When adventurous cousins Otto and Sheed Alston accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they find the secrets between the unmoving seconds are not as much fun as they expected. - (Baker & Taylor)

When two adventurous cousins accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they discover that the secrets they find hidden between the unmoving seconds, minutes and hours are not as much fun as expected. 35,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

"The Last Last-Day-of-Summer reminds me that all children deserve to exist in magical spaces where their imaginations and familial bonds will them into heroism. Every single child should have the freedom to be one of The Legendary Alstons. And I, for one, am grateful to Giles, and this brilliant story, for that reminder." —Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor–winning author of Stuntboy, in the Meantime

In the first Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles, two adventurous cousins accidentally freeze time on the last day of summer, and the secrets hidden between the seconds, minutes, and hours aren't quite the endless fun they expected!

Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have.

That is, until a mysterious man appears with a camera that literally freezes time. Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put aside their differences to save their town—and each other—before time stops for good.

And don't miss the Legendary Alston Boys in their next adventures: The Last Mirror on the Left and The Last Chance for Logan County!

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* The last Monday in August may not be the last official day of summer, but Otto and Sheed know it's the last day that counts: on Tuesday, they go back to school, and their days of freedom are over. The two African American cousins, known to all in Logan County as the Legendary Alston Boys, have spent their summer solving mysteries and competing with their rivals, the Epic Ellison Girls, to win keys to the city. But their wish for more summer comes startlingly true when a man appears out of nowhere with a strange, not-quite-right camera, and with one press of a button, he mysteriously freezes time. Except for Otto and Sheed, it seems everyone in town is trapped in a single moment. But the boys are on the case, and as they investigate, they get to know some very interesting concepts, meet people from out of time, and begin to understand how deeply a single missed opportunity can alter a life. Not all YA authors transition seamlessly to middle grade, but Giles (Spin, 2019) manages it with aplomb, spinning a zany, clever adventure filled with surreal humor that never feels forced. Anchored by its genuine characters and buoyed by its true fun, this is an adventure with staying power. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Like many kids, African American cousins Otto and Sheed Alston want just one more day of summer vacation. They get their wish when they accidentally freeze time and find their town visited by denizens from the "interdimensional community." Giles presents a page-turning magical fantasy adventure with broad appeal in which his protagonists use their considerable talents to save not only their town but also themselves. Copyright 2019 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

African American cousins Otto and Sheed Alston are local legends in their small Virginia town, often featured in the Logan County Gazette for their daring exploits—getting rid of ghosts, disposing of the Laughing Locusts, solving the Mystery of the Woman in Teal, and even taking down the Dastardly Dummy of Denos. But like many kids, they are wishing for just one more day of summer vacation before the school year begins. They get their wish when they accidentally freeze time and find themselves and their town visited by denizens from the "interdimensional community," including the nefarious Mr. Flux, followed by a man with dark goggles and coiled dreadlocks who drops out of a time portal; monsters called Time Sucks; and all manner of Clock Watchers, who manage time but are out of work now that there's no time to manage. Otto and Sheed must unstick time and return Logan County to normalcy. In his debut middle-grade novel Giles (a founding member of We Need Diverse Books) presents a page-turning magical fantasy adventure with broad appeal in which his protagonists must use their considerable talents to save not only their town but also themselves. dean Schneider March/April 2019 p 80 Copyright 2019 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness. These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma's, with a return to school just right around the corner. They've already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons—twin sisters Wiki and Leen—are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They've got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting. This can't be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

In his inventive middle grade debut, Giles (Overturned) riotously scrambles time, moving it backward, forward—and not at all. In the Virginia county that's home to genial African-American cousins and renowned sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston (whose sleuthing skills are rivaled only by crafty twin sisters), curious goings-on are commonplace, but on the last day of summer vacation, things "get stranger than usual"—by a lot. When Flux, a man with limbs that can stretch "like he was made of taffy," suddenly appears and instructs the boys to take a photo of their town with his vintage camera, residents become frozen in place and time. TimeStar, a futuristic superhero, then emerges from a portal in the sky and lunges at Flux, launching a madcap struggle between good and evil and the cousins' quest to unfreeze time. Villainous Flux commandeers Norton Juster–style "agents of time" the Clock Watchers—cleverly depicted personifications that include patriarch Father Time, indecisive Second Guessers, and the Time Sucks, fuzzy platypuslike beasts. Laced with humor, the fantastical time war plays out at a dizzying pace as Giles interjects affecting realism with themes of reconciliation, family, identity, and destiny. Ages 10–12. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Apr.)