Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: The Last Mirror on the Left by Lamar Giles

Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The Last Mirror on the Left by Lamar Giles. Illustrated by Dapo Adeola. 168 p. A Legendary Alston Boys Adventure #2. Versify/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 20, 2020. 9780358129419. (Review of e-arc courtesy of publicist.)

Middle Grade Monday wishes a happy book birthday to author, Lamar Giles and The Last Mirror on the Left. The second installment of A Legendary Alston Boys Adventure releases tomorrow and fans of the first adventure, The Last Last Day of Summer, will not want to miss it!

Cousins Otto and Sheed are back in school a short while after their epic adventure fixing the time freeze. Unfortunately, no one in Fry remembers what happened. Or so they thought. Mrs. Nedraw, owner of the Rorrim Mirror Emporium knows that the boys used one of her precious mirrors without her permission to fix the mess and now, she's threatening them with the law unless the boys help her. The mirrors are actually prison cells and the boys accidentally cracked the mirror they "borrowed," allowing a most notorious criminal to escape. He, in turn, freed a gang, then escaped through the last mirror on the left into an alternate universe town of Fry, where people and places are a bit...off.

The action is non-stop and totally mind-bending! While the humor is high, the boys contemplate criminal justice as they confront the ways in which the truth can be bent to serve those in power. The boys' devotion to each other is also tested as Sheed becomes annoyed by Otto's weirdness. (No spoilers here!) The spot art by Dapo Adeola adds to the humor and enjoyment.

Don't miss these two books! I hope to see more of Otto and Sheed, their antics, their brotherhood and their joy, in the future.

Arc Review: The Last Last Day of Summer by Lamar Giles

The Last Last Day of Summer by Lamar Giles. 287 p. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2, 2019. 9781328460837 (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Cousins Otto and Sheed live with their grandma in Logan County, Virginia. They've spent the summer sleuthing and bickering. Both are mourning the approach of the last day of summer though Grandma is not. She's got it circled on the calendar. As they argue over just how they should spend their final day of freedom, a strange man named Flux appears out of nowhere with a camera that freezes time. He allows Otto to take a picture of the town but another man appears out of nowhere and fights Flux for the camera before he can take a picture of the boys. They run away with the camera and discover that everyone in town is frozen. Who is the rubbery man with the camera? Who is the second man? Why is everyone in town except them frozen? This might just be the case of their lives! 

Buckle up because this mind-bending romp takes off running and doesn't stop. It zigs and zags wildly and hilariously. The characters in this quirky little town are distinct and memorable. The humor ranges from slapstick to wry, so there's something to amuse everyone. And there's plenty of fun wordplay. The brotherly relationship between the cousins is a bit competitive lending a realistic, relatable element. 

While this really should have wide appeal, hand to your fans of time-travel, fast-paced adventure, and/ or humorous books. Giles rocks his MG debut. More please.