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The Last Zoo
Pia lives in a zoo in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with her parents (both ghosts), several old and cranky genies, a devil, and two young angels. She spends her days trimming genie-beards, trying to avoid being tricked into selling her soul, and waiting for the angels to make a miracle big enough to save the world. Then the angels go missing. Can she solve the riddles of the mysterious haloes the angels have left behind? Is the zoo’s devil really trying to help her? And what does this all have to do with her best friends, the Rekkers? Pia needs to solve the mystery fast, because everything around her seems to be her friendships, her childhood, and maybe even the world itself.
- GenresMiddle Grade
301 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2020
4 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Sam Gayton
19 books45 followersSam Gayton lives and writes in a basement, where the spiders are big and hungry. He works at a primary school in Kent. The Snow Merchant is his first book. Now it’s finished he’ll go and write another one. He can’t tell you anything except for the first line: I can’t outrun the horses.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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October 10, 2019"The Last Zoo" by Sam Gayton illustrates the moral that almost anything is possible. Though cliche, this is a prominent theme throughout the story. It all starts when a "reality bomb" is activated by scientists, resulting in the appearance of several mythical creatures, with usually 'impossible' events happening. This is symbolic of the theme, because the theme stated that nothing was really impossible and the detonation of the reality bomb resulted in just that. Then, things that were, in that day and age, seen as impossibilities, became parts of all those characters' lives. Pia also has a flashback to when she was young and her parents were trying to encourage her not to be a seamer, which is when a person steps into the seam that the reality bomb created and draws more 'impossibilities' out of it using sheer force of will and imagination. Pia refused to believe her parents and persisted in telling them that she would be just like the other seamers and would one day take on this occupation. This shows Pia's belief that she can take on the job of a seamer, making impossible events into reality and also her belief in pursuing something others say would be 'impossible.
This is a beautiful book, full of mysteries and fun as well as illustrating core values. The theme, which is that nothing is really impossible, contributes to the story because the story revolves around that theme. For example, the time and setting of the story and even some of the important characters in the story are drawn from the 'impossible'.
This is a beautiful book, full of mysteries and fun as well as illustrating core values. The theme, which is that nothing is really impossible, contributes to the story because the story revolves around that theme. For example, the time and setting of the story and even some of the important characters in the story are drawn from the 'impossible'.
May 8, 2022
Totally judged this book by its cover while browsing a book table deal at an airport. I'll be upfront and say that I'm not really into dystopian genre, but there was a unicorn on the cover and the news is so depressing! I appreciate the world Gayton was trying to create, but it seemed so confusing and disjointed. Needless to say, this is one of those books where I sadly advise the reader to read a synopsis, then write their own version. Or give it a try, after all there's a unicorn on the cover!
January 3, 2019
I absolutely adored this story!
To start off, what a fantastic idea for a setting. The plot immediately sweeps the reader away into this dystopian fantasy world with Pia, the clumsy, slightly clueless heroine celestial zookeeper of the book.
The Last Zoo is a beautiful mix of futuristic sci-fi and magical fantasy creatures brought to life by the imaginations of children in a last-ditch attempt to save the world that's been destroyed by a computer virus that killed the internet.
Through the Seam; where a bomb ripped apart reality; "Seamers" can bring useful, amazing, nonsensical creatures back with them, where if they survive, they are cared for and trained to help humanity in someway. Hummingdragons can scavenge precious metals, "Gargantulas" emit a cobmist with powerful antibodies to keep infections away, Angels... perform miracles.
Shame that the Angels, the ones Pia is tasked to look after, have disappeared. After leaving a cryptic dream about slicing the moon into slices of cake for Pia to eat, they have vanished without a trace and Pia has to find them before someone finds out she's lost them.
The whole way through the book you are washed over with wave after wave of the fantastic imagination of Sam Gayton, as Pia travels all over the Zoo to find clues and help from her friends and other creatures aboard the Arks. The Genies that grant wishes to travel or eat, The Nanobots that monitor the kids, The Devils that like making deals. It gets dark and hopeless towards the end, with a reminder that people are like a virus, and maybe a group of humans should be called a problem, but as Pia finds out, there's always a tiny spark of hope somewhere.
