Author: Rob Justus
Illustrator: Rob Justus
© Date: 2021
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Pages: 360
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, graphic novel
Publisher Recommended Age: 8-12 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book: Being Death is no kind of life.
Sure, you’re all-powerful, but collecting souls involves a ton of paperwork, and it’s impossible to have friends when everything you touch instantly dies. Being sparkles the Last Unicorn isn’t as fun as you’d imagine, either. Sure, it seems like the whole world wants to be your bestie, but really people just want you to pose with them for selfies, or use you to help them sell stuff.
Everything changes when Death and Sparkles meet and realize they might just be one another’s first chance at a real friend. But before they can even enjoy the bromance, the whole world starts freaking out about this unlikely pair. Will fame or BFFdom prevail? Laugh-out-loud hilarious, gently philosophical, and full of delightfully zany exuberance, this buddy comedy turns friendship on its head-literally-and will have readers believing in the power of cupcakes for breakfast and cosmic camaraderie.
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this a short bit ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: I really wanted to love this book because the idea was full of possibilities, so I was disappointed that this one didn’t work for me. While Sparkles’s horn getting stuck in Death’s backside provided some amusement (Death sneezing causes Sparkles to toot and propels them through the air), this story fell rather flat for me. Sparkles had an agent that was only interested in making money from the unicorn. When his money making stunt appears to kill Sparkles, the agent moves on quickly and latches onto his next money making scheme…er…clients. Some alien lizards have been giving technology to Earth to save it from itself, but cannot seem to get anyone’s attention to unleash the newest amazing technology. Yes, the money making agent plays a part in the distraction. Death and Sparkles work together and maybe discover that fame and adoring crowds are not all they are cracked up to be. But why can’t people be nicer? At any rate, the plot is interesting, the characters intriguing, and yet, I still didn’t get into the story.
Family Unit: Death lives on his own. Sparkles seems like he would live on his own, but his money hungry manager is always lingering around.
Items of Interest:
- Yes, the start of the book discusses Death’s job being ending lives. The job involves a lot of paperwork, but does show humans and animals that are at the end of their lives from Death’s touch.
- The alien lizards have technology that will help save Earth from the issues that humans present. No one will listen to the lizards. Once the manager creates stars out of the lizards, two of the three lose interest in helping humans with technology.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Death & Sparkles and the Sacred Golden Cupcake