Keeper of the Lost Cities

Written by Shannon Messenger, Keeper of the Lost Cities is about a young girl named Sophie Foster who has extraordinary powers. She discovers an amazing realm called the Lost Cities where she finally feels like she belongs...sort of. There are also enemies out there, who desperately want the secrets that Sophie is apparently hiding. The villains will use any means necessary to get to Sophie-and control her.

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES

Sophie Foster is a 12-year old girl going to high school in San Diego, California. Skipping a bunch of grades makes her unusual enough-and not the most popular girl in the class. But Sophie has another thing that makes her different: all around her, the thoughts of others cut into Sophie’s mind like knives. She can’t push them out-and is forced to hear what everyone is thinking-even if it’s about her. Sophie hates being different and longs to find a place where she belongs.

And then she does. One day, while on a field trip with her class, Sophie meets someone named Fitz. He reveals an astonishing secret to her-and Sophie learns that she is not the only one who is different. Away she goes, to an incredible world with houses made out of sparkling jewels and nearly infinite amounts of money-and Sophie begins to find herself. But even in her new flourishing world, Sophie stands out-maybe even more than usual. More secrets are discovered about her, and Sophie finds that she is connected to a mysterious organization hidden in the shadows-who may be responsible for her entire existence.

I loved this book because the character is different than everyone else in her world, and then she finds a wonderful, amazing place where she belongs. I enjoy reading about this new world, as it is very different from our own-like a new universe filled with magic. This is a very interesting and intriguing world. Keeper of the Lost Cities has everything I think a good book needs-excitement, mystery, humor, and of course, a cliffhanger that leaves the reader wanting to know more. Shannon Messenger is writing an amazing series, and I love it very much.

Shannon Messenger always keeps the story going, either with a talk between the characters, a startling revelation, or just some good old action. Every chapter ends with something of a small cliffhanger, which always makes you want to read the next chapter. I love the suspense in this book, and additionally, this book takes place in a magical world, but it contains all of the things that would happen in a regular world, such as a fight between friends, breaking up with your boyfriend, and serving detention at school.

I always get very mad at the author of this series, due to the numerous cliffhangers at the end of books. Shannon Messenger finds a way to captivate your attention; to make you buy the next book the second it is released, and it doesn’t matter how the cliffhangers are. They can be filled with action, have a big secret revealed, or just something the character is going to do, and it leaves you wanting more.

I may dislike Shannon Messenger for some reasons, but I also like her for other reasons. The cliffhangers in her books make me very upset at her, as I wish she wouldn’t put so much suspense in her books, but I am also so devoted to this series, and I love every other part of the books that I always forgive the author (but the anger comes back whenever I read a cliffhanger). It is possible to have a love-hate relationship with an author-you can like them for some parts, and you can dislike a part of their writing, or you can be mad at the author for a really suspenseful part.

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES BOOK 5: LODESTAR

In the previous book of Keeper of the Lost Cities, Sophie's friend Keefe has joined the Neverseen as a-spy? Sophie doesn't really know whether to still trust Keefe. He might claim that he's still on the side of Sophie and her friends, but some of his actions say otherwise. Sophie believes Keefe can be trusted. The problem is that if he doesn't get out of the Neverseen, he will most likely get himself killed.

And to add to Sophie's worries, the Black Swan has discovered a mysterious symbol relating to the Neverseen, and they haven't seen it until then, but now it's popping up eveywhere. Then, Keefe warns Sophie that the Neverseen's might targets may be her family. This book pushes Sophie's loyalties farther than ever as the Neverseen grow stronger-and with their mysterious Lodestar Initiative, they may actually win this deadly game.\

This book is one of my favorite books in the series because they really discover a lot of new things, such as the meaning of the Lodestar symbol, and some of the Neverseen's other members...it's just all really interesting. Most of the other books were just action, but Lodestar is more discoveries and whatnot...up until the end, with the big action scene, which is really emotional and sad, and the author does a really good job at that part. The preface is really dramatic, I could totally see it in a movie trailer (why don't they MAKE THIS SERIES INTO A MOVIE???!!!). This is what they want...dramatic music, close-up shot of Sophie running...anyway, Lodestar was really good, and the cliffhanger at the end really added a nice touch; this series keeps getting crazier, but that means better as well.

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES BOOK 6: NIGHTFALL

Sophie Foster's human family from her former life have just been kidnapped by the notorious Neverseen group. So obviously she must get them back. But doing so requires trusting Keefe's mom Lady Gisela. Is is worth the risk? Additionally, new discoveries are made, one of them being the fact that the Neverseen have developed something more dangerous than they could imagine. The star rises at Nightfall, and it will make the world a much darker place.

