=18817
I also would love to talk about the theme! However, I cannot talk about the theme. (I know–a tease!) The theme is part of the big reveal at the end. But I want to vaguely say that it is a theme that so many kids need to hear and we, as adults, need to talk to them about. (Though–even with this important theme, the book’s main pull is its just pure, fun adventures!)
Full review: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=18817
calypsogilstrap's review against another edition
3.0
Quick read. Fun adventure. Memorable characters. Diverse cast. Not my jam but I will still buy it for my library collection.
fallingletters's review
4.0
Review originally published 30 March 2019 at Falling Letters. I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley.
The Last Last-Day-of-Summer introduces readers to cousins Otto and Sheed, established legends in their unusual county. The boys own two Keys to City for their services in investigating and resolving the extraordinarily ordinary happenings around their small town. (The keys live next to other souvenirs like a lock of banshee hair.) The story explores their friendship primarily from Otto’s perspective. Otto is an observant thinker. He takes notes of everything that happens so he can form his own deductions about what’s going on. Otto perceives Sheed to be more reactive, but both boys have their own smarts. They know how to work together for the benefit of their town. They’re well-defined characters who aren’t just binary opposites of each other. I enjoyed getting to know each boy better as the story progressed.
Otto and Sheed live with their grandma (their parents are referenced only once, in description of Grandma’s house and how their photos “were plentiful, despite their ability to make Grandma and the boys sad from time to time” [48%]). Grandma’s not physically present for most of the story, but Otto often recalls and follows advice she has given the boys. In one especially significant scene for a middle grade novel, Otto asks permission before touching a girl’s arm because Grandma said “they should always ask permission before touching people. No matter the circumstance, even if time was frozen” (81%). The girl responds “Yes, you can touch my arm”, providing a great example of what consent looks like.
The book’s premise attracted me to it, but the use of the adjective zany and the mishmash cover made me a little wary. This book is a bit zany, but it’s not silly or too nonsensical. There’s an apt quote from Booklist: “Not all YA authors transition seamlessly to middle grade, but Giles manages it with aplomb spinning a zany, clever adventure that never feels forced”. Never feels forced is key to me. Many strange things happen in town, but they make sense in-universe and fit neatly alongside each other. I enjoyed the personifications of time and the sparingly used time travel. The story clips along for the first half, moving between moments of excitement and pauses to catch breath. Then there’s a section for plotting, followed by the final action of this story. This would make a fun summer read.
The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is #ownvoices for Black representation. It’s the kind of book any kid can read and enjoy, but it’s especially valuable for showing Black boys can be heroic adventurers as well as any kid. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is both [a: Lamar Giles|6571558|Lamar Giles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]’ first middle grade novel and the first middle grade novel from [a: Kwame Alexander|326609|Kwame Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1459810611p2/326609.jpg]’s about-to-launch imprint, Versify. Versify “reflects Alexander’s vision that accessible and powerful prose and poetry—in picture books, novels, and nonfiction—can celebrate the lives and reflect the possibilities of all children” (about). Alexander, Giles, and other Versify authors are on tour the first week of April. Check if they’re stopping near you!
The Bottom Line: Otto and Sheed shine in this quirky adventure that never seems silly. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer entertains while also exploring themes of friendship, confidence, and bullying.
The Last Last-Day-of-Summer introduces readers to cousins Otto and Sheed, established legends in their unusual county. The boys own two Keys to City for their services in investigating and resolving the extraordinarily ordinary happenings around their small town. (The keys live next to other souvenirs like a lock of banshee hair.) The story explores their friendship primarily from Otto’s perspective. Otto is an observant thinker. He takes notes of everything that happens so he can form his own deductions about what’s going on. Otto perceives Sheed to be more reactive, but both boys have their own smarts. They know how to work together for the benefit of their town. They’re well-defined characters who aren’t just binary opposites of each other. I enjoyed getting to know each boy better as the story progressed.
Otto and Sheed live with their grandma (their parents are referenced only once, in description of Grandma’s house and how their photos “were plentiful, despite their ability to make Grandma and the boys sad from time to time” [48%]). Grandma’s not physically present for most of the story, but Otto often recalls and follows advice she has given the boys. In one especially significant scene for a middle grade novel, Otto asks permission before touching a girl’s arm because Grandma said “they should always ask permission before touching people. No matter the circumstance, even if time was frozen” (81%). The girl responds “Yes, you can touch my arm”, providing a great example of what consent looks like.
The book’s premise attracted me to it, but the use of the adjective zany and the mishmash cover made me a little wary. This book is a bit zany, but it’s not silly or too nonsensical. There’s an apt quote from Booklist: “Not all YA authors transition seamlessly to middle grade, but Giles manages it with aplomb spinning a zany, clever adventure that never feels forced”. Never feels forced is key to me. Many strange things happen in town, but they make sense in-universe and fit neatly alongside each other. I enjoyed the personifications of time and the sparingly used time travel. The story clips along for the first half, moving between moments of excitement and pauses to catch breath. Then there’s a section for plotting, followed by the final action of this story. This would make a fun summer read.
The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is #ownvoices for Black representation. It’s the kind of book any kid can read and enjoy, but it’s especially valuable for showing Black boys can be heroic adventurers as well as any kid. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is both [a: Lamar Giles|6571558|Lamar Giles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]’ first middle grade novel and the first middle grade novel from [a: Kwame Alexander|326609|Kwame Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1459810611p2/326609.jpg]’s about-to-launch imprint, Versify. Versify “reflects Alexander’s vision that accessible and powerful prose and poetry—in picture books, novels, and nonfiction—can celebrate the lives and reflect the possibilities of all children” (about). Alexander, Giles, and other Versify authors are on tour the first week of April. Check if they’re stopping near you!
The Bottom Line: Otto and Sheed shine in this quirky adventure that never seems silly. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer entertains while also exploring themes of friendship, confidence, and bullying.
angiew23's review
4.0
This funny, outlandish middle grade novel tells the story of two cousins who wish they could soak up just a bit more summer vacation. Sometimes you get what you wish for and it doesn't always end up being quite what you imagined, and that is certainly the case for Otto and Sheed! When the entire town freezes, the boys are left to save the town, avoid crazy creatures and somehow get things back to normal and bring an end to summer vacation. The book has a high energy level and quick pacing to it that is sure to capture the attention of middle grade readers. There are funny moments for sure and the characters are well developed. I initially thought about reading it as a back to school book for my grade 3/4 students, and while I think they would enjoy it and could definitely myself purchasing a copy for my classroom library, I'm not sure I want to do a novel study on it, though I probably could make it work. I could also see using it as a mentor text for an alternative "what I did on summer vacation" writing prompt! There are also some good middle grade themes woven throughout, such as believing in yourself and working together/being supportive. It is a good book and one I would definitely recommend.