S: July 15th, 2021 | C: July 22nd, 2021 | 5 ⭐

⚠️ WARNING! This review may contain spoilers, read at your own risk. I also cuss a lot.

I found this book at Costco and I was intrigued by the cover (funny story, I didn't realize the book I was buying was book 2 of the series because it said The Last so we had to go back to find book 1 and it took a minute for my dumbass to locate it.)

The first thing I will say about this book is that it was hard to put down. I really enjoyed reading it and I found myself in the endless loop of "one more chapter" for a while. I usually read before bed and I was soooo tired, but I didn't want to stop reading. I needed to know what happened next. The characters are also loveable and I had no problem with any of the troupe (except one and for good damn reason!)

《You saved my life. You can't eat me.》

This is the single BEST line in the entire book. I laughed so hard when I read it lmao At this point in the story, Tobble was my ultimate character. He's so brave and loyal despite being small and limited in what he can do. He can really teach people how to be brave despite your limitations. You don't have to be the strongest to be a hero! He's also adorable as fuck, okay. He is precious and I would die for him.

《What purpose does that serve?》 《None whatsoever.》

You cannot tell me that Tobble is not a gem, a comedian, a precious being that we must protect at all costs. I just wanna hug him, he's so precious 💙

《Well, they can only execute me once.》

I enjoyed this line because I am well versed in sarcasm, but I can't stand the person who said it. Which is a good segway to talk about this fuck. I never trusted him from the moment he appeared. It was so obvious that he had ulterior motives. The worst part? I started to slowly trust him and then the fucker dipped and betrayed them! 🤬 Oh, I was so damn mad, bro. I can't wait to see him get what is coming to him!

{Suddenly, in a puff of pink smoke, the old man's worn boot was replaced. Unfortunately, I was replaced with a delicate pink lady's shoe. Tobble rolled his eyes. 《Told you magic is ridiculous.》}

The best scene in the whole book. If I hadn't been at the doctor and nervous as fuck, I would have snorted with laughter 😂

When Gambler appeared, he (sadly) bumped Tobble down to second place. He instantly became my favorite but that may be partially because I was thinking of Khajiit from Skyrim, which I adore. Either way, I love him 💙 And I decided then and there that if he dies in this book, I will fucking RIOT.

There was one place in this book (when they were running from the Knight of Fire for the first time) where I had to really struggle to hold back my tears, but they soon turned to tears of joy! That scene could have gone soooo bad but I'm glad it didn't. And can we talk about the Knight of Fire for a hot minute? I know he's the bad guy and he's trying to kill our troupe, but... he's so cool. As someone that has always envisioned her OC with fire that she has full control over and that seems as if it has a mind of its own, I was so happy to see someone that also followed that path.

Finally, I want to talk about one of the main tropes of this book: humans = greedy, power hungry assholes. The humans are the main villains of this story and they crave power so much that they try to destroy all of the governing species so that they are number one. They are portrayed as liars and that's why the Dairnes are so important, because they can detect lies. Every single time this book insulted humans in this way, I could only find myself nodding along to the words because it's so fucking true, even in our own world.

I was so tempted to include these comments but if I did that, this review would be a book on its own! The best lesson to take from this book? Never trust another human being 🙄 We suck! But this book certainly doesn't! It was a great read 📚 ( )

OK very young adult adventure, but disappointing compared to Applegate's "One and Only Ivan", "Crenshaw", "The Wishtree", or "Home of the Brave". This is a standard trilogy sf+magic quest in a far future where there are half a dozen governing species, including humans, dog-like dairnes, cat-like felivets, and so on. But the humans have wiped out all the dairnes, except the female Byx, and are working on eliminating the felivets. Against this background, Byx and a growing set of companions, including humans, seeks the floating living island where some other dairnes are rumored to exist. The adventure is fine, but Applegate struggles to create any emotional depth beyond your standard animated movie for kids.

Recommended for fans of lightweight young-adult adventure, but not as demonstration of what Applegate can do. ( )

The Last has all the brilliant writing Applegate fans have come to expect, but the story never rises anywhere near the level of her other books. The characters are interesting if not entirely fleshed out. The adventure is okay but a bit slow. I expected a grander ending. This book had the feel of a prologue to a more interesting story to come. ( )

Byx may be the last member of her race, the Dairnes. They look like dogs, but walk upright: they can speak and think and become threatened by humans because of their innate ability to tell when someone is lying. Out wandering around one morning, Byx saves the life of a wobbyk (named Tobble) in a daring rescue, making the tiny Tobble indebted to her (to save Byx's life three times.) Shortly thereafter, a human girl (Khara), masquerading as a boy, captures Byx, saving her from the deadly fate of her pack. Khara too is more than she seems, and the three head off to see a leading Scholar to preserve Byx. Treachery threatens them, and Byx is hidden in a prison, where they find a fourth comrade: a large cat-like felivet, named Gambler. After a daring escape from the celebration (?) mourning the end of the Dairnes, the assembled group head off to find Dairneholme, a mythical sentient island, where there may still be Dairnes. It's quite an adventure, filled with camraderie and loyalty, with the classic good versus evil overlay. ( )

I hadn't been aware that she had written much after I finished Animorphs and Everworld back when I was younger. But, I'm so glad I rediscovered her as an adult. I adored this book and am very excitedly awaiting the next book in this new world! ( )