In a future time, a blight has killed all of Earth’s trees and paper has become the new gold. Three kids go “plifting” (paper scavenging) to make money and, in Juni’s case, pay for her grandfather’s medical care. When she finds an honest to goodness book in her grandfather’s closet and instead of turning it in, she reads it, her world changes. And she comes to learn there may be clues in the book to a long-lost library that could change not just hers, but everyone’s world. But can she and her friends find it before the evil corporation, Novexus, who controls all information locates it?
OK, not to be too much of a spoiler, but when you read this, tell me the Overdue Archive voice doesn’t sound like C-3PO.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for sending me an ARC in Exchange of an honest review.
I found it a strong, captivating story with likeable characters. Although I’m a bit overloaded with dystopia myself I recognized a contemporary life scenario well incorporated in the story which was well developed and presented, exciting and with vivid imagery. I also liked the pace and the ISBN trick.
Overall, a fascinating read for the age 8+ well Worth your while.

What a wonderful Middle Grade novel. Juni lives in a world without books (the horror).
A chance encounter while plifting completely changes her life and take her down the rabbit hole to find the last library.
I especially like the secret code one needs that is explained in the acknowledgements.

The author completely finishes the story but did leave enough opening to have a sequel.

Danger, excitement, & a love letter to reading & libraries! I thoroughly enjoyed The Legend of the Last Library by Frank L. Cole. It’s a middle grade dystopian novel where paper is rarer & more valuable than gold. I enjoyed following 13 year old Juniper “Juni” Knot and her friends in their quest to find the last library.

After “the Blight” destroyed all the trees, Juni’s world is surrounded by plastic and governed by a shadowy corporation known as Novexus, which controls all the information in their society. After the tragic death of her parents, Juni lives with her Grandpa Edgar in the Mounds & engages in plifting, scavenging abandoned buildings for paper to earn money for his expensive medications. In her latest plifting attempt, she meets Kobyn, who helps her escape from the Nikos, vicious dog like robots who guard the abandoned areas & keep the peace. Kobyn is associated with a secretive organization trying to locate the last known library before Novexus does.

When Juni discovers a book hidden in her Grandpa’s closet, her first thought is to sell it for money, but when her grandfather urges her to read it, she finds a brand new world opened up to her. Suddenly, Kobyn’s quest to find the library becomes even more important when she learns her parents’ role in trying to find it. She decides to risk everything to locate and preserve this last library with the help of her friends Dolan, Korbyn, and Zeno, a delightful AI hologram who’s the guardian of the library.

Really enjoyed this book! There aren’t too many dystopian novels out there appropriate for middle grade readers, & this was fantastic. The action & adventure made it hard to put down but didn’t contain anything too scary or inappropriate for this age group. It was a fast paced, fun read that kept me eagerly turning the pages. I was immediately plunged into this interesting dystopian world & once I became familiar with it, I was thoroughly invested. The world building was good even though I still had a few unanswered questions. Maybe answered in a second book? The characters were delightful and engaging. I especially loved Zeno, the holographic AI character.

I loved the references to classic children’s & middle grade books like Juni B. Jones, The City of Ember, and more. It’s a great story with positive messages, and enough references to our world and the potential for censorship that will get kids thinking. It’s a complete story in itself, but leaves an opening for hopefully a sequel. Highly recommend to middle grade readers! I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own & voluntarily provided. 4.5-5 stars!

What an amazing adventure! This book was the perfect combination of mystery and adventure. I loved watching the story unfold, the author did a spectacular job with the storyline. The characters were relatable and courageous. Their curiosity and bravery were inspiring. and the ending was wonderful. This story gave important life lessons as well, reminding us of the importance of learning the truth for ourselves. I would recommend this book to all the kids I know. A wonderful addition to any library.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

My 9yo says he would give it more than five stars if he could and wants to know if there’s a sequel planned.

This was our first foray into dystopian literature but he seemed to handle it just fine. There was so much action and adventure, and the mystery at the story’s core was clever and progressed at an exciting pace. It was TENSE at the end but great ending.

We picked up on the Easter egg [SPOILER ALERT} ISBN codes from the beginning, looking up the associated book when we were done with the chapter. But we didn’t know it was a message until the Acknowledgments so we went back to figure it out. That was my son’s favorite part.

