The Last Universe by William Sleator

EEEEEK!! I just finished this book about 30 minutes ago, and man! if you are a science fiction freak like me you will absolutely love this book. This just boosted past my all time favorite book of Alice in Wonderland :) and became #1! This book is about quantum science. The one thing I found incredible was that this is all true too. Not the story, of course, but the facts about quantum science in it. This book is about a girl, Susan, and a boy, Gary who live in an enormous house passed down from ancestor to ancestor. In the beginning, we discover that Gary is sick; although the story never tells us what of, it goes on later in the book to state it's the quantum magic that starts all this. Gary is paralyzed from the waist down, and needs help getting around. His parents are extremely protective of him, and therefore they have his sister, Susan, take him everywhere, mostly his favorite place, the garden. However, Susan hates the garden and she has a weird feeling about it. She doesn't want to get in trouble though, and reluctantly takes her brother out every day. Little by little, they learn of their house's past. At first, they discover how their aunt drowned in the pond, and later they find out about the maze. They desperately want to know more, but there father is a closed book and won't tell them anything, saying it's too dangerous. Pretty soon, mysterious things seem to be happening. Giant lotus flowers pop up in the pond, taking up so much room, you can't tell it's a pond. Giant poppy flowers start to grow, very poisonous mushrooms start growing, larger, and larger. And to top it all off, the path to the pond seems to be changing course. On one of these days, Gary and Susan are off to the pond but find themselves staring at the maze instead. Intrigued, they begin to start forward, but when they see themselves start to dematerialize, they head back, scared. They must go back however, because the maze seemed to be strengthening Gary. So they do, and as you travel on in the book, you start to catch on how every time they enter the maze, the universe as they know it alters. When they come out each time, people change, landscapes change, sometimes, Gary and Susan see themselves in a universe and are forced to go back in the maze. This is a stunning book that's a little creepy, and you will find yourself captivated and unable to put the book down. You will love this book, as I did. It even has an ending that literally made me gasp and start to cry. 2 thumbs up :)
Graded: 50/50
Reviewed by: Braylin