My students love this book! I think a main reason is because it appears to be deceptively realistic fiction, but there are so many twists and turns that they just can’t put it down! I love that it serves as a window and mirror for my kiddos and teaches some pretty important themes throughout. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

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!)

We often say we need diverse books, and that diversity is necessary not only in racial representation but also in variety of stories we tell. And to this end we have the adventures of Sheed and Otto in The Last Day of Summer.

REVIEW👉🏿Sheed and Otto are amateur sleuths in their small town and each time they help solve a town mystery they are awarded a key to the city. And in this latest challenge, time has been manipulated to the point to where it has been frozen leaving the town in flux. The cousin team has their greatest challenge ahead of them, to restore time and put it back in its proper place.

They will have to enlist their neighborhood rivals, the epic Ellison twins, bright science-centered young girls, who by the way currently have one more city key than Otto and Sheed. So the zaniness of restoring time is replete with all kinds of references to time, providing sneaky inspiration for young readers.

All this is written in a fast paced madcap type of way, designed to catch and hold the attention of young readers. Some of the situations may seem to go over the head of a young audience, but you want kids to be challenged a bit through reading.The fun and craziness of this book will keep the pages turning as I believe most children will stay curious enough to see how it all ends, and that cover, yes! Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced DRC.

It's the last day of summer in the rather strange town of Fry in equally strange Logan County, Virginia and Otto (Octavius) Alston is up early and wants to make the most of it. Maybe even have such an awesome adventure solving a big enough problem that the mayor would award the Legendary Alston Boys a third key to the city, especially now that he's just learned that the Epic Ellisons - twins Wiki and Leen - just received their third key. Unfortunately, his cousin Sheed (Rasheed) Alston isn't quite as enthusiastic.

While hanging around the hillside that overlooks the town Fry, as Otto furiously makes notes about possible adventures, tall thin man wearing a stovepipe hat suddenly approaches asking if they are the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County. Introducing himself as Mr. Flux, he has a gift for Otto and Sheed - an big, heavy, old fashioned camera and insists they take a picture of the spectacular view of Fry. No sooner does Otto take the picture, but a blinding flash of light produces a man from the sky, knocking Mr. Flux out and asking "Did it work? Is this the right day?" and tells the boys to take the camera and run.

Which they do - right on home to Grandma's house, where they find everything is frozen, including Grandma, and though she is standing at the stove cooking, there are none of her good cooking smells wafting through the house. Figuring they have found their problem to solve, they manage to unfreeze their bikes and head in to town, noticing that everyone and everything is also frozen in the last position of what they were doing, just like Grandma. They stock up supplies they might need at the hardware store, but just as they leave, there's a loud commotion on the street. It's a large crowd of strange-looking people stampeding by, followed by a giant furry creature with legs as big as an elephant's.

Back out on the street, Otto and Sheed hear someone moaning. It tuns out to be two shiny stylists named Golden Hour, A.M. and Golden Hour, P.M., who are actually agents of time called Clock Watchers. The boys follow them to the high school library, where they find a gathering of people all involved in time, including Father Time. It seems that time is frozen and they need to discover why and how to undo it and get it moving again. Along the way, the Legendary Alston Boys get help from a superhero named TimeStar (the same guy who came out of the sky and knocked Mr. Flux out, who, if you haven't already guessed, is the villain in this novel), Father Time, the Golden Hour twins, Petey from the hardware store, and yes, even their rivals, the Ellison Twins.

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is a very zany, very quirky book. I'm not a big fan of this kind of science fiction, but I did find it entertaining, and I loved Otto and Sheed. I was also glad there were illustrations to help visualize some of the odd characters Giles has included, even though his descriptions were sufficient on their own. I quite liked that fact that this isn't Otto and Sheed's first problem solving adventure, they have already had a number of exciting and unusual exploits that summer, and have quite a reputation in Logan County for their deductive and investigative skills. All this experience have led the cousins to formulate a list of useful Maneuvers for getting out of sticky situations (see the Appendix for a list of the ones used in this book).

Some of the time-related characters were, I thought, clever and amusing. For example, there's the giant creature called Time Sucks; the indecisive Second Guessers who work with the Minute Men, who handle some of the more tedious time management tasks; Witching Hour, the maker of the magical camera Mr. Flux gives to Otto and Sheed; and of course, Mr. Flux, time trickster extraordinaire. They are all personifications of time related expressions and each plays a part in the story according to the expression they are named after.

The carpe diem approach to the last day of school was a nice touch and the idea of making the most of it will probably resonate with young readers, but there's a nice lessons about being careful what you wish for and about missed opportunities.

