The Last Days [Mass Market Paperback]

Scott Westerfeld (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2007

A mysterious epidemic holds the city in its thrall and the chaos is contagious?black oil spews from fire hydrants, rats have taken over brooklyn, and every day, more people disappear. but all that matters to pearl, Moz, and Zahler is their new band. they ignore the madness around them and join forces with a vampire lead singer and a drummer whose fractured mind can glimpse the coming darkness. will their music stave off the end of the world . . . or summon it?

set against the gritty apocalypse that began in Peeps, The Last Days is about five teenagers who find themselves creating the soundtrack for the end of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 8 Up–The names of rock bands are used for chapter titles in this intriguing, fast-paced sequel to Peeps (Penguin, 2005), and music permeates the novel. While mysterious, dark happenings have taken over New York City's hot, humid summer (black water bubbling from faucets and hydrants, and rats congregating in packs on city streets), Moz, an aspiring guitarist, and his closest associate, Zahler, search for promising musicians to complete their sound. One night, as Moz tries to save a vintage 1975 Fender Stratocaster as it is inexplicably thrown out of an apartment window, he meets Pearl, an attractive and slightly off-center musical genius. With the help of Zahler, they recruit a street drummer named Alana Ray, and Pearl convinces her talented singer friend Minerva, who is recuperating from a serious illness that appears to have left her with a strange desire for human blood, to join them. Moz and Pearl work through power issues as they become closer. And as the danger to New York City begins to escalate, the band's evolving music and especially the energized singing of Minerva–both described in great detail–play a central role in calling up the deadly forces and ultimately helping to defeat them. The dialogue is crisp and clear and alternately funny and biting. While it will help to read Peeps first, this novel stands on its own. It's a real winner.–Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Something horrifying is bubbling up from the earth, and vampires stalk the streets of New York--but in this electric sequel to Peeps (2005), Moz and his buddy Zahler think only of forming a band. One night Moz, with the help of passerby Pearl, rescues a Fender Stratocaster guitar. Like Moz, Pearl is a musician, and a band is born. Soon the band recruits a singer, a Peep with her parasite mostly under control, and a drummer who literally sees the music and the terrifying things it attracts. Eventually it becomes clear that the new band will play a key role in the coming struggle against the powerful evil. Westerfeld continues his captivating, original vision, improving it in this tightly plotted sequel. The new characters are engaging, and the breezy dialogue is graced with both unique slang and a touch of humor. Teen will savor the picture of a band finding its sound while saving the world. Both new readers and Peeps fans will eat this up. Lynn Rutan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill (August 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595141286
• ISBN-13: 978-1595141286
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Obsessions > Monsters

More About the Author

Scott Westerfeld's teen novels include the Uglies series, the Midnighters trilogy, The Last Days, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and the sequel to Peeps. Scott was born in Texas, and alternates summers between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story Where A Teen Band Takes On Vampires, September 11, 2006

By 

Patricia Altner "PVN" (Patricia's Vampire Notes) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Days (Hardcover)

Strange things are happening in New York City. Stranger than usual, that is. In fact it is down right scary in a paranormal kind of way. Black liquid spurts out of fire hydrants; rats, more numerous than ever, are roving the streets; and people suddenly go crazy, like the woman who throws all of her belongings out her sixth floor apartment window all the while screaming about who knows what. One about-to-be-discarded object catches the attention of two teen onlookers. The crazy lady waves a mid-seventies Fender Stratocaster with gold pickups and whammy bar. Pearl and Moz, strangers until this moment, work together to catch this valuable guitar before it crashes to the pavement. A quick glance above and both glimpse human figures moving swiftly towards the crazy woman's window. Neither comments aloud on this phenomenum. Instead they excitedly talk about their passion for music and the possibility of forming a band.

Pearl is a super smart multitalented gal who thinks Moz is really cute. She and Moz and his friend Zahler meet for practice sessions, and quickly realize they need a drummer and a singer to make their band complete. Street wise Alana Ray agrees to play percussion. She has the ability to see music with color and movement and is especially sensitive to these visions when Pearl brings in her friend Minerva to sing. A few months earlier Minerva suffered a mysterious breakdown. She now stays most of the time in her room, fights to contain the beast she feels inside her, and writes pages full of weird symbols that only she understands. At the first rehersal, when all five gather to play, Minerva singing blends with the music and evokes wonder and fear.

As the story progresses the musical talent of these teens and the vampire powers of Minerva become paramount in fighting monsters that live far below ground and only surface every seven hundred years. The Last Days is a sequel to Peeps (Razorbill, 2005) where the story of the vampires aka Peeps begins. Westerfeld's powers of description brings characters to life and immerse the reader into the world his vivid imagination has created.

Aimed at the YA crowd but can be enjoyed by all ages.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gruesome, terrifying and amazing sequel, January 12, 2007

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Days (Hardcover)

The apocalypse is coming, so Pearl, Moz and Zahler do the only logical thing they can think of:

They form a band.

Pearl and Moz never knew each other before a parasite-positive, or a "peep" --- a person who carries a parasite that can best be described as vampirism --- threw a 1975 Fender Stratocaster with gold pickups out a third-floor window. Pearl turns out to be a talented keyboardist, and Moz, who plays guitar, invites bass player Zahler to join them. Moz recruits Alana --- their bucket-percussing homeless schizophrenic drummer --- from her regular street-corner gig in Times Square. Minerva, the lead singer, is an old friend of Pearl's. But Minerva hasn't been the same since she became afflicted with some kind of weird illness that causes her to hate the things she once loved, crave a lot of raw meat and gain a rather strong attachment to her cat.

Black water is flowing from fire hydrants over streets piled with garbage. Cannibals are in charge of record companies. The Night Mayor, first seen in Scott Westerfeld's PEEPS, knows that time and technology have come together to form the perfect environment for a pandemic. The worms that haunt the subway tunnels of New York are getting stronger and more numerous. Homeland Security can't do anything about the spreading of the parasite that infects Minerva, but the Night Watch --- the organization working to stop the parasite's rapid spread --- can. They're going to attempt to use the band's unearthly melodies as a weapon against the killer worms and paranoid peeps.

If you haven't already read PEEPS, you'll want to do so before starting THE LAST DAYS; even though this gruesome, terrifying and amazing sequel can stand on its own, you'll understand it a lot better if you read its predecessor first. This is not one of those vampire novels with a lush setting and lots of forbidden romance, but that's what makes it such a great read. Westerfeld's vampires are gritty and nasty, dressed in rags, and sweating and screaming amid sewer rats. They will keep you up late biting your nails and hoping they make it through the impending apocalypse just because you want to see more of them in a future book.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A modern-day possible end-of-the-world scenario, February 3, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Days (Hardcover)

Scott Westerfeld's THE LAST DAYS provides a modern-day possible end-of-the-world scenario. It's a hot New York City Summer and a plague is turning people into cannibals. Five teens are trying to focus on their new band - but find their own music is caught up in the uncertainties of their times. LAST DAYS continues and end-of-world saga begun in PEEPS, but no prior familiarity is needed to quickly become accustomed to plot and action.