To start off, what a fantastic idea for a setting. The plot immediately sweeps the reader away into this dystopian fantasy world with Pia, the clumsy, slightly clueless heroine celestial zookeeper of the book.
The Last Zoo is a beautiful mix of futuristic sci-fi and magical fantasy creatures brought to life by the imaginations of children in a last-ditch attempt to save the world that's been destroyed by a computer virus that killed the internet.
Through the Seam; where a bomb ripped apart reality; "Seamers" can bring useful, amazing, nonsensical creatures back with them, where if they survive, they are cared for and trained to help humanity in someway. Hummingdragons can scavenge precious metals, "Gargantulas" emit a cobmist with powerful antibodies to keep infections away, Angels... perform miracles.
Shame that the Angels, the ones Pia is tasked to look after, have disappeared. After leaving a cryptic dream about slicing the moon into slices of cake for Pia to eat, they have vanished without a trace and Pia has to find them before someone finds out she's lost them.
The whole way through the book you are washed over with wave after wave of the fantastic imagination of Sam Gayton, as Pia travels all over the Zoo to find clues and help from her friends and other creatures aboard the Arks. The Genies that grant wishes to travel or eat, The Nanobots that monitor the kids, The Devils that like making deals. It gets dark and hopeless towards the end, with a reminder that people are like a virus, and maybe a group of humans should be called a problem, but as Pia finds out, there's always a tiny spark of hope somewhere.
July 8, 2019
I love this. It reminds me of a less abstract Death and Ice Cream. While there is a heavy handed moral, it's so well done (and realistic) that I actually don't mind, and I appreciate the fantastical story as a less instructional way of leading you there.
The story itself is wonderful. Frankly I'm a little sad we didn't get more time with the bulk of the ark, the Seam, and especially the Seamstress, but it still works. As it is, it would make a great story for children or adults, which I think is what good children's literature should do, and certainly at the beginning it's completely out there enough to be a very enjoyable read. Although I saw the actual twist coming halfway through the book, the story itself had enough going on that I didn't know what would happen next all the way through. There was a lot of imagination in this book (appropriately enough, for a world that relied on it) but very little was fuzzy. Each creature was well thought out, each character clear and distinct, each quirk and happening new and exciting and unpredictable. There were also some very funny references clearly snuck in for the adult reader. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, compulsive read and I'm very glad I picked it up from the library on a whim, having no idea what I was in for. 4.8 stars, just because the ending seemed a little... Weak? Disappointing? I liked the ending itself, but for some reason after the glittering brilliance of the rest of the book the last part seemed slightly lacklustre.
The story itself is wonderful. Frankly I'm a little sad we didn't get more time with the bulk of the ark, the Seam, and especially the Seamstress, but it still works. As it is, it would make a great story for children or adults, which I think is what good children's literature should do, and certainly at the beginning it's completely out there enough to be a very enjoyable read. Although I saw the actual twist coming halfway through the book, the story itself had enough going on that I didn't know what would happen next all the way through. There was a lot of imagination in this book (appropriately enough, for a world that relied on it) but very little was fuzzy. Each creature was well thought out, each character clear and distinct, each quirk and happening new and exciting and unpredictable. There were also some very funny references clearly snuck in for the adult reader. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, compulsive read and I'm very glad I picked it up from the library on a whim, having no idea what I was in for. 4.8 stars, just because the ending seemed a little... Weak? Disappointing? I liked the ending itself, but for some reason after the glittering brilliance of the rest of the book the last part seemed slightly lacklustre.
March 17, 2024
This was a strange book. I read the back blurb and was absolutely convinced I woudl love it. When I dissect it, I still feel I should be bowled over by it. It has everything that excites me. Right now I really want a book about strange zoos - Poof! Here it is. I love sci-fi, dystopia, children's books, and the imagination in this book is fantastic. But there was something ... well, missing.
The good? Well, I've touched on that. It has a lot of exciting elements, stuff I personally think is great. Sci-fi, imaginative animals, dystopia. It's a futuristic book and there is a female character sorting out problems which should appeal to young girls. There is a good deal of interesting world building - why has the future grown like this? How did each kind of animal come to be and what are there attributes? There are also questions about the moral elements - fairly predictably, the place of humans in the world and how they have affected the "system". This is a worthwhile discussion to have with children without being too depressing (you don't want kids to walk away feeling awful, depressed and hopeless about being part of the human race!).
