Without a doubt, The Last Wild is my favourite middle grade book in recent years!
The story follows Kester Jaynes, a young boy who is mute to humans but can speak to animals. He lives in place called Spectrum Hall, in quarantine and in a world where animals have been killed by the red eye – a deadly virus. But not all of the animals have died and Kester holds the key to saving them.
This book is great for lots of reasons. Piers Torday tackles tricky themes like animal extinction and human nature. But amongst that the characters are believable and relatable and some are also really funny. It sounds like it could be quite a gloomy book (and there are sad parts) but some of the animal characters in particular will make children and adults laugh.
It’s suitable for children between 9 and 12 years. I’d say it’s probably a good book for a Year Six children. Just be aware that themes such as death do come up in the book. When I used to teach a Year Six children recommended it to me. Finally, about seven years later I’ve read it.
The Last Wild is the first in a trilogy and I’m looking forward to reading the next two in the series. I’d thoroughly recommend this to adults and children who will love the characters, the adventure and some of the humorous characters. I’d definitely give this book a 5/5 star rating.
If you enjoyed this review, check out some of my others:
- The Valley of Lost Secrets
- Books for building self-esteem in children
- Or have a browse through my main site with my range of reviews.