Endling: The Last
By Katherine Applegate
Hi! First of all, you should probably know what kind of book this is. This is a magical book that takes place in a world we’ve never even heard of: The Kingdom of Nedarra. It has everything from dairnes to wobbyks. Confused? I’m not surprised!
Dairnes are often mistaken for dogs because of their similarities in appearance. But dairnes are not at all like dogs. Their fur is much softer, they can walk on two legs, speak and even do magic – not that any dairne in this book is going to do magic. Wobbyks are short creatures that look like a cross between a rabbit and a mouse. They have long ears and round faces and three tails. When you do an act of bravery as a wobbyk, those three tails get braided into one as a sign that you are now an adult wobbyk. And there’s also a code: if someone saves your life, you have to save their life three times.
The name of the particular dairne that this story is about is Byx. She lives in a tribe where nothing unexpected ever happens. She is the youngest in her family. This means that she’s the last to eat, the last to be protected, and she’s the last in everything they do. Everyone says that she is useless because she wanders away from the pack too often and she wonders about too many things.
One day, Byx takes her wandering and wondering one step too far. She wanders away from her family to go see the ocean. When she sees it, she is placed with only one feeling – awe. But then she sees a wobbyk shouting for help. He is on a rowboat and is about to crash into some very sharp rocks. She decides to save him. The wobbyk, named Tobble, now has to save her life three times. They travel back to find a terrible fate. This fate will change their lives forever.
What will happen to Byx and Tobble after this life-changing event? Will they be able to slowly recover? Or will everything be lost? As I always say, read the book to find out!
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor – zero being not scary at all and five being majorly scary): 3
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor – zero having no yucky-lovey parts in it and five having major yucky-lovey parts): 0
I give this book 5 wands.
I flew through this book! You will not want to put it down, even for a second. It’s an exciting adventure about how a young dairne goes on a dangerous quest that changes her life forever.
