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The story begins 200 years after the “shake:” a tremendous earthquake that destroyed every building and structure, split the earth to its core, poisoned the atmosphere with radiation and volcanic gases, and killed most of the population of Earth. Survivors have formed communities called “latches” among the rubble of the cities. Social structures have formed in these survivor communities and, in most cases, the most powerful or the most ruthless member of the community has risen to the position of “latch boss,” running the latch as his or her own personal kingdom with his or her own personal army of thugs. Over time, most of these latches have devolved into primitive, uncivilized societies. There are no books, they were all destroyed in the fires after the "shake", no written language at all so, over time, people have forgotten how to read and write. Even memories of the old civilization are gone and the concept of a future is inconceivable. After the "shake," the richest and most powerful of the survivors formed a central city they called Eden. Through the use of genetic engineering and technology, Eden is now populated by “proovs”(genetically improved humans), isolated from the pollution in the air by an ion shield and isolated from the “normals” who populate the 'latches' by minefield.
“The only real treasure is in your head. Memories are better than diamonds and nobody can steal them from you."
Post apocalyptic/futuristic; also drama, action, mystery, and romance. It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the planet. In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is the rare human being who can see life as it really is.
First person, passed tense perspective/writing style
A book with a similar theme is "UGLIES" by Scott Westerfield. Like "The Last Book in the Universe", Uglies takes place in a terrifying futuristic world in which the civilization of the present day has been completely destroyed. Another simularity between"Uglies" and "The Last Book in the Universe" is the visions of a world highly segregated into city states on a planet too barren to support much life.
Some differences between the two are, in "Uglies" pre-disaster civilization are called 'the rusties' but in "The Last Book in the Universe" they are called 'the ancients'. The disaster that destroyed civilization as we know it today is called 'the fall' in Uglies, and 'the Shake' in The Last Book in the Universe. The Characters in both books take at least partial blame upon our current civilization for the destruction and both look upon us as uncertain and perhaps even mythical creation.
i think the authors purpose is to exaggerate how the 21st century depends on technology so much and not enuf on reading or writing. secondary purpose is not to judge a book by its cover.