This is such a fun dystopian story set in a future where every book has been destroyed. When we meet Juni, she has lived a life not really knowing who she is. Throughout her adventures, she learns of her surprising lineage while trying to find and save the last library (does it even exist??). Juni makes new friends along the way and find herself faced with many difficult decisions. Pick up this book and you won't be able to put it down! Be sure not to skip the author's note at the end!

Well, this was a fun, unique middle grade book. I really enjoyed this one: the conspiracies, the backstories and plot twists and reveals, the characters. There aren't a lot of middle grade dystopian books out there, and Frank L Cole did a wonderful job of doing the genre justice!

This one comes complete with a corrupt government, a country/world torn apart by some catastrophe, and characters trying to survive and discover secrets that they might die for.

Juniper or Juni is a plifter, someone who searches and hunts for paper in a world where paper is a commodity and books are not found. When she finds a hidden book in a box that contains secrets, never did she imagine that her parents, long since deceased, were part of searching for the Last Library.

There were so many instances where I was like, ok what is going to happen next! I am really hoping this is a start to a series, though, it could also be a stand-alone novel.

I definitely recommend this one for children who enjoy dystopian novels or fun, adventure packed stories or adults who also enjoy these types of stories.

Series: maybe
Genre: Middle Grade Dystopian
Romance Level: none
Publisher: Shadow Mtn
Publishing Date: August 6, 2024

Content Warning: mild violence, no swearing, no romance/explicit content

Trigger Warnings: death of family members (past), grief from said death (present), illness of family member (present)

I received a complimentary ebook on Netgalley from the publisher Shadow Mtn. All thoughts are only my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this book.

This was such a fun concept that I over all enjoyed but felt could have been better. I really liked the whole concept of paper being a valuable and rare resource, and the scifi/dystopian setting. That said, I was a disappointed by Juni's lack of agency throughout the book. All the great revelations of the book (and there were some good ones!) were explained to her by other people. I really would have liked to see Juni make some discoveries of her own, rather than being spoon-fed information. At one point she reflected that she didn't feel like she'd done much and that everything had happened by accident, and unfortunately, I somewhat agreed with her. I liked her character a lot, I just would have liked to see her make more decisions and discoveries on her own!

I’ve read a number of Frank L. Cole’s books — Champion’s Quest series, Potions Masters trilogy — but I think it’s with The Legend of the Last Library that Cole really comes into his own.

The Legend of the Last Library is set in a dystopian future that looks anything but great. Cole’s world-building skills here are strong, giving you the sense that you’re walking right beside Juni as she scavenges. And — without giving too much away — there’s a setting later in the book that kind of knocks your socks off.

Juni is a well-realized main character who readers will want to root for. She’s clever and determined and protective of those she cares for. Juni also has the ability to see beyond what’s right in front of her, which makes her all the more likeable.

The Legend of the Last Library is a fast-moving middle-grade novel that has broad appeal. I can see it being a popular checkout item in school and public libraries.

I am so happy that NetGalley and the publisher gave me access to this ARC! I am not normally a fan of science fiction, the sub-genre of dystopian novels are the most palatable for me. This book was excellent!! Far into the future a blight hit the earth and all trees and plants can be made into paper were destroyed. No books had existed for a hundred years or more. In a kid-friendly Indiana Jones type adventure, an underground group has been searching for the “Lost Library”. This is a rumored depository of all of the books from before the Blight. For years these group members have been searching for it. You’ll have to read it to find out what happens and how it happens. For a non-sci-fi reader, I loved this book and I think you will too!

My son and I enjoyed reading this book together. It was a fun adventure right from the beginning and we will likely pick up a print copy for a reread!

The Legend Of The Last Library is a fantastic dystopian novel about a world with no books and no written word, as an event called the blight. An enormous swarming of bugs forced the world to destroy all books. Children have no idea how to read or write unless their parents or grandparents force them to learn this skill, as our MC Juni grandfather has. Children still learn, but everything is uplinked, and some of the most precious books have been wiped from existence. I loved the book references throughout the story. I was shocked when Juni did not recognize identifiable characters like Aslan from Chronicles of Narnia or that she could have been named after a book character. The impactful message of how important books and the written word are echoes throughout this fantastic tale. The story is left open about whether the author will continue the story or if we have one book for this world. I, for one, want more stories.

