The Last Book in the Universe - Wikipedia The Last Book in the Universe The Last Book in the Universe The Last Book in the Universe - Book Cover Author Rodman Philbrick Cover artist David Shannon Country United States Language English Genre Science fiction novel Publisher Scholastic, Inc. Publication date February 28, 2002 Media type Print ( Hardcover and Paperback ) Pages 224 ISBN 0 - 439 - 08759 - 7 The Last Book in the Universe ( 2000 ) is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Rodman Philbrick. Set in a cyberpunk dystopia, its protagonist and narrator is a teenage boy named Spaz who suffers from epilepsy. Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 Major themes 4 Background 5 Reception 6 Awards 7 References 8 External links Plot summary This article 's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( May 2014 ) The story is set in a post-disaster, dystopic future city, appearing to be somewhere in the United States, called the Urb, which has been disturbed by an earthquake known as `` The Big Shake ''. The Urb is plagued by poverty, thieves, gang warfare, and the use of mindprobes. These mindprobes include variations such as `` trendies '' ( mindprobes about Eden ). They are analogous to hard drugs and enable users to temporarily escape their harsh lives through images like movies being played in their heads. Genetically improved people, called `` proovs, '' live in a city called Eden, with a beautiful society, food and water. Eden is separated from the Urb by the `` Forbidden Zone, '' a deadly and dangerous minefield. Spaz is a 14 - year - old boy who can not use mindprobes because of his epilepsy and whose adoptive family has abandoned him because they feared the symptoms of his illness. Spaz runs errands for Billy Bizmo, the latch - boss ( leader ) of his own gang, the `` Bully Bangers, '' in a section of the Urb. On one of his errands, Spaz is sent to `` rip - off '' Ryter, a very old man who possesses the lost arts of literacy and literature. Spaz soon meets Little Face, a five - year - old orphan who only says the word `` chox, '' because he did n't learn how to speak. Spaz also meets Lanaya, a proov who charitably gives out edibles ( a futuristic food ) to Spaz. At first, Spaz is very hostile towards Ryter, when Spaz arrives to `` rip - off '' ( steal ) Ryter 's meager possessions. Contrastingly, Ryter understands Spaz 's situation and does his best to help him, offering no resistance. Eventually Spaz learns that Bean, his beloved adoptive sister, is dying of the blood sickness ( leukemia ). Ryter and Little Face accompany Spaz on a journey to find Bean. The trio starts by traveling through `` The Pipe, '' a large, rustic water pipe that leads to other latches. Along the way, they pass through latches controlled by various other bosses, having adventures along the way. One of the latches is ruled by the `` Monkey Boys. '' Spaz and company find out that the latch - leader, Mongo the Magnificent, is dying because of a probe being in his head for an extended time. Ryter convinces one of the tek bosses to take Mongo 's place. In the next latch, the group sees everything burning and finds Lanaya being attacked by very hungry people. She is rescued by Spaz and Ryter and she joins them on their journey. Spaz and company start traveling towards the latch where Bean lives. Eventually, through many dangers, toils, and snares, the story 's heroes find a dying Bean. Lanaya and Ryter decide to take Bean to Eden, along with Spaz and Little Face. They ride along in Lanaya 's takvee to her and her `` contributors '' ( Jin and Bree ) home, which is a castle. At this point in the novel, it is brought to attention that Lanaya is a special proov who has been bred to eventually become a Master of Eden. To assume this title, she has rights and privileges that other proovs do not call `` learning opportunities. '' They take Bean to a proov hospital called the Primary and she is cured of her sickness using gene therapy. Ryter, Spaz, and Little Face enjoy the paradise of Eden, being unfamiliar with grass, a blue sky, fish in a stream, and apples, among other things. Some time later Ryter, Spaz, and Bean are thrown out of Eden because the elders who rule over Eden decide they are unacceptable. Little Face is secretly adopted by Lanaya 's contributors. The elders disregard Beans 's high intelligence, proved by having beaten one of Lanaya 's contributors ( Jin ) in chess. Their presumption is that someone from the Urb could never naturally be better than a proov in any way. Lanaya reveals to the elders that the mindprobes, which come from Eden, cause too much damage to the people who use them in the Urb. As a result, all the mindprobes throughout the Urb are deactivated, causing rioting and anarchy outside Eden. Bean is deposited at her home, and Ryter and Spaz are returned to their latch. Back at Spaz 's home latch, Ryter is blamed for the deactivation of the mindprobes and is wheeled by jetbikes which kills the old man. The stress caused by this assault triggered an epileptic seizure for Spaz. Before his death, Ryter tells Spaz that Spaz is in the last book in the universe. Billy Bizmo, the leader of Spaz 's latch, reveals to Spaz that he is his biological father and that his mother died at Spaz 's birth. The story ends with Lanaya sending Spaz a message about things will get better in Eden and