Keeper of the Lost Cities

I’m a 5th grade teacher, and my students shared this book with me. It’s fantastic. Amazing world-building, impossible mysteries, lovable (and loathe-worthy!) characters, engaging plot. A fun journey and I can’t wait to savor the rest of the series. For my classes, this is right up there with Percy Jackson and Harry Potter—I’m actually not sure which of the three is the winner for me among that group!

I’ll admit it took a little bit to get into the storyline. It seemed like not enough of a setup was given or something. (It just felt a bit off.) But I’m glad I stuck with it. Surprisingly, this book brought me to tears...twice. I rarely ever cry, so it’s a rather large feat and says something about some of the depth of the storyline. (That said, I fully admit that the portions I cried about were ones I, too, went through during my childhood.) I really enjoyed the mystery and the pacing of this book. It never felt boring, nor did it feel rushed. The storyline had enough day-to-day interactions to allow us to get to know our characters and their world, but also enough mystery and action to keep us guessing and engaged. It had likable characters and mostly realistic interactions, however, to start this series with the main character at age 12 is rather odd. The maturity level and the way the main character handled herself, her emotions, the situations she found herself in and the way other adults spoke with her definitely did not support a CHILD of age 12. PERHAPS a 17 year old verging on adulthood, but even that is a stretch. Also a stretch were several things that just went too smoothly or were glossed over since for the sake of the storyline being able to progress and the author not having to delve deeply into certain issues. I chose to use the wonderful talent suspension of disbelief and just enjoy the story, but at times the inconsistencies did draw me out of the story. However, I will be continuing with the series (which I see has 9 books) and I hope the main character grows older as we progress through the series and we end up with her in adulthood; though I’m unsure that will happen since this seems to be geared more toward middle schoolers. And one last thing: maybe I’m out of touch with today’s youth, but although *I* enjoy romance and crushes in the books I read, I didn’t feel it was appropriate for this story or this character’s age. (Especially since she is 12 (hello?! She’s still a CHILD) and the person she was crushing on was 15.) Again, I chose to ignore these things and just enjoy the story, which I was able to do since nothing inappropriate occurs. But I wanted to mention it in my review because it just didn’t sit right with me. Had this been even a 16 or 17 year old, I may have felt more comfortable and it would have been more believable.

4½ stars. I probably wouldn't have ever heard of or decided to read this series if I hadn't run into this first book free on Kindle Unlimited! This is one of the things that is so great about Kindle Unlimited: finding new authors & series that aren't as mainstream but are just as awesome & well-written as anything on the bestseller list. Though Keeper of the Lost Cities is technically a middle grade book, I completely enjoyed it at almost 40 years old. The writing isn't dumbed down and the plotting is suitably complex to stand with some of the better YA books I have read. For me, this was one of those books that I couldn't put down because I was forever going to read "just one more chapter!" This story is quite fast paced and the world of the lost cities is a lot of fun. In other reviews and commentary, it garnered a lot of comparisons to Harry Potter, and while there are definitely some similarities, I think that there are more than enough differences that it stands firmly on its own. The worldbuilding was one of my favorite parts. There are all manner of interesting creatures, potions, powers, etc, that I can't wait to see more of in upcoming books. One thing I liked a lot was that it didn't end on a cliffhanger. Yes, there is quite a bit of setup for subsequent novels, and there is an underlying mystery that will surely serve as plot throughout the entire series, but all of the major aspects of this book were wrapped up neatly, with a definitive end. So often these days I find books that seem to end in partway through, leaving a significant part of the action in the next book as an incentive to keep readers coming back. A good book doesn't need to rely on a dramatic cliffhanger as a gimmick, and I was glad that KotLC does not. I will be excitedly diving into the second book all the same! Overall this is a fun read for kids and adults alike. There isn't any cursing or sexual situations, this is a clean read that I think parents should feel good about giving to their kids. There are a couple of sad parts & parts that might be a bit scary to young children but it all works out okay in the end. If you are a fan of magic & fantasy, or coming-of-age & chosen-one tropes, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this fast-paced, clever series opener.

I loved this book it is perfect for anyone over 7+ it is nice and long and has a great plot had me hooked as soon as I opened the book! There is nothing inappropriate and such to this book and I am glad it is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone!

