Lamar Giles: First of all, it was just a lot of fun. Can you talk a bit about what it was like to write for a middle grade audience rather than a YA audience, and also to write a book that's very different in genre and tone from your earlier work? Your previous books tend to be mysterious and gritty, while The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is comical and zany. You've written a number of YA mysteries and thrillers, but this is your first middle grade book. Leff: Your most recent book, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, is a bit of a departure for you. Giles also discussed some upcoming projects that you'll definitely want to keep on your radar.Īmanda M. Leff, spoke with Lamar Giles about time travel, reading Stephen King in their formative years, and the books that influenced The Last Last-Day-of-Summer. 's Director of Curriculum Development, Amanda M. We've created curated vocabulary lists for the book to ensure your students don't miss a thing. This fantastical adventure is full of strange goings-on, puns, and wordplay. In The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, cousins Otto and Sheed - also known as the Legendary Alstons - race to save their town when a strange man arrives and freezes time. Giles is also the editor of Fresh Ink, a short story collection published by We Need Diverse Books, an organization that he co-founded.

His other YA novels include Fake ID, Overturned, and Endangered, which was nominated for an Edgar Award. Giles is the author of several young adult novels, most recently Spin, a mystery that revolves around the death of a popular DJ.

concludes our summer reading series with an interview with author and editor Lamar Giles, whose first middle grade novel, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, was published in April, 2019.

The last last day of summer lamar giles