The real importance of The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is it shows readers that kids of color, like Otto and Sheed, can be heroic main characters in books, that they are smart and that they can have wonderful imaginative adventures. This is one of the first books published by Kwame Alexander's imprint Versify and it certainly does live up to their goal of publishing books that "engage, entertain, and empower young people." I've already read a few books published by Versify and can't wait to see what the future will bring from this imprint. Who knows, maybe even some more adventures for Otto and Sheed.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Otto and Sheed live in an interesting town - various creatures find their way there to cause problems. Giles creates enough details for readers to feel they're walking along with the characters and seeing what they see.
The book is disjointed at times but the story line comes through.
Otto and Sheed do save the day with the help of a familiar looking time traveler, Time Watchers, their rival problem solving team, and town people they trust.
Message of belief in yourself and not seeking glory come through clearly.

The book was a short fun read where cousins Otto and Sheed, the legendary Alston boys who have saved the town many a time with their heroics, came across Mr. Flux and his magic camera which literally stopped time. The boys had to work double time to get to the bottom of this mystery and free the people who were frozen in time.

My first book by Lamar Giles, it was exciting in some parts, the characters Otto and Sheed were well etched. They were enthusiastic and bright. There were a few illustrations which quickened the pace and provided imagery to the words. The rest of the characters were sweet and different, and there was love between them. The boys were well liked.

My niggles would be, the writing felt flat at times, the journal entries were fun but didn't give a smoothness to the prose. The plot too could have been more cohesive.

Overall it was one of those quick reads which would definitely excite kids with its quirkiness.

So much fun! A zany story that revels in its weirdness and barely stops to take a breath - but still manages to find time (pun totally intended) to highlight the relationship between the cousins. Highly recommended.

Summer's end is often a sad time for schoolkids. When time actually stops, having an unending last day of summer isn't so great after after all. Cousins Otto and Sheed are known for solving magical and supernatural problems in their unique county. It's up to them to rescue the community and get things moving again. Giles' clever personification of time elements - including Clock Watchers, Second Guessers, and the monstrous Time Suck - bring the story to life. Dapo Adeola's delightful illustrations add even more fun. This successful blend of magical realism, friendships, time travel and heroic children results in a book that will no doubt be a hit with middle grade readers.

This is the middle grade debut for Giles who is the cofounder of We Need Diverse Books and the first in Kwame Alexander’s imprint for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. So I had high hopes...but I just didn’t care for it. It was not original and used some cultural references that are already pretty dated-YOLO and the mannequin challenge. I often felt like I didn’t know what was going on and I’m not sure if it’s because I got bored or because the writing was confusing. About ¾ of the way in the book went from mostly lighthearted to quite serious and the shift was jarring.

The Last Last-Day of Summer by Lamar Giles was a breath of fresh air. Cousins Otto and Sheed are legendary in their weird town. They wish for summer to never end and oddly get their wish - they find out time is frozen because of a "Missed opportunity" and mistake made in the past. They go on an adventure to try to reverse the time freeze and meet some interesting "Time" related characters like a Time Suck, TimeStar, A.M., P.M, Clock Watchers, Bed Time, Father Time, etc. They have to be careful to not bend any time travel rules along the way or to ask too much about the future.

A nice addition to the Middle Grade Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre that kids will love!

What I Liked
Otto and Sheed are wonderful to follow along and read about. Their list of maneuvers is hilariously long! The notes Otto keeps in his notebook cracked me up too!

Entry #36: We froze time.
Entry #37: Sheed might be upset.

The whole adventure is very imaginative. I loved all the names for the different time people. There is even some heartwarming stuff in there (which I'm pretty sure is a spoiler, so I'm not going to include it!).

What I Would Have Liked to See
I had an ARC so it was printed before all the (I'm sure) awesome illustrations for the inside. I would have liked to see those.

My Favorite!
"Wiki Ellison ain't so bad." Umm Lamar, when are you going to write the story of the Epic Ellisons?

TL;DR
When cousins Otto and Sheed accidentally freeze time, they must solve the mystery of the time-stealing stranger, the mystery of the time-traveling stranger, and the mystery of how to get more Keys to the City than the Epic Ellison twins, before time is frozen in their town forever (and ever).

My middle grade students will love the sci-fi adventure that feels like a mash-up of Phineas & Ferb, Gravity Falls, and A Wrinkle in Time. I hope we get more books with the cousins' epic adventures!

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 Lamar Giles’ first middle grade novel and the first middle grade novel from Kwame Alexander’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! [Tour image insert into post]

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.

With a whirlwind of adventure, imagination and fun, this is a tale which grabs from the first page to pack surprise after surprise the entire way through.

