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A review by corky12
Last Pick by Jason Walz
5.0
TLDR: Plot may seem cliche, but the characters are heart-warming. It is nice to see characters with autism and other "disabilities" in genres other than slice of life fiction about "coping with___."
At first, I was skeptical of this book. It won an award, but the plot sounded so overdone. The book follows twins, Sam and Wyatt, as they try to save the Earth and not get alien-napped. Teenagers versus aliens during the apocalypse. Yay? BUT there is a special twist that's close to my heart. The people left behind aren't your average "middle-class white kids bullied for being themselves." No, these are people with differences. One of the protagonists has autism. In fact, everyone left behind has some sort of "problem" with them, and the aliens see them as easy prey.
Recently, more books are coming out with diverse casts of characters. However, this is one of the first I have seen where the character's supposed "disabilities" have been seen as beneficial. This book did not revolve around Wyatt's ASD, bullies, educating people about his disorder, or coping with special education. Rather, it was a clever device for adding depth to the characters and giving them purpose. As a sibling of someone with Fragile X (similar to autism) and a special educator, I am trying to read as many books as I can about those who are differently abled. Most I have seen did not have much of a plot except "dealing with ___." (Take Wonder, for instance. Wonderful book but all about fitting in with facial disfigurement.) There's nothing wrong with those books, but people who are differently abled need representation in all genres. If the only stories about them are meloncholic tales about coping and bullying, that is not real representation. That's more of a public service announcement for the rest of us.
From the outset, readers can tell Jason Walz has experience with people with special needs. The way Wyatt interacts with other characters and his specific mannerisms are realistic and poignant without straying into the territory of trope or mockery. I personally relate to Sam, who is neurotypical ("normal"). She loves her brother, but sometimes she does stupid things because his differences get her nerves. Walz captures the reality of living with someone with special needs because this is his life. The author is a special education teacher. He has the qualifications to write about these kids because he has witnessed the behavior firsthand, using that to craft a science fiction adventure starring two kids. One exasperated by the struggle of dealing with a brother with autism (not to mention the apocalypse) and one struggling to find his place in a world where even the aliens call him useless.
Even if science fiction is not your thing, even if alien invasion stories are overdone, you will enjoy this adventure if you like reading about characters who are not what you expect. These kids are not heroes; they are just trying to survive. And sometimes those are the best stories of all.
At first, I was skeptical of this book. It won an award, but the plot sounded so overdone. The book follows twins, Sam and Wyatt, as they try to save the Earth and not get alien-napped. Teenagers versus aliens during the apocalypse. Yay? BUT there is a special twist that's close to my heart. The people left behind aren't your average "middle-class white kids bullied for being themselves." No, these are people with differences. One of the protagonists has autism. In fact, everyone left behind has some sort of "problem" with them, and the aliens see them as easy prey.
Recently, more books are coming out with diverse casts of characters. However, this is one of the first I have seen where the character's supposed "disabilities" have been seen as beneficial. This book did not revolve around Wyatt's ASD, bullies, educating people about his disorder, or coping with special education. Rather, it was a clever device for adding depth to the characters and giving them purpose. As a sibling of someone with Fragile X (similar to autism) and a special educator, I am trying to read as many books as I can about those who are differently abled. Most I have seen did not have much of a plot except "dealing with ___." (Take Wonder, for instance. Wonderful book but all about fitting in with facial disfigurement.) There's nothing wrong with those books, but people who are differently abled need representation in all genres. If the only stories about them are meloncholic tales about coping and bullying, that is not real representation. That's more of a public service announcement for the rest of us.
From the outset, readers can tell Jason Walz has experience with people with special needs. The way Wyatt interacts with other characters and his specific mannerisms are realistic and poignant without straying into the territory of trope or mockery. I personally relate to Sam, who is neurotypical ("normal"). She loves her brother, but sometimes she does stupid things because his differences get her nerves. Walz captures the reality of living with someone with special needs because this is his life. The author is a special education teacher. He has the qualifications to write about these kids because he has witnessed the behavior firsthand, using that to craft a science fiction adventure starring two kids. One exasperated by the struggle of dealing with a brother with autism (not to mention the apocalypse) and one struggling to find his place in a world where even the aliens call him useless.
Even if science fiction is not your thing, even if alien invasion stories are overdone, you will enjoy this adventure if you like reading about characters who are not what you expect. These kids are not heroes; they are just trying to survive. And sometimes those are the best stories of all.