This is a really good book, because you finally see Sophie's human family in the story. I'm not going to spoil anything, but if you've read Lodestar, you know that Amy (Sophie's sister) now remember's her again. So obviously she is going to play a big part in the book-the first human in millennia to know about the elves.

Also, there is a new character, Ro, who is almost as funny as Keefe! So this book is really good because of all of the new characters it introduces, which gives a lot more perspective. Yes, that's it, this book gives a lot of new perspective and I like that. Because Ro is an ogre, and you see what a playful ogre thinks of the elves, and what a human thinks too. In summary, this is a very good continuation of this epic series.

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES BOOK 7: FLASHBACK

Sophie Foster has a startling ambush by the Neverseen towards the beginning of the book, leaving her seriously injured and close to death due to the Neverseen's powerful Shade, Umber. Because of this, Sophie decides to really up her and her friends's game against the Neverseen. It is time for them to start fighting back - with weapons. But battle training won't always be easy, especially for a species that finds violence horrifying. And to add to her troubles, Silveny faces a dilemma of her own, while Fitz struggles with dealing with his formerly evil brother Alvar, who can't remember his past.

Many people say that this book is not good because half of it is spent in the Healing Center, and that is true, but I like that, because there is a lot of time spent between Sophie, Keefe, Ro, and Fitz, and they have a very complicated relationship. Additionally, this book focuses on the trolls, which we didn't know much about until now. And finally, in my opinion, the thing that makes this book the best (and possibly the worst) is that a romance finally springs up between Sophie and Fitz (something I have been waiting for since Book 1). Shannon Messenger also makes me very mad because something happens between Sophie and Fitz...no spoilers. The book ends on what might be the biggest cliffhanger yet, and it makes me the most excited I've ever been for the next book.

Flashback is a very good book in the series for its humor, charm, and just amazing plot, that stretches out across nearly 800 pages, with a startling beginning, an interesting middle, and a finalizing end, yet this series is far from done.

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES BOOK 8: LEGACY

Legacy is the 8th book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. I personally think it wasn’t as good at the other books in the series because there wasn’t that much action and there was more talking. If some of the talking was taken away, it wouldn’t be that big of a problem.

Keefe didn’t lighten up the mood of this book as much as he did in the other books. That’s probably because he’s worried about his legacy (not going to spoil anything), but he did do some stuff that was a little funny. I liked him most in Flashback. There was lots of talking in that book, but Keefe was in most of it, and he did stuff to make it more entertaining.

In Flashback, Sophie found out that she is unmatchable (she can’t get married) because she doesn’t know who her genetic parents are. Mr. Forkle won’t tell her, so Sophie does everything she can to guess who they are. More and more secrets and abilities are revealed, and all of them lead down to an encounter with the Neverseen and the truth about Keefe’s legacy.

Like I said in the beginning, I didn’t like Legacy as much as the other Keeper of the Lost Cities books because there wasn’t that much action except for the end (and a few other scenes in the middle).

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES BOOK 8: LEGACY

Legacy is the 8th book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. I personally think it wasn’t as good at the other books in the series because there wasn’t that much action and there was more talking. If some of the talking was taken away, it wouldn’t be that big of a problem.

Keefe didn’t lighten up the mood of this book as much as he did in the other books. That’s probably because he’s worried about his legacy (not going to spoil anything), but he did do some stuff that was a little funny. I liked him most in Flashback. There was lots of talking in that book, but Keefe was in most of it, and he did stuff to make it more entertaining.

In Flashback, Sophie found out that she is unmatchable (she can’t get married) because she doesn’t know who her genetic parents are. Mr. Forkle won’t tell her, so Sophie does everything she can to guess who they are. More and more secrets and abilities are revealed, and all of them lead down to an encounter with the Neverseen and the truth about Keefe’s legacy.

Like I said in the beginning, I didn’t like Legacy as much as the other Keeper of the Lost Cities books because there wasn’t that much action except for the end (and a few other scenes in the middle).

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: ILLUSTRATED AND ANNOTATED EDITION

Okay, this book review will be a bit weird. The Keeper of the Lost Cities Illustrated and Annotated Edition is the exact same story as book 1 (read that review up at the top), but this has some annotations from the author, illustrations inside the book, and deleted scenes in the back. It's sort of like a special edition of Keeper of the Lost Cities, and it's like having book 1, but with bonus content. I'm not reviewing the story in this review, though, since I've already done that.

The author's annotations are actually really interesting. You get to learn about how she wrote the book, original ideas that never got put in, and the fact that the published version is her 20th draft! The black-and-white illustrations are also really beautiful, and it really helped me picture the Lost Cities way better - because my interpretation of Grady was all wrong. Additionally, the deleted scenes are kind of like having a bit more of the story to tell - this book is like the director's cut of a movie - which is why I love it even better than the original!