Otto and Sheed are not exactly happy about it being the very last day of before school starts again. They aren't sure what to do with the day, but run into Mr. Flux who gives them a camera and claims it will help them capture the moments. After two photos, a portal suddenly opens up and Mr. Flux battles with a stranger...but then, Mr. Flux is doing strange things himself. Time is frozen, and Otto and Sheed head into a grand adventure of odd characters and things, each having to do with time, and some even with a dash of philosophy. Somehow, the need to figure everything out while experiencing the most memorable last day before school ever.

I have not read any of this author's works before and am completely taken by the imagination and fun built into these pages. Adventure sweeps in with the force of a tidal wave and refuses to let go. At every turn, Otto and Sheed run into a new, fascinating situation which shoots off in the most amazing and humorous directions. It's never clear what they'll run into next, and they do run from one amazement to the other as fast as the pages flip.

There's a clever connection between all of the quirky elements, which first grows clear as the pages turn. While it seems like every moment is grabbed out of fun and fantasy, it soon becomes clear that there is a pattern of time and experience. The notes Otto and Sheed jot down sit like clues or realizations in a mystery, although this isn't really an mystery in the traditional sense. It's more fun and entertaining to follow them through the situations.

While I enjoyed the fast paced fun, it rolled a bit too quick and quirky at times, leaving some things to get blown over too fast. Still, there's a wonderful sense of working together, and the adventure does drag the reader in. Although it's slightly long, I see readers ages nine to ten loving the humor and fun.

I enjoyed the energy of the book and the emphasis on fun, but the constant call backs to activities that happened made it read like later book in a series and I constantly felt like I was missing out on some information that I should know.

E ARC from Edelweiss Plus

Cousins Otto and Sheed (aka The Legendary Alston Boys) live with their grandmother in Logan County, where they have lots of adventures involving dealing with the odd bits of magic found in their area. They have even won the key to the city twice, even though they have a rival in the Ellison twins for solving problems. On the last day of summer, they are ready to have another adventure, and Otto is making notes about the best prospects. When they are given a camera and have an odd encounter with a man named Mr. Flux and another man, the boys find that time in their town has been frozen, and they start to meet a variety of odd characters who all are involved with time. There are the stylists AM and PM, Missus Nedraw and her mirrors, creatures like the Time Suck, and a variety of Clock Watchers and Second Guessers. The boys manage to unfreeze a few people and get help from Petey, who works at the hardware store and has created a lot of inventions. He is also the key to Mr. Flux and the problems affecting the town, because of a Missed Opportunity. When a man named Time Star shows up, he helps the boys discover secrets about Petey's past, but also about their own future.
Strengths: Sheed and Otto are great characters, and readers will appreciate their attempts at seizing the last day of summer and trying to have adventures. Of course, they get more than they bargained for! I love that Sheed is just a little reluctant and would rather sleep! Petey's story is interesting, and the idea of Missed Opportunities is an intriguing one. Time Star's real identity is a surprise to everyone. There are some illustrations to entice reluctant readers. It is getting easier to find fantasy books with people of color, so it's good to see that we are getting a lot more choices than were available before the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement of 2014.
Weaknesses: The Ellison twins could have put in more appearances, and there is a teaser about the future that isn't fully developed.
What I really think: This was a bit on the young side for my readers, who love this author's Fake ID. They would probably be disappointed that this is not another murder mystery, but I can see this being popular with elementary school students. I'm interested to see what else Versify will be publishing.

What do you get when you mix The Phantom Tollbooth with small town America and a pinch of Marty McFly? The Last-Day-Of-Summer by Lamar Giles.

The Legendary Alston Boys, cousins Otto and Sheed, are often in the newspaper, their room is full of souvenirs from their adventures and each has a key to the city from the mayor. It's the last day of vacation before school is set to start, and Otto’s wish that summer vacation would never end results in complicated consequences for the boys as well as the residents of their town. Otto and Sheed must face a time twisting antagonist named Mr. Flux and although the two boys are used to facing problems on their own, it takes a community effort to set things right.

Lamar Giles has created a fast paced middle grade book replete with adventure, fantasy, imagination and positive role models. Their hometown is as unique as its residents. The characters are diverse and the love, smarts and support shown are universal. Add this one to the top of your book order.

I'm not much for magical realism but I really enjoyed this book. I liked the dynamics between cousins Sheed and Otto. The characters were realistic, even given the unrealistic plot of fighting off monsters and robots, and freezing time of course. I also liked the fact that the characters were diverse. I see this book being popular in my library. I'd hand this to a 4th or 5th grader looking for a light adventure story.

A very different perspective of a,story with children playing with the test of time wanting more of their lives. We have always been fans of misfits out to g their crazy minds together coming up with brilliant plans to have it be summer vacation forever but they always focus on the positive side and never the risky side where time will be changed and maybe gone forever and everyone will be non existent. This was goonies meets a time machine and such an enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will be considering this title for our JFiction collection at the library. That is why We give this book 5 stars.