Wowzers what a book! A book about books!
Juni lives in a world where paper is hunted and sought after and traded for huge prices. Communication and learning happens through earpieces and technology. But why? What is Novexus trying to hide? Juni and her friends (old and new) end up on a life changing adventure and have to make some difficult choices. Will their bold decisions work in the end or will they become wanted by the Government?
This is a brilliant story; a dystopian novel for readers who aren't quite ready for books like The Hunger Games and The Nameless. I really really hope that there is a book 2, I want to know what happens next and how Grandpa Edgar is.

Not one of my favorites but I liked it by the end. I will definitely recommend it to some of my readers once we have the book.

Take "The City of Ember" and mash it up with "The Outsiders" and the "National Treasure" and "Tron" movies, sprinkle in a bit of "Harry Potter" and you have a good idea about how this book will tell it's tale.

Juni Knox, orphaned by her parents' deaths has only her ailing grandfather to care for her (or visa versa) in the future United States when a "Big Event" destroyed all plants and created a world of deadly dust and poisonous gas storms. Electricity is strictly controlled by the the big business/aka/ the government and their mechanical dogs will track down and kill any who dare to challenge their authority. Paper has gone out of existence and when a scrap is found, it is worth many "credits", enough to pay for Grandfather's medical bills and needed equipment.
What Juni doesn't know is that her parents were on a quest to find the last library; rumored to be hidden underground somewhere near her current home. On a quest to find the library with some new and old friends, Juni wants to preserve her family's legacy and become the Knox that finally finds the hidden library and restores uncensored knowledge to the world.

With many comparisons to today's societal problems, "The Legend of the Last Library" can be read both by children and adults. The children will find a good adventure story about an underdog who beats the system with her friends. Adults will readily be able to read between the lines for discussions on the environment, health care, energy consumption, government overreach and more. this would make an excellent book discussion title.

This middle grade adventure is a rip-roaring time! Following a young girl as she scavenges for paper to sell in hopes of providing for her grandfather's medical care, the reader is transported into a dystopian future where bugs destroyed all the growing things, leading the humans to burning all paper. There are robot cop dogs, technology that makes being able to read very rare, and strong relationships.

Kids will love this book because it is a fast-paced adventure. Adults will also enjoy this title because there are some thought provoking ideas in the book about the control of information and our society.

Thank you to Net Galley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I received an electronic ARC from Shadow Mountain Publishing through NetGalley.
An introduction to dystopian fiction for middle grade readers. Juni is struggling to care for her grandfather and trying to find funds to pay for his care. She "plifts" to supplement his pension. She, her friend, Doler, and an acquaintance, Quake, are a team who ventures to forbidden areas to find scraps of paper to sell. Cole sets the tone quickly with the overall tone and language choices. They live in poverty but are surviving. The good versus evil battle to come is hinted at from the start.
Readers follow their adventures through meeting new people they must choose to trust to locating the last library her parents died while seeking. A surprise reveal of her heritage gives Juni the courage to stand up to those who want to keep hiding the freedoms involved in exposure to new ideas. No one really gets a happy ending and it's possible further volumes will come.
The writing gets bogged down at times and some of the plot jumps are fairly obvious. However, this is a taste of the genre for readers at this level.

This was absolutely wonderful!
We enter a world where books and paper have long since been destroyed…until Juni makes a discovery and realizes she has a connection to the Last Library.
This story reminded me of a children’s version of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and I couldn’t love it more! The characters were immediately lovable, the action was paced so well, and it was a clean story! I loved the mentioning of other books and authors throughout.
Also, I really enjoyed reading the acknowledgments and learning about the ISBN numbers at the beginning of each chapter.
I will be recommending this one to all of my students.

There is lots of action, danger, lies and secrets, and friendship, of course there is also a lost library that good and bad are looking for. Great for adventure seeking and dystopian loving readers.

Juniper Knox doesn't know her birthright. Her parents died when she was little and her Grandpa Edgar has been doing his best to guide her through the post-Blight world. Juni has become friendly with plifters, paper lifters, who scourge the local areas to find any valuable scrap of paper to sell that could help pay for Grandpa's medical needs. The dystopian society has reduced options for educational opportunities, but is it in Juni's power to change that? Frank L. Cole perfectly name drops authors and seminal books that are required reading for our culture despite not being available within the book's society. The plot provides just enough suspense to hook and maintain middle-grade reader's interest. This is recommended reading for anyone wanting to recognize connections to today's culture of censorship.

#TheLegendoftheLastLibrary #NetGalley

This book was fast-paced and hard to put down. I read it in less than twenty-four hours.
A world without trees, paper, and of course books. A world that is under control of
everyone, through devices that are put in the ear of these people, can control what
you hear and know where you are. But Juniper doesn’t like to be controlled and is
determined to find a better solution. When a plastic card reminds her of something
else, she is determined to learn what her parents died trying to find out.

First of all, I loved the book. It was written in such a great way. I enjoyed reading it from the beginning to the end and I can't wait for the second book to come out (if there will be one. And of course, this book hasn't been published yet, but that is beside the point).
I will be recommending the book to my library once it's published and I will be recommending it to all the friends I think would enjoy it.
I was however a bit confused about Juni's gender and didn't really get that she was a girl until page 30, but that is probably just me.
I almost cried when Juni and Kobyn knocked over the bookshelves and those books were destroyed. That hurt me deep inside more than the moment I thought Zeno had "died" and more than the moment of panic when grandpa Edgar went into the hospital.

This was a fast paced sci/fi adventure that shows the importance of books, learning, and freedom of thought. The main character is a great role model for students reading the book and there is great world building. This is a very interesting world and I hope it becomes a series.