The last last-day-of-summer

Review by New York Times Review

Otto and Sheed, legendary local tween sleuths, aim to solve the time-warp mystery. Lamar Giles's the last last-day-of-summer (Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 289 pp., $16.99; ages 10 to 12) pits good against evil in an interdimensional time war. A dreadlocked stranger from the future falls through the portal to lend a hand, while fantastical characters who personify different aspects of time wrangle for dominance - among them, the Golden Hours ("responsible for the best light of the day"), the Clock Watchers (who no longer have jobs now that time is still) and the Time Sucks (described as Platypus-type creatures that distract you, "running in galloping strides more suited for a racehorse than a furry, potbellied, face-licking thing"). Baffled, Otto and Sheed try to determine just what is happening, jotting down their deductions - set off in the book with hand-style lettering - and shouting out choreographed and numbered "maneuvers" that they use to alter a situation, like No. 1, "run," or No. 22, "duck and cover." Giles, a Y.A. novelist and a founder of We Need Diverse Books, has a phenomenal imagination, and it is thrilling to watch him do metaphysics for the tween set. His juxtaposition of oddball, affecting characters with the commonplace bickering between cousins grounds this topsy-turvy ride. Along the way, Otto glimpses a future without Sheed, and any simmering envy he might have felt dissipates in a swelling of love for his cousin, "a legendary bond that wouldn't be broken. No matter what came their way."

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 27, 2019]

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Review by Booklist Review

The last Monday in August may not be the last official day of summer, but Otto and Sheed know it's the last day that counts: on Tuesday, they go back to school, and their days of freedom are over. The two African American cousins, known to all in Logan County as the Legendary Alston Boys, have spent their summer solving mysteries and competing with their rivals, the Epic Ellison Girls, to win keys to the city. But their wish for more summer comes startlingly true when a man appears out of nowhere with a strange, not-quite-right camera, and with one press of a button, he mysteriously freezes time. Except for Otto and Sheed, it seems everyone in town is trapped in a single moment. But the boys are on the case, and as they investigate, they get to know some very interesting concepts, meet people from out of time, and begin to understand how deeply a single missed opportunity can alter a life. Not all YA authors transition seamlessly to middle grade, but Giles (Spin, 2019) manages it with aplomb, spinning a zany, clever adventure filled with surreal humor that never feels forced. Anchored by its genuine characters and buoyed by its true fun, this is an adventure with staying power.--Maggie Reagan Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In his inventive middle grade debut, Giles (Overturned) riotously scrambles time, moving it backward, forward-and not at all. In the Virginia county that's home to genial African-American cousins and renowned sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston (whose sleuthing skills are rivaled only by crafty twin sisters), curious goings-on are commonplace, but on the last day of summer vacation, things "get stranger than usual"-by a lot. When Flux, a man with limbs that can stretch "like he was made of taffy," suddenly appears and instructs the boys to take a photo of their town with his vintage camera, residents become frozen in place and time. TimeStar, a futuristic superhero, then emerges from a portal in the sky and lunges at Flux, launching a madcap struggle between good and evil and the cousins' quest to unfreeze time. Villainous Flux commandeers Norton Juster-style "agents of time" the Clock Watchers-cleverly depicted personifications that include patriarch Father Time, indecisive Second Guessers, and the Time Sucks, fuzzy platypuslike beasts. Laced with humor, the fantastical time war plays out at a dizzying pace as Giles interjects affecting realism with themes of reconciliation, family, identity, and destiny. Ages 10-12. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Horn Book Review

