The Last Minute

This is an outstanding novel for mature readers of any age and adds lustre to Updale’s established brilliance. -- Keith Gray * The Scotsman *
This is a very clever and compelling piece of writing. -- Marilyn Brocklehurst * The Bookseller *
This is high concept stuff... It’s a simply brilliant idea and it’s perfectly executed: humorously, movingly, excitingly and without any surplus detail or description. -- Adele Geras * Awfully Big Reviews *
One of the things I love about the children's author Eleanor Updale is that she's impossible to pigeonhole. And now we have The Last Minute, a book utterly unlike its predecessors. This is powerful stuff. What on earth will Eleanor Updale come up with next? -- Philip Ardagh * Guardian *
A real achievement ... I found this so compelling that I read this book in one sitting. -- Clare Poole * The Bookseller *
I defy anyone to put this book down before you’ve got to the end. I really mean that. -- Ann Giles * Bookwitch *
The Last Minute shows a realistic cross-section of life in Britain today, and most of us will recognise ourselves in one or two of these people. I won’t call them characters. They were always people. A little reminiscent of Under Milk Wood in the way the story darts between all of them, except faster. * Bookwitch *
It’s a wonderfully exhilarating book and not like anything else. I salute a truly adventurous writer. -- Adele Geras * Awfully Big Reviews *
It begins at the end, with the unconfirmed reports of an explosion – or explosions – in an ordinary British town. And so the countdown begins. Chapter by chapter, we edge closer tot he tragedy. The updates become shorter and more urgent until we're seconds away from disaster. This is powerful stuff. -- Philip Ardagh * Guardian *
Eleanor Update is known for originality, and this compelling new work is surely unique -- Linda Newbery * Armadillo Magazine *