So what was wrong? I think some of the things that were actually intellectually good parts of the book were actually its downfall.
The book feels disjointed and hard to connect to at times. I didn't feel completely invested in Pia and didn't feel that I cared for and was excited by her quest. She wasn't a bad character, just someone I wasn't pushed to really feel strongly about.
I think the world building was big but the character depth suffered. Also, the author had a huge idea for many of the aspects of the world but it ended in a lot of info-dumping and it wasn't always necessary to tell this fairly short children's story. There were plenty of great ideas but sometimes we were just getting little details and they weren't fed to us in the most interesting way, and then they didn't matter. It was like they were just there because the author had a great idea rather than worrying about how they'd really affect the story, the characters or the fun of reading.
The author also liked to add emoticons in a lot but I felt they just distracted and became something to decipher after a long time rather than really adding a lot to the text. I think they should have been used more sparingly. It was good to use them to add a bit of character but it got a bit much and added to the story flow feeling a bit disjointed.
Overall, it was a nice enough book but I feel that the premise had a lot more going for it. and it could have excited me more.
The good? Well, I've touched on that. It has a lot of exciting elements, stuff I personally think is great. Sci-fi, imaginative animals, dystopia. It's a futuristic book and there is a female character sorting out problems which should appeal to young girls. There is a good deal of interesting world building - why has the future grown like this? How did each kind of animal come to be and what are there attributes? There are also questions about the moral elements - fairly predictably, the place of humans in the world and how they have affected the "system". This is a worthwhile discussion to have with children without being too depressing (you don't want kids to walk away feeling awful, depressed and hopeless about being part of the human race!).
So what was wrong? I think some of the things that were actually intellectually good parts of the book were actually its downfall.
The book feels disjointed and hard to connect to at times. I didn't feel completely invested in Pia and didn't feel that I cared for and was excited by her quest. She wasn't a bad character, just someone I wasn't pushed to really feel strongly about.
I think the world building was big but the character depth suffered. Also, the author had a huge idea for many of the aspects of the world but it ended in a lot of info-dumping and it wasn't always necessary to tell this fairly short children's story. There were plenty of great ideas but sometimes we were just getting little details and they weren't fed to us in the most interesting way, and then they didn't matter. It was like they were just there because the author had a great idea rather than worrying about how they'd really affect the story, the characters or the fun of reading.
The author also liked to add emoticons in a lot but I felt they just distracted and became something to decipher after a long time rather than really adding a lot to the text. I think they should have been used more sparingly. It was good to use them to add a bit of character but it got a bit much and added to the story flow feeling a bit disjointed.
Overall, it was a nice enough book but I feel that the premise had a lot more going for it. and it could have excited me more.
March 25, 2024
Pretty surreal book but interesting enough to hold your attention. The environmental allegory was a little heavy-handed but it's not like there were any lies. I was mostly bothered by the two central male characters where one of them is a nerd who kissed the mc because yolo but she only sees him as a friend and also he kinda and then she mistakenly thinks Meanwhile the other guy is an even bigger nerd and a neglected child and . Oh and the creepy spider lady
June 6, 2025
"The Last Zoo" isn't my favorite Sam Gayton book, but good lord, it really pushes his imaginative, "there are no rules" brand of fantasy to such an extreme that I can't help but admire it. It left my daughter and I talking about all of the crazy ideas and creatures for weeks. This book is surreal, crazy, and dark (for a kids book) in the best way.
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June 11, 2022definitely got better as the book went on. appreciated the section of endless puns. threedeep needs to be protected at all costs. did predict some of the stuff but was still enjoyable. liked that it ended on a somewhat positive note.
November 3, 2019
Perfect book to be studied/discussed in class- tackles a lot of issues very deftly, with humour and feeling. Adults will enjoy too.
September 15, 2020
Loved it really wonderful feel good story
November 2, 2020
The book is not bad i just don't like it in my opinion i find it boring i shouldn't say this as i met the author.
December 9, 2023
An amazingly crazy alternative reality to our current lifestyle, where imagination is created and where dreams of the unimaginable is currency!!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews