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Summary
Summary
In a world where animals no longer exist, twelve-year-old Kester Jaynes sometimes feels like he hardly exists either. Locked away in a home for troubled children, he's told there's something wrong with him. So when he meets a flock of talking pigeons and a bossy cockroach, Kester thinks he's finally gone crazy. But the animals have something to say. And they need him. The pigeons fly Kester to a wild place where the last creatures in the land have survived. A wise stag needs Kester's help, and together they must embark on a great journey, joined along the way by an overenthusiastic wolf cub, a military-trained cockroach, a mouse with a ritual for everything, and a stubborn girl named Polly. The animals saved Kester Jaynes. But can Kester save the animals?
Author Notes
Piers Torday was born in Northumberland, which is possibly the one part of England where more animals live than people. After working as a producer and writer in theatre, live comedy and TV, he now lives in London - where there are more animals that you might think. The Last Wild is followed by the sequel (and concluding volume) The Dark Wild . You can find out more about Piers and follow his blog at www.pierstorday.co.uk.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this offbeat semi-apocalyptic fantasy, debut novelist Torday introduces 12-year-old Kester Jaynes, a prisoner at Spectrum Hall Academy for Challenging Children. Kester's world was turned upside down by the death of his mother six years earlier (he hasn't spoken since). The larger world is in tumult, too, wrecked by global warming and "the red-eye," which killed off most animal life and threatens humans with extinction. One day, Kester is stunned to discover he can communicate with cockroaches, pigeons, and other "varmints," who ask him for help: "*Come with us now, Kester Jaynes. Or rot here forever. The choice is yours.*" With the aid of the varmints, Kester escapes from Spectrum Hall and learns that he is the chosen savior of "the last wild," the few remaining animals on Earth. A sort of dystopian Winnie-the-Pooh, Torday's story is alternately somber, thrilling, and silly, filled with eccentric human and animal characters with distinctive voices. That includes Kester-although his fellow humans see him as silent, his courage, actions, and growth speak volumes. Ages 8-12. Agent: Clare Conville, Conville & Walsh. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In a world where there are no more animals (only a few rogue varmints), Kester Jaynes finds himself in an unusual position: a cockroach is asking him for help. Kester, who hasn't spoken since his mother died, answers the entreaty of the cockroach (and some persuasive pigeons) and escapes to the forbidden wild, where a few animals have been hiding. It is up to Kester to save them by finding a cure for the deadly red-eye disease that has wiped them out. Torday weaves an intense narrative of survival and adventure akin to a sci-fi Brian Jacques tale and with great appeal to animal lovers. Underlying Kester's wilderness exploits, however, is a story of corruption and greed, as the powerful Selwyn Stone stages a calculated takeover of society through manufactured truths and the henchmen he employs to enforce them. The plot becomes slightly repetitive at times, but overall this is an enchanted adventure with a message of empowerment and hope that ought to sweep readers along to the planned second volume.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2014 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7- In a future where masses of animals have died from a terrible virus, 12-year-old Kestor Jaynes has been locked away for years in a home for troubled children. Kestor, who hasn't spoken since his mother's death, discovers one day that he has a voice that only animals can hear. Escaping from his prison with the help of a cockroach and a flock of pigeons, Kestor is led to a small enclave of animals that have somehow survived the terrible disease. Believing that the boy can find a way to defeat the disease, a wise stag, an enthusiastic wolf cub, and a tough girl named Polly team up with Kestor in an attempt to save the last of the wild creatures. This title has moments of real tension, though it does feel a little long at times, with the plotting stumbling a bit. Narrator Oliver Hembrough provides identifiable voices for the fairly large cast of characters, and his voice for Kestor is believable and inviting. The audio's pacing throughout is very good and will easily pull listeners through some of the slower sections. This is a solid title for younger readers interested in dystopian fiction who may not quite be ready for some of the darker stories available.-Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Public Library, UT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This fantasy journey with a post-apocalyptic setting combines a great fondness for animals with an appreciation of the freakish. Kester's spent the past six years at Spectrum Hall Academy for Challenging Children, a penal institution with a Roald Dahl vibe. Spectrum Hall jails kids who steal or eat too much. Kester hasn't spoken since his mother died, but is he imprisoned for that? Food is "bright pink gloop" that always, always tastes like prawn-cocktail crisps. The whole country eats this corporate-manufactured formula, since the red-eye virus killed all animals except useless varmints and contaminated all crops and vegetables. In this bleak environment, Kester befriends a cockroach--who, with hundreds of fellow cockroaches, busts Kester out of jail one shocking day through a fetid drain. Pigeons carry him to a "wild," a group of free wild animals in hiding. Although he can't speak aloud, Kester can communicate silently with varmints and animals. The red-eye is real, the animals are dying, and Kester must evade a murderous, stereotypically disabled bad guy and ride a majestic stag cross-country (with the cockroach and other critters) to reach his veterinarian father, who might have a cure. Present-tense narration creates immediacy and emphasizes Kester's limited knowledge. Although Kester's a classic special-kid-who-doesn't-know-it, the reserved narrative tone and tender yet peculiar view of animals give this piece its own offbeat flavor. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.