On all of the books I have read in my fourteen years of life, none have them have surprised me like this novel, The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick. This science-fiction novel, in my opinion, HAS the potential to become a motion picture movie. Enthralling, amazing, spectacular, and I give thanks for this reading experience to my Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Shaykhudtinov who forced this book upon us.

This novel begins with Spaz, a teenage epileptic, complaining how he can not use a needle probe. In his time, the needle probe is a needle you plug in your head and you can watch television, read novels, and surf the internet all at once. If Spaz were to plug on one, he would suffer a seizure. Unfortunately, that is why his name is Spaz, due to the seizure spasms he has.

Spaz was sent to rip off this old gummy 9old man), Ryter, by the latchboss, Billy Bizmo and his followers, the Bully Bangers. The latch is like a state and Billy Bizmo and the Bully Bangers could be compared to the way Lord Voldermolt and the Death Eaters ruled in the book Harry Potter or in real life the mafia. Ryter is a lower-class person who lives in the Stacks, which is a little concrete box staked ten high in rows of a hundred only assorted boxes. It smell quiet rancid because of the lack of plumbing.


The problem is if you don't give half of your belongings to the Bangers, you would get killed! During Spaz's trek to Ryter's house, he got lost and has to bribe a small sickly little boy, who can not speak, with a choxbar (chocolate bar) to show him Ryter was waiting for Spaz. Ryter had everything he owned out and ready for Spaz. After Ryter's mistake of not protecting his book, it becomes evident that Ryter is hiding the last book in the universe.


Spaz does not believe him because books are in libraries and libraries were destroyed in the Big Shake. Big Shake was a natural disaster which killed 1 billion people and shorten the average life expectancy 20 years! According to Ryter, people have forgotten most things because the probes had softened their minds. Ryter tells Spaz about how he wants to write a story and how uses a “voicewriter”. A voicewriter is like talking into a microphone and words are appearing on the screen.


After Spaz's meeting with Ryter, Spaz runs into a proov, a genetically improved human, at the market. In Spaz's eyes she is the most beautiful thing. This proov, Lanaya, fed him protein bars, carboshakes and choxbars. Later in his home in Crypts, Spaz watches his favorite 3D movie; he placed himself as the hero and Lanaya as the female lead.


Spaz tells Billy about the proofs and Billy tells him to avoid contact with a Proov or risk getting killed. Later Spaz went back to Ryter's house and ran into Little Face, the little kid from the last visit. At Ryter's house, Ryter pester Spaz about his past. It turns out that Spaz's little adopted sister Bean, had developed blood sickness or leukemia, when she was 8. The remedy lady gave Bean a liquid medication which was very vulgar tasting. Bean had looked up to Spaz and only took her medication if Spaz gave it to her.


Bean's condition had gotten better and one day Spaz got so excited he had s seizure, Charly his foster dad though he was a treat to Bean, Charly and Spaz began to fight and things escaladed out of control between Charly and kicked Spaz out of the house. Ryter told Spaz that the electric needles would have caused him to forget Bean. That angered Spaz and he left angry. Back home at the Crypts, he received a latch runner who brings the news of Bean's condition had worsen and waned to see Spaz for the last time. Latch Runners are illegal because the latch bosses like to control information. Spaz was thought that Billy Bizmo would be his protection through the latches. Billy rejected his request and tries to sneak out through following the edge. Spaz runs into Little Face and gets attacked by an angry mob. Spaz has a seizure and is saved by Ryter how demands he comes along.


They traveled by the Pipe and later found out Little Face followed them. In the Break in the Pipe, they were kidnapped by the Monkey Boys. They meet Mongo the Magnificent who was so addicted to the probes, he was hooked on one for a year and he had ooze all over him and was very dirty. It was the only thing keeping alive. With Ryter's persuasion, they replaced Mongo with Great Gorm. They continued there travel through the rusty gunk filled Pipe. Ryter even compared it to an Odyssey.

On the way to Bean's latch, they run into Lanaya, child of Eden when were all of the proovs lived. Ryter protects the Lanaya from hunger crazies and was almost eaten himself. As a sign of appreciation, Lanaya offers them a ride to Bean's lath. On the way there they ran into my favorite character. This appreciation was short-lived, when Lanaya and Spaz often fight over every little thing.

Lotti Getts, the biker chick from *heck. She was so in charge, she had sharpened bladders on the nails. Her followers, the Vandals were there too. Lotti had threatened them to find the Latch Runner distributing the needle probes. They made a plan to go to Traderville to obtain probes. There, there was an incident with Vida Bleek and the Furies and Lotti Getts. There is a latch boss war and Lotti was the victor, Lotti let them leave the latch.

Finally, they go Bean's house and were greeted by Charly and Kay, his former foster parents. It was Charly who sent the latch runner, for Bean. Bean saw Spaz and was cheered up. The next day, bean entered a coma and Ryter and Lanaya taker her to Eden in a glass case with Spaz. On there way back, they ran into Lotti Getts with a bagged head of Vida Bleek. In Eden, it was hard to see the Proovs because they were taught to blend into their surroundings. Spaz and Ryter met Jin and Bree, Lanaya's parents. After intense research, they find out that the proovs did not keep a record of normal diseases.


The Primary Lab people had the idea to put modified genes to prevent the cancer from spreading and to kill them. It worked for Bean with in the next few days' she was back to normal. After leaving the lab, Bean and Jin played checkers and they kept playing until one reached stalemate. Bree adopts Little Face and Spaz, Bree and Ryter get deported but after they remove the needle probes. People in Ryter's and Spaz's latch put the blame on Ryter.

This punishment was to tied to the ends of jetbikes and o be dragged until death. But before Ryter died, the last book in the universe was destroyed and the true came out that Billy Bizmo is Spaz's dad. Spaz ignores Billy Bizmo and does not want a relationship with Billy. People began to call him, Ryter and he used Ryter's voicewriter to finish Ryter's story. Bree sent him a Latch Runner of encouragement.
To me, I think that this book is about self-sacrifice, loyalty and a sense of belonging. I give this book a 5 out 5 stars and recommended it to every person. This book will move you, feel the pain.