A Battle for the Survival of Earth and the Value of People: A review of Last Pick
Three years ago aliens came to earth and abducted the majority of the human population, taking only those deemed useful to society, leaving behind the young, the old, and the disabled. Set in a post apocalyptic future where aliens govern earth and routinely ship humans off to other planets to do their dirty work, Last Pick is about those left behind showing why they should not be overlooked.
Last Pick tells the tale of teenage twins Sam and Wyatt as they rebel against their new alien overlords. The story opens with the pair stealing food to give to people who are underfed due to poor rations. They soon find themselves the target of the local town sheriff who is trying to put a stop to their subversive activity. As the pressure mounts and the sheriff closes in, Sam and Wyatt are forced to go on the run, which leads them to another band of rebel humans bent on gaining their freedom back from the alien tyrants. However, now that they are teenagers, Sam has been deemed useful and is abducted, while Wyatt is left behind due to having Asperger’s syndrome. Now separated, Sam and Wyatt lead separate rebellions from both Earth and space, which eventually convene in a final battle for the sake of humanity. Along the way they make some unlikely friends and learn a dark secret about why the alien race is abducting humans.
Last Pick is an excellent read for both adults and young adults alike. The story is masterfully paced. While the characters are in constant movement to meet objectives that will help them overthrow the alien rulers, it is the small moments in between the action where creator Jason Walz does his best work, creating heartfelt emotions as the characters express themselves and dig deeper to find out who they can be once they shed the limiting labels of society. But perhaps the hardest hitting element of the book is that it really gives you the emotional baggage of being in the midst of an interplanetary war for survival. The characters experience great loss of loved ones, and have to learn who they are when those that they care about become a memory.
Overall, Last Pick is about what people can accomplish once they are freed from under labels placed on them to demean their value, ability, and contributions to society. The books encourage readers to imagine a society where people with the label “disability” are considered as important as those labeled “able-bodied,” and to fight against anyone who would look down on others as “lesser” due to a perceived disability.
