Remember three months ago when I posted that early recommendation for KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES by Shannon Messenger? No, you missed that one? Well, that’s OK, since it releases today, I thought I’d remind you, so you can see why I think it’s so great and you should go buy it today!
Title: KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES
Author: Shannon Messenger
Publisher: Aladdin (a Simon & Schuster imprint)
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Number of Pages: 488
Source of Book: ARC from publisher at ALA
In this riveting debut,
a telepathic girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new
world–before the wrong person finds the answer first.Twelve-year-old
Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades
and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not
comfortable with her family, either. And Sophie has a secret–she’s a
Telepath, someone who can read minds. But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a
mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a
Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is
that, well…she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth,
and almost instantly she is forced to leave behind her family for a new
life in a place that is vastly different from what she has ever known.But
Sophie still has secrets, and they’re buried deep in her memory for
good reason: The answers are dangerous and in high-demand. What is her
true identity, and why was she hidden among humans? The truth could mean
life or death–and time is running out.
Today you’ll be able to get this book, and you should
(especially if you live or work with middle schoolers in any capacity)!
KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES blew me away. I knew I really liked Shannon
Messenger from following her on twitter and on her blog, and then when I
heard she had a middle grades and a young adult book coming out as her
debut, I was really looking forward to reading them-especially when I
read the summary of each. As a middle school teacher, I was hoping I
would like KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES, and I am happy to say that I loved
it! I would definitely recommend this middle grades magical fantasy to
fans of HARRY POTTER and THE UNWANTEDS. It is a long book, but as it is
written so well for the middle grades level, it isn’t overwhelming.
There is something just so engaging and fun and entertaining in Shannon
Messenger’s third person, descriptive, writing style, and I devoured
this book in two days and didn’t want to stop reading until I knew what
would happen to these characters and world I wanted to be a part of.
Let’s
talk about Setting: Shannon Messenger has created an astoundingly
creative fantasy world within KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES. I wasn’t sure
exactly what to expect from the summary alone, and I never expected the
“place that is vastly different form what she has ever known” to be so
well-developed and thought out. As I was reading an advance reader copy,
it was missing the map artwork, so I look forward to getting a finished
copy to enhance the reading experience even more. The world of the
elves (and not what you ever pictured elves to be) is filled with
fantastical creatures (especially love Iggy!), magically evolved
elements, and cities built with beyond-this-world materials. This
parallel world is such a discovery, not only for Sophie, but for the
reader as well. The way it is described made me want to go live there as
well. Beyond the Lost Cities within the elven world themselves, there
is also Foxfire, which is the school for the nobility that Sophie ends
up in. It is a school where she will be trained in her special ability
and where she discovers people, places, things, strength, and
friendships beyond what she ever would have imagined, and what I would
have imagined as well.
We have to talk about
Characters: KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES is full of interesting,
multidimensional characters. The only thing that threw me a little bit
as I read this book was the
number of characters because their names are not ones we’re used to
hearing, so it did take awhile to keep track of who was who in the
beginning. Not only do we get Sophie who has to make some tough
decisions and look for people to support her, but we also get Fitz and
his family, along with a multitude of other characters throughout the
elf world. We see some of the most interesting jobs as Sophie meets
these characters which adds to our understanding of how this world
works. As she goes to school, we also meet Dex and Keefe among other
classmates, and these two become some of the most entertaining
characters to interact with Sophie. I kind of adore Keefe myself. He is
the snarky guy who brings the humor that Sophie so desperately needs as
she adjusts to her new life, and deep down, he is a really good, caring
boy. We get some hints as to deeper things going on with Keefe, and I
hope we get more of him in the next book. I also really adore Sophie.
She has core values that I admire and fights for what she believes and
knows is the right thing, even if it means she might get into trouble. I
rooted for her as she is a young girl with so much strength and
determination to do the right thing and help those she cares about. She
is a strong character for the audience of this book.
Talking
about Family is important: Sophie has to leave her family to join this
hidden world where she actually belongs, and that means she is in a new
place, realizing everything she thought she knew is not the way the
world actually works, and has no family to rely on and call her own.
When she gets placed with guardians to take responsibility for her, she
has a whole new set of relationship dynamics to work on. In the end, the
storyline with Sophie searching for family and her understanding of
loss, adds such depth to the character and the overall book, and adds a
dimension that I think many kids will relate to. I know these elements
of searching for family to love her and support her and call her own
brought some of the most poignant moments of the story for me. Because
what child doesn’t want a family to feel safe with and loved by? There
was much more of an emotional element to this book than I expected going
into it, and that’s a great thing.
Now let’s talk
about Plot: While all of the subplots going on in this book add depth
and interest to the story, the overall conflict at hand is a mystery as
to why Sophie was living in the human world. Unfortunately, as Sophie is
so young, the adults looking into things don’t want to include her in
the search, but as the clues build up, Sophie has to take it upon
herself to try to find out what’s happening and why and who is behind
it. Messenger has written a novel with a tightly woven plot strongly
balancing small elements, character development, descriptive details,
world-building information, and enough action to keep things moving at
an engaging pace.
I want to talk Sequel: I know a
sequel is coming, and I can’t wait to read it! Although I knew there
would be a book following this one, I still feel that this book wrapped
up its storyline in a satisfying way. There are no major cliffhangers
here, but it still sets up where the second book will go for the next
school year. I appreciate this so much because I don’t feel like I’ve
been left hanging, but I’m left with enough of a love for this
book/world/characters that I definitely want to get my hands on the next
book asap, and I hope you’ll feel that way about this one, too!
I
think this book will be a big middle grades hit for those who like
fantasy and mystery books. From the Preface at the very start, I was
hooked on the story as I was instantly pulled into what would have
happened to get Sophie to this point. As the story wound it’s way toward
that time near the end, it became even more engaging. I think if you
are a teacher or librarian or parent of middle school age kids, you and
they will feel the same. I absolutely recommend you get KEEPER OF THE
LOST CITIES in October.
