The Legend of the Last Library ~ Review

The Legend of the Last Library
By Frank Cole

For anyone who loves to hold a book in their hand and feel the paper as the pages flip past, this book is a horror story. A blight has destroyed the trees, and paper is a luxury found by the adventurous or the desperate. Paper is more valuable than the most precious gem. 

And it is into this world we step. Legend tells of a lost treasure, the last remaining library. Only the bravest will face the perils that await, and they alone will claim its riches.

Now, believe me when I say that the idea of no more new books is scary. But even more disturbing is the very idea of no more trees. The sound of a gentle breeze as the leaves rustle. The colors of early spring, summer's green, and fall's brilliance. All of it is gone. No more apples. Bare branches bowing beneath winter's icy chill. The world is stark and hot. No birds flitting from branch to branch.

But the world of Legend of the Last Library is so much worse than the book blurb reveals. Plastic is everything, and I mean everything. The world as we know it has ended, and everything we have now, nada, is gone. Buildings are abandoned and targets of scavengers or plifters (aka paper lifters). Any scrape of paper is worth way more than its weight in gold. If you find paper, you will be sitting pretty in an ugly world.

I don't want to spoil anything for readers, so I'll keep it short. Juni, along with her friends Doler and Quaze are plifters. But they are too young to be legitimate, so technically, they are breaking the law. But Juni needs the money for her grandfather's medication. When Juni discovers clues to the last library on Earth (Gasp), she and her friends set out to find it. But in the spirit of all good adventures, they are not alone in their quest. And their competition wants to squash all that knowledge, keeping it hidden away from everyone. The race for knowledge is on!

This book should appeal to readers of chapter books who like danger, suspense, and adventure in their books. This dystopian world has intense moments but nothing super scary or graphic. There is some mostly rotten produce and a less-than-thrilled skunk.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

  

About the Book:

What if you lived in a world without books?

After a devastating Blight killed off all the trees, paper is worth more than just about anything. Juni's parents died when she was young, so now it's just her and Grandpa Edgar. When she's not in school, Juni and her friends Doler and Quaze turn to plifting—scavenging for any paper they can find. If Juni can find enough paper, she can pay for the health care Grandpa needs.

So when Juni discovers a book—the first one she's ever seen—hidden in a box in her grandpa's closet, she's both surprised and elated thinking of the money she could get for it. That all changes when she decides to read the book. Beyond opening her imagination, the book contains clues that point to what could be the last library on Earth.

The library's location has been hidden for more than a hundred years, but Juni and her friends are not the only ones looking for it. Ullred O'Donnell, head of R&D for Novexus, a megacorporation that replaced the government and now controls all information, is desperate to find the library as well. With an army of vicious robot dogs at his command, Ullred warns Juni to abandon her quest—or else.

Juni and her friends must find the library and share it with the world before Novexus claims it as their own. If reading one book could change Juni's life, what would access to thousands—or millions—of books do?