how she believes they can fix it all in time. Spaz takes on the name Ryter, continuing the original Ryter 's work, writing The Last Book in the Universe using a device called a voicewriter that transcribes when he speaks to it. Characters SPAZ - The narrator, a teenager part of the Bully Bangers, initially rips off Ryter, has a condition called epilepsy RYTER - Lives in stackboxes, always accused of backtimer talk, writes the last book in the universe, loves adventure and has formal talk Billy - Boss of the Bully Bangers, biological father of Spaz, rumored to be an ex-luvmate of Lotti Getts. Little Face - A five year old child, lives in stackboxes, takes up a love for chox ( chocolate flavored edible ), eventually adopted by Lanaya 's contributors Bean - Spaz 's adoptive sister, has the blood sickness ( called leukemia ), biological daughter of Charly and Kay Charly - Bean 's biological father, Spaz 's adoptive father, casts Spaz out because of his epilepsy Kay - Bean 's biological mother, Spaz 's adoptive mother, understanding Lanaya - A proov girl, loves the sense of adventure and thrill, confident, persuasive, Future Master of Eden, contributee of Jin and Bree Lotti Getts - Latch boss outside of Eden, nicknamed Boss Lady, Nails, and White Widow because her luvmates do n't stay around for a long time Vida Bleek - A secret probe dealer, head of the Furies, Lotti Getts 's mortal enemy Jin - Lanaya 's male contributor, one of the top ranked chess players in Eden Bree - Lanaya 's female contributor ( parent ), takes a fondness to Little Face and adopts him Mongo the Magnificent - A dead latch boss, leader of the Monkey Boys. He is eventually replaced by a tekboss. Major themes Major themes, in a list created by Scholastic, included reading, technology, challenges and overcoming obstacles, courage, bravery, heroism, and individuality. Scholastic also wrote in conclusion, `` the story is ultimately about those who have the courage to become conscious in a world that invites us to choose illusion and denial. '' Background The novel is an adaptation of a short story previously written by the author in a collection called Tomorrowland. The story was also influenced greatly by Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451. Reception The Last Book in the Universe has received mixed reviews. Many critics praised the novel for its involving plot. Debbie Carton, a reviewer from Booklist, called it a `` fast - paced adventure '' with a `` moving conclusion '' and `` memorable characters. '' A number of critics agreed : Scholastic called the story `` chilling and inspiring. '' A reviewer from Publishers Weekly wrote, `` ( the book 's ) futuristic dialect combined with striking descriptions of a postmodern civilization will convincingly transport readers to Spaz 's world. '' However, Susan L. Rogers from School Library Journal pointed out that there are too many distractions that pull the reader 's attention away from the main theme. She also noted that the science in this science fiction novel was `` vague. '' Publishers Weekly added that the story was `` not fully developed, '' complaining that some scenes, such as the ones involving the Monkey Boys and the Furies, were `` a bit abrupt. '' Awards ALA Best Book for YAs Maine Lupine Award Honor Maryland Readers Medal Isinglass Teen Read Award YALSA 100 Best of The Best Books for the 21st Century References Jump up ^ Philbrick, Rodman. The Last Book in the Universe. Turtleback Books. access - date = requires url = ( help ) ^ Jump up to : `` The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick ''. Scholastic. Retrieved 19 May 2013. ^ Jump up to : Rohrlick, Paula ( May 2002 ). `` The last book in the universe ''. Kliatt. 36 ( 3 ) : 29. Retrieved 15 May 2013. ^ Jump up to : Carton, Debbie ( 15 Nov 2000 ). `` The Last Book in the Universe ''. Booklist. Retrieved 3 June 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` THE LAST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE ''. Publishers Weekly. 247 ( 48 ) : 77. 27 Nov 2000. Retrieved 16 May 2013. Jump up ^ Rogers, Susan L. ( Nov 2000 ). `` The Last Book in the Universe ''. School Library Journal. 46 ( 11 ) : 160. Retrieved 16 May 2013. Jump up ^ `` Maine Library Association ''. Retrieved 26 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Barrington Public Library ''. Retrieved 26 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Rodman Philbrick, Awards & Nominations ''. Retrieved 19 May 2013. External links Rodman Philbrick 's official website The Last Book in the Universe on Google Books Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Last_Book_in_the_Universe&oldid=805129768 '' Categories : 2000 American novels 2000 children 's books Children 's science fiction novels American children 's novels Post-apocalyptic novels Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Pages to import images to Wikidata Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from May 2014 All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014 Official website not in Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Edit links This page was last edited on 13 October 2017, at 07 : 32. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: where does the last book in the universe take place
Answer: a post-disaster, dystopic future city, appearing to be somewhere in the United States, called the Urb