Quill and the Last Generation – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Family, destiny, legend, dragons, responsibilities.
Children’s book title: Quill and the Last Generation.
Children’s author: C. M. Lewis.
Children’s illustrator: Marina Vidal.
Genre: Children’s fiction.
Published by: Macmillan Children’s Books.
ISBN: 9781035060610.
Recommended for children aged: 9-11.
First published: Paperback January 2026.
This children’s book is ideal for: introducing children to legends and how they can be used in fiction to bring the historical tales to a new audience.
Trigger warning: the loss of parents. Quill’s underworld father, who he didn’t know, and his overworld mother.
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Our review:
Quill is twelve years old, and so is his best friend Jona. In fact, no one is younger than them because no babies have been born anywhere on the planet for the last twelve years! It has been grey, cold, and dark for those dozen years too; in fact, Quill, Jona, and their peers have never seen a summer sun or felt a warming breeze. Everything has been tried to change this, but nothing has made any difference until one morning Quill is visited by a raven.
Deryn, the raven, is actually a shapeshifter who changes Quill’s life in an instant. She tells Quill how he now lives in the overworld but was born in her land, the underworld, which was ruled by his parents until it was rocked by tragedy and he was sent to grow up away from the danger. Now, however, the light of the world has been almost extinguished and Quill is the only one who can bring the warmth back to both worlds and return everything to how it used to be.
As he readies himself for what could well be the first and last fight of his life, Quill begins to learn who he is. He no longer feels slightly out of step with everyone else and begins to realise what skills he has and how it feels to be accepted for who he is. Then a devastating discovery changes things once again and his fight becomes even more personal. Can he fulfil his destiny or has everything he has experienced, trained for, and learned all been for nothing?
Our verdict:
Quill is an ordinary twelve-year-old who likes birds and has a best friend called Jona. He also lives in a perpetual winter, where it is cold, grey, and depressing. He and Jona are amongst the last generation to be born; they are the youngest humans and, if nothing changes, they will one day be the last.
The author uses the legends of the Welsh people to send Quill on a quest to return the world to its previous seasonal norm, which was lost when the ruler of the darkness killed the king of light, plunging everyone into a perpetual winter. Now only Quill can restore the light of the world to its full power and save humanity.
The legends themselves are not gone into in great detail here; instead, everything that happens explains them in a new way. Quill is strong, hardworking and, once he knows about them, a loyal son to his royal parents. The storyline follows him as he moves on from being the son of an overprotective sailmaker, into a soldier with no skills, until finally becoming the confident young ruler who addresses and instils belief in his own army.
The beginning of a new series, this is an excellent book which should appeal even to the most unenthusiastic of readers in this age range. Although it starts slowly, it develops into an exciting and thrilling page-turner that is full of surprises and action.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- Quill and the Last Generation is based on Welsh legends, which can be quite scary. How do you think you would have dealt with the dragons?
- Every country and culture has legends and tales of bravery from hundreds of years ago. Which ones do you think of when bravery or magical creatures are mentioned?
- Quill has to learn fast in the underworld. Before he discovered who he really was, what trade had he expected to go into?
- If you could be a shapeshifter like Deryn, Finn and Eos, and could only change into one thing, what would you choose?
- Were you surprised when it seemed Eos was a traitor? How much did things change when she brought the sword back?
- How do you think it felt to Quill and Jona to experience summer for the first time? What is your favourite season? What do you like and dislike about the summer and winter?
- This is the first in a new series. What do you think will happen next for Quill? If you were writing book two, what quests would you have him go on?
Many thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for the review copy.
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