African American cousins Otto and Sheed Alston are local legends in their small Virginia town, often featured in the Logan County Gazette for their daring exploitsgetting rid of ghosts, disposing of the Laughing Locusts, solving the Mystery of the Woman in Teal, and even taking down the Dastardly Dummy of Denos. But like many kids, they are wishing for just one more day of summer vacation before the school year begins. They get their wish when they accidentally freeze time and find themselves and their town visited by denizens from the interdimensional community, including the nefarious Mr. Flux, followed by a man with dark goggles and coiled dreadlocks who drops out of a time portal; monsters called Time Sucks; and all manner of Clock Watchers, who manage time but are out of work now that theres no time to manage. Otto and Sheed must unstick time and return Logan County to normalcy. In his debut middle-grade novel Giles (a founding member of We Need Diverse Books) presents a page-turning magical fantasy adventure with broad appeal in which his protagonists must use their considerable talents to save not only their town but also themselves. dean Schneider March/April 2019 p 80(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness. These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma's, with a return to school just right around the corner. They've already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisonstwin sisters Wiki and Leenare steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They've got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting.This can't be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan Countyimaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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1 BTSFOASTG First of all, Grandma's teacup-pig calendar lied. It said the last day of summer was September 21. Everyone already knew September was a bad month with no good holiday in sight after Labor Day. Fourth of July was at least two months gone; Halloween was more than a month away.      But the real last day of summer was the last Monday in August. Cousins Otto and Sheed Alston had known this for a while, thanks to the big red circle around the last Tuesday in August. Inside that circle, equally red and in Grandma's handwriting, were the letters BTSFOASTG!      When they asked about it, Grandma said, "It's an acronym. It means 'back to school for Otto and Sheed, thank goodness!'"      The boys began thinking of it as an ACK!-ronym, because it meant back to alarm clocks, and homeroom, and home work . ACK!!      In Logan County, Virginia, summer ended when school started. Tomorrow.      And, thanks to an unfortunate headline in the latest printing of the county's newspaper, Otto was not going to take it lying down. "Wake up!" Otto said. He finished tying his sneakers with jerky, irritated motions and stretched one leg across the gap between their beds, nudging Sheed's mattress with his toe; he'd allowed his cousin to snooze long enough, given the circumstances.      Sheed said, "Ughhh! Stop."      Otto had risen with the sun, eager and upbeat, like most mornings. As was his habit, he padded downstairs in socked feet, eased Grandma's front door open, and plucked the latest issue of the Logan County Gazette off the porch. There was usually some mention of him and his cousin in the folds of the daily paper, some new clipping to collect. The county folk loved reading about their local legends.      But what he saw on that morning's front page would never benefit from his admirable scrapbooking skills.      He'd stomped back upstairs, got dressed in tan cargo shorts and his favorite T-shirt. It was green with big white block letters that read STAND BACK, I'M GOING TO DEDUCE! There was work to do.      "Come on, Sheed. It's the last day."      The angry air from Sheed's nostrils puffed the sheet over his face into a tent. "I know. That's why I want to sleep."      "You only want to sleep because you haven't read this morning's newspaper."      "I don't read any morning's newspaper. What are you even talking about right now?" Sheed burrowed deeper under his covers, like a mole in dirt.      All around, on haphazardly aligned shelves the boys had fastened to the walls themselves, amidst the model cars and their made-up superhero drawings, were souvenirs from all the adventures they'd experienced throughout the season. A mason jar holding a shiny, pigeon-size husk from a Laughing Locust. A lock of banshee hair that sang them to sleep whenever the moon was full. And many more things unique to--​or drawn to--​the strange county in which they lived. Of all the trophies, it was the two Keys to the City awarded to them by the mayor of Fry that filled Otto with the most pride. Until today.      He smacked Sheed's shoulder with the rolled-up newspaper, then peeled back his blanket. "You don't really want to waste time sleeping on our last day of summer--​our last chance to have one more adventure before you-know-what starts." Otto refused to say the S-word. "Do you?"      "Yes!" Sheed covered his head with a pillow.      Otto yanked the cord that zipped their blinds to the top of the window frame, flooding the room with bright sunshine. Sheed threw his pillow. Otto dodged it easily.      Sheed said, "Fine. I'm up. What's with you?"      Now that he had Sheed's attention, Otto unfolded the offensive newspaper for his cousin to see. Sheed read it. Then groaned. Then smacked his forehead. "I can't believe you woke me up for this."      Otto turned the paper so he could reread the worst news ever, unclear why Sheed wasn't more upset. The headline read: EPIC ELLISONS RECEIVE THIRD KEY TO THE CITY!      "They broke the tie," Otto said, his gaze flicking to their meager pair of keys; they somehow seemed duller in this morning's light.      The Epic Ellisons--​a.k.a. twin sisters Wiki and Leen--​were the county's other adventurers. Some might say they were rivals. Not Otto, though. In his mind, the Ellisons were clearly the inferior duo. Otto might have to talk to Mayor Ahmed about handing those keys out willy-nilly. But in the meantime . . .      "Come on." Otto grabbed his notepad and tiny always-there pencil. "The Legendary Alston Boys never sleep late!"      "That nickname's stupid," Sheed said, not meaning it. " This Legendary Alston Boy does sleep late whenever his annoying cousin lets him."      "Exactly." Otto slipped on his backpack, cinching the straps tight against his shoulders. "Like I said. Never." Sheed rounded the corner into Grandma's kitchen and found Otto shoveling a final spoonful of cereal into his mouth. He still wasn't happy being dragged out of bed so early, but had somehow managed to get dressed despite feeling all yawny and stiff. He'd put on jeans that were spotted with permanent grass stains and ripped at the knees, red high-tops, a white T-shirt, and his favorite purple Fry Flamingos basketball jersey (given to him by Fry High School basketball star #00, Quinton Sparks, after Sheed and Otto got rid of the ghost haunting the Flamingos locker room last fall). He flopped into his usual seat while combing a plastic wide-toothed pick through his (admittedly small, but growing) Afro, fluffing it out as far as it would go. First a 'fro. One day, dreadlocks. A solid plan, if he said so himself.      "Don't pick your hair at the table," Grandma said. She faced the stove, never needing to actually see them to know they were breaking some rule or another. "Now, go on and eat."      Sheed ceased his grooming, wedged his pick tight into his thick hair, so only the handle protruded, and dug into a bowl of Frosty Loops. Otto's foot tapped the tile floor impatiently. Sheed decreased his eating speed by half, just to annoy his cousin.      When Sheed finally finished, Otto was on his feet, bouncing and fidgety. "Ready?"      "I guess."      "Hurry up, then."      The skin around Grandma's eyes crinkled as she narrowed her gaze in their direction. She said, "Boys, why you always got to be at odds? One fast, one slow. One say east, t'other say west. Stop all that foolishness." She poked the teacup-pig calendar, her finger right on BTSFOASTG! "That time's going to fly by before you know it, so go on and enjoy your day, and each other."      But Grandma was wrong. The time wasn't going to fly by, and they would not be enjoying the day because things were about to get stranger than usual in Logan County.      The Legendary Alston Boys just didn't know it yet. Excerpted from The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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