I've been following Shannon Messenger for a while now and remember when she was going through edits with this book and how hard she worked on it. I think her hard work has paid off, and she's a delightful author to follow. Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster is a wonderful character. When she was five, she had hit her head which somehow triggered her telepathic abilities. She now can hear people's thoughts; however, she never tells anybody about it, and she silently suffers through all the noises in her head and the migraines it produces. Sophie is a prodigy, and although she's only twelve, she has advanced to the twelfth grade to the dismay of some of her senior classmates. The story begins with Sophie on a class field trip at a museum. She notices a strikingly good-looking boy with dark hair and startling blue eyes, staring at her. His name is Fitz. He's a Telepath like Sophie, and he tells her she's not human-she's an elf like him. Of course she laughs in his face, and she says, "Fine. I'm an elf. Am I supposed to help Frodo destroy the ring and save Middle-earth? Or do I have to make toys in the North Pole?" Shannon made me chuckle when I read that line. Anyway, Fitz pulls out his pathfinder-a silver wand with a small, round crystal on its tip-and convinces her to go with him. Sophie is whisked away to another realm. Shannon did a marvelous job creating a world with crystal castles, snow-capped mountains, lush green valleys and people with abilities us as humans would consider magic. Sophie and Fitz land in Lumenari, which is one of the lost cities. It's where all the worlds come together: gnomes, dwarves, ogres, goblins, trolls. Fitz explains to her about the government structure, cast system, and generally how everything works in the lost cities. I thought the whole set-up was awesome, and it made me want to live there. Maybe because money has nothing to do with social rank. Everybody has a fine house. Their world is based on talent, and there's a city designed for the type of work they do. I thought this was a good book, but what bothered me about it was I thought Shannon was channeling Harry Potter's world a bit. For example, Sophie is taken to a working-class city called Mysterium, to get some medicine. The town reminded me of Diagon Alley. Especially, when Sophie enters a shop called "SLURPS AND BURPS: YOUR MERRY APOTHECARY." However, she did meet Dex there, and he's one of my favorite characters. Another example is when Sophie had to lick a silver strip on her locker which uses her DNA to open it. The strip has a flavor that each faculty member choices, and it reminded me of Bertie Botts. And honestly, if this story had continued mirroring Harry Potter's world, I would have stopped reading it. Thank god it didn't. So to sum the story up before this review becomes a book itself, Sophie is a prodigy. She has gifts that were stored into her memory but nobody knows by whom. This tale shows how she's adjusting to her new world and discovering who she really is. It doesn't answer who her real parents are or who created her and why? I guess we'll have to wait for the next book to find out, which I'll definitely be reading when it comes out.

Love the book, but when I subscribed to audible book 2 was not available without paying $20

As a diligent reader of all of these books to date, I have absolutely loved them! Throughout each of the books, she consistently keeps you reading, something not all authors can do. As you dive into the first book, you’re presented with exciting mysteries, and themes that continue throughout the entire series, not a single detail is left unthought of. Besides, even if you weren’t interested in the storyline, the intense cliffhangers following each book will keep you reading, but will be resolved to a manageable status within the next book, that is, until she leaves you another one! These books aren’t just about adventure, or drama either, they have enticing themes of family, friendship, bravery, and even a little bit of love involved. I can’t instruct anyone on what books thay should read, but this series is incredible, and I would recommend it for adults and children alike. More specifically for the first book: The first book is one of my favorite within the series. As you are introduced to the characters, you form personal bonds with them in a way that not many authors can capture. As you follow their journey, you feel the pain, joy, and sadness as described within the book. Many first books consist of mostly introductions, which often becomes dull, but somehow Shannon Messenger has a way of making these introductions personal. I highly recommend this book, and the rest of the series!

This is a really terrific story. It got me hooked within a few pages, and made me not want to put it down. I hope there are many (likely) sequels. With the whole Academy thing going on in the book, it reminded me initially of Harry Potter, but this universe spins off in a whole different direction. And so as to not give away ANYTHING, that is all I am going to say. However, I will say one more thing; the best recommendation I an give this book is that I envy those of you that have not read it it, because I already have, but you, lucky readers, still have all the enjoyment of a well written tale to enjoy. Beyond any enjoyment I got out of this, though, is one more - probably the most important - reason for me to love this book. My eleven year old son is required by his school to read for an hour a day - pretty much anything he wants, within reason - and although he is a great kid and a great student, he hates to read anything he doesn't HAVE to read. I've tried every book I enjoyed as a kid, begged other parents to let me now about stories their kids enjoyed, bought him boatloads of books that have gotten great reviews from others, all to no avail. For most books, he keeps a timer set to go off after exactly 60 minutes! This book, though? He actually ignored the timer, and kept going, reading an hour and a half to two hours every day. so this is a book that both kids and adults can read and enjoy, and for me, that is the greatest thing about this book. I will definitely be looking for more stories in this universe, and other books written by the author.

Perfect balance between all of the emotions and actions I do recommend this book to anyone (all ages) but mainly kids with wild imagination like me.

This is one of my favourite series’s and it is well written, exciting, and I cannot believe how much imagination Shannon Messenger would need to think this up. Overall an awesome book and I recommend for 8yrs+

omg i had no idea this series was going to be this good like just 2 months ago i said i would never read it now its my favourite series i love sophies story its been like 1 month and im in the 8.5 book its still not here its also been 10 days im really mad any way i think 9 and up can read this im 11 and a sokeefe person but getting to the point i gave this book 5 stars like i did to the other books all of them my favoutite book is lodestar and exile i also liked legacy a lot to but if your looking for a fun fast paced ( dont look at how long the pages are its very easy reading it the author wrote it so well ) its also very action packed also mystery there is powers and elf and a lot of plot twists my favourite thing in one of the interviews of Shannon messenger she said that a lot of people said that no kids in middle grade would read a book that long and she said that there is not a lot of kids that read books now a days i was happy because im a very big actually huge bookworm and i read all of the books in like 2 or 3 days even my dad didnt believe me so i wont be surprised if you guys wont but i will say that in my age there is a lot of kids that dont like reading like its okay its the fact that they say its boring and say i havent read a book since 4th grade that is annoying like i said im very happy that im a bookworm but this series here is amazing read it juzt read no more

As good as new

Muito bom. Uma história muito cativante e super divertida de ler