Gr 5–8—Archie and his grandfather have always had a close relationship, but when Grandpa is diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease, Archie seeks to help through invented fantasy stories based on the older man's past. The
harsh realities of this devastating disease are dealt with gently and honestly in this mix of realistic fiction and fantasy.

An Emotional, Thought-Provoking, and Sentimental Read. This story wasn't what I expected, but I didn't really know what to expect at first either when it was described as a Middle-Grade book about Alzheimer's.
This story is about Archie, who's 13/14 yrs old and living with his Mom and his Grandpa while attending school and having a crush so it has a little bit of that cute and awkward crush romance that happens at 13/14 yrs old in it. And so Archie is living with his Grandpa when one day his Grandpa forgets who Archie is and he starts to put together all these incidents and realizes what's likely happening and has to tell his Mom what happened and so his Mom sets up the appointments to get him checked out for Alzheimer's disease.
It's about how Archie, his Mom, and their family cope and deal with their Grandpa/Dad beginning to lose his memories and being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Archie tries to figure out what to do to help with the situation and he wants to help his Grandpa to not lose his memories as much as he can so he begins to create role-playing fantasies and quests for them to go on together to try to help his Grandpa stay in the present. As things progress with his Grandpa and the Alzheimer's and life, he finds out some things about his Grandpa and things that happened in the past and Archie has to decide how he feels about learning and knowing about these things. Archie has to decide what he feels makes life worth living and remembering and who he wants to be as he starts to grow up more.
The timing of this book for me personally is part of what makes this hit me so much in the feels right now. I worried when I started it that I might get bored or something, but I didn't - I read this almost entirely in one sitting and was thinking about it in-between times too. I also expected that I might get emotional, but I made it to the ending of the book or rather almost the end and wasn't emotional so I thought Whew I made it, and then...it happened right before the end and at the end and I could barely breathe through the intensity of emotions and emotional response that I had.
This is very well written and a great perspective on Alzheimer's from a child/teenager's point of view and how it affects them and their family as well as some about how the person experiencing Alzheimer's is affected too. It's necessary to have for Middle-Grade readers to read and adults too. It's enlightening, emotional, and poignant. I would definitely recommend picking this one up to read and check it out, but make sure you have some tissues handy just in case.'
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for letting me read and review this wonderful story. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley.

The Last Adventure is a middle grade book about a boy and his family as his grandfather comes down with Alzheimer’s. This book abounds with love and grief, and it about ripped my heart to shreds because it felt so personal. Truly, I haven’t had a book make me cry this much in years. Dalton has written from the heart, and it shows.

I wish I could have had this book as my grandpa was dying of a terminal illness when I was 11. It would have helped me a lot… and it will help a lot of kids now. The beauty in this read isn’t just about the tender relationship of grandparent and grandchild, but people in general. The other kids at school are shown with realistic nuance. The family’s struggle and emotions feel real, too. Even the book’s portrayal of fantasy and stories as coping mechanisms felt genuine—that’s how I got by as a kid.

Honestly, I am having trouble writing this review because I am getting so emotional. Go buy this book. Share it with the kids in your life. ( )