Published by Viking in 2023, The Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension is the ninth installment in the New York Times best-selling middle grade Last Kids on Earth series by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate. Brallier, the author of more than 30 books, has an extensive background in storytelling, including a role as a game designer for Poptropica, an educational website created by fellow author Jeff Kinney. Before focusing on middle grade literature, Brallier published several illustrated books for adults. Since shifting to middle grade, he has written several series, with the Last Kids on Earth series being his most popular.

The series, which has been described as “Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets The Walking Dead,” follows a group of middle schoolers who must survive a zombie apocalypse (“The Last Kids on Earth.” Max Brallier, 2022). In each book, the group faces off against a new monster, fighting to keep an alien entity named Ŗeżżőcħ from taking over the world. Along the way, the novels explore the themes of Empathy in the Face of Conflict, The Destructive Power of Self-Doubt, and The Contrast Between Humanity and Monstrousness. The Last Kids on Earth books have been adapted into an animated series for Netflix.

This guide refers to the 2023 e-book edition from Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Plot Summary

The Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension begins where the previous book in the series, The Last Kids on Earth and the Forbidden Fortress, ended. Jack Sullivan and his friends, Quint Baker, Dirk Savage, and June Del Toro, ride through a shopping mall on Mallusk, a giant monster. Jack tries to project strength but is still reeling from the events of the previous book, in which he and his friends tried unsuccessfully to stop their enemy, Thrull, from constructing a Tower to summon Ŗeżżőcħ, a destructive alien entity, to the human world.

Jack and his crew failed their mission, and now Thrull has nearly completed the Tower. A massive skeleton army heads toward the Tower in preparation for the final battle against the remains of humankind. Although Jack’s Cosmic Hand, a monstrous glove that has merged with his body, theoretically gives him telepathic control over zombies, he does not know how to activate it and worries that he won’t be able to win the battle.

Old monster friends come aboard the Mallusk: Neon, June’s beloved Winged Wretch, and Globlet, a slime monster ally. Neon and Globlet reveal that there are human survivors in the Mets Stadium. June and Quint believe that their parents may be alive, so Jack and his friends set out toward Mets Stadium, venturing closer to the Tower. As Jack frets about his powers, Globlet mentions an all-knowing monster named Shuggoth who may have answers.

Jack and his crew discover Mets Stadium overtaken by monsters who have imprisoned all the humans in floating orbs. Just as the monsters are about to attack, the Tower powers on, tearing a window between the human dimension and the monster dimension. Jack has a terrifying, mysterious vision of monster entities looking down at an anguished world. He doesn’t understand it but believes that it contains clues that could help him defeat Ŗeżżőcħ. Jack decides to enter the monster dimension to seek Shuggoth, but before he can step in, a tentacle drags him through the window.

Jack lands in the middle of a battle between the Goon Platoon, monster friends from earlier books, and Wracksaw, a villain Jack has faced before. Wracksaw is a “mad doctor” monster who leads an army of grotesque hybrid monsters that he has sewn together in his lab. The Goon Platoon tells Jack that Shuggoth lives in a place called Hidden City.

Jack escapes from the battle and reconnects with Quint and Globlet, who came through the portal after him. They float down the river on a monster corpse and land in a monster transportation port. They successfully steal a monster taxi, but enforcers discover the human interlopers and recognize Globlet as a wanted criminal. Despite the chase, Globlet insists on stopping at many roadside attractions to take pictures as they head toward Hidden City.

When Wracksaw’s goons start searching vehicles on the road, Jack takes the taxi off-road. They run into a group of monsters called gorblins who block a river pass and demand entertainment in exchange for passage. They want Jack to fight a zombified starfish monster named Stargrove, but Jack successfully uses his new powers to connect telepathically to Stargrove. Instead of fighting each other, Jack and Stargrove work together to fight off the gorblins and cross the river.

Jack and his crew arrive at a monument commemorating the Great Champions who defeated a servant of Ŗeżżőcħ long ago. Jack is shocked to discover that Thrull was the leader of the Great Champions, which means that at one point, Thrull fought on the good side. Jack worries that he and Thrull share too many similarities.

Wracksaw and his army catch up to Jack and his crew. Stargrove fights against Wracksaw’s monster hornets, and Jack realizes that the hornets that Stargrove bites turn into zombies. Though he is afraid of his powers and worries that he will lose control, his friends believe in him. Jack uses his powers to telepathically connect to the zombie hornets and sends them rushing back to fight Wracksaw.