Super fun! I thought this was such a unique fantasy and it was a fun book. I will probably use it as a read aloud with my fourth grade class this school year!

As a book loving family, we absolutely adored this story. There was something in it to please every member of our reading group from 7 to over 70.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world after the Blight (where insects ravaged all of the plants), paper is a rare and valuable commodity. Juni and her friends regularly go plifting in some of the abandoned areas to look for items to sell. It's just Juni and her Grandpa Edgar after her parents died in a tragic accident when she was younger. Juni is hopeful that one day she will able to come across enough paper to pay for her grandfather's medical bills. Juni discovers a nondescript piece of plastic with a familiar looking logo on it only to discover that it matches the logo on a box that appeared at their house after her parents died. Upon opening the box, Juni discovers that there is a library that curators compiled to preserve the books and protect them. Juni ends up on a mission outside of her wildest dreams to find the last library before the megacorporation that replaced the government after the Blight. Will Juni and her friends succeed or will those books be lost forever? A great middle grades book that is full of adventure.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In the dystopian future described in THE LEGEND OF THE LAST LIBRARY, paper has been all but eradicated after the Blight, a massive insect infestation. making it extremely valuable. As a result, it is extremely valuable. Libraries and books have disappeared, and all information is filtered through technology controlled by a corporation. Thirteen-year-old Juni is the daughter of a pair of archeologists who died years before in a search for the last library and now lives with her grandfather. She is a plifter, searching rundown buildings with her friend Doler to find remaining paper that can be traded for credits to pay for bills and her grandfather’s medical care. When she finds a plastic card with an unusual symbol on it, she unwittingly sets in motion a series of events that lead her to her own risky search to find the last remaining library and potentially release its hidden contents once again.

The dystopian future world is well developed, and readers will enjoy recognizing the current technology that plays a role in the book as a relic from long ago. There is plenty of action, adventure, and suspense to keep readers engaged as Juni pieces together the meaning behind the plastic card. The good vs. evil narrative that is quickly set up between Juni and those who are controlling the flow of information will have fans of books and libraries cheering for her success.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of the book to read.

The Legend of the Last Library is a children’s novel written by Frank L. Cole.

Summary: Paper is like gold in the dystopian future-so rare and valuable, that a single find could make all your dreams come true.

All Juni wants to do is scavenge enough paper to help pay for her grandfather’s medical bills, and maybe help them get ahead just a little.

But when she is approached by a strange boy that talks about conspiracy theories and her long-dead parents, she can’t help but be intrigued, and soon she’s just as involved as her parents were in the search for the last library.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. I always like it when an author creates an entirely different world to fall in to, and this author did a wonderful job creating a dystopian future-one without paper, with acid storms, ominous enemies, and the possibility of buried treasure.

I thought the unique technology created for this book juxtaposed with the ancient technology from the past (our present), was fun to read about, and as a lover of books, it was quite the thought that someday they could disappear forever!

I did find it a little too convenient how quickly Juni could get involved in a mystery and solve it, but otherwise, I thought it was a fun read.

I would like to thank Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
In a dystopian future, thirteen-year-old orphan Juniper (Juni) lives with her ailing grandfather after the death of her parents. Everything is controlled by the Novexus Corp, from education to healthcare to food. The Blight has killed off the trees so any scrap of paper will fetch a premium reward. Juni and her friend, Doler, travel outside the so-called “safe zone” for “plifting,” an expedition to find paper. In a building where her parents died, Juni finds a piece of paper along with a small plastic rectangle. Quaze, the older girl leading the plifting, steals the piece of paper from Juni and abandons her Doler and Juni when Novexus’ robotic dogs find them. With the help of Kobyn and his real dog Lewis (who were already in the building), Juni and Doler are able to make their escape. Juni keeps the plastic which turns out to be a library card that will open the strange box in Grandpa’s closet. This is the link to the Last Library that leads Juni on an adventure to finish what her parents started.
I enjoyed this book! It is fast-paced and full of adventure and danger! I would definitely recommend this middle grade book for readers grade 4 and up!
#TheLegendOfTheLastLibrary #NetGalley

A dystopian story great for elementary and middle schoolers. Juniper Knox finds herself in an adventure unraveling lot of secrets. A action story that shares the power to read, with family and friendship.