Jack Sullivan is a 13-year-old foster kid living in Wakefield when monsters, zombies, and general apocalyptic chaos descend on his town. Rather than panic, Jack sees an opportunity. He sets up a fortified tree house, builds weapons from sporting equipment and hardware store finds, and starts treating the end of civilization like the ultimate video game quest — complete with objectives, boss battles, and a running internal monologue about how cool everything is.
Before the apocalypse, Jack was an orphan bouncing between foster homes, never quite fitting in anywhere. The end of the world gives him something he never had: a real family. He assembles a crew — his best friend Quint, former bully Dirk, and June, the girl he has been working up the nerve to talk to since fifth grade. Together they fight monsters, fortify their base, and figure out how to survive without adults.
Max Brallier writes Jack as self-aware and funny, narrating his own story with the enthusiasm of a kid who watches too many action movies. But underneath the bravado, Jack is dealing with abandonment and loneliness, and the series earns its emotional moments by letting those feelings surface between the monster battles. His growth from a loner putting on a brave face to someone who genuinely belongs with his friends is the thread that holds the series together.
Reading Order
See the complete Last Kids On Earth reading order for all books in the series.