Title: Keeper of the Lost Cities
Author: Shannon Messenger
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade/Young Adult
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication date: October 2012
Hardcover: 496 pages
Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.
Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.
Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.
In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.
Stand alone or series: Book 1 in a planned series
How did we get this book: ARCs from the Publisher (via BEA)
Why did we read this book: We’ve been excited for this book ever since we both laid eyes on it – it was one of our top priority ARCs at BEA! When the release date finally came around, we were ecstatic.
REVIEW
Thea’s Take:
There are two ends of the CG animated movie spectrum. On the one side, there are gems like Wall-E and Up and Toy Story. On the other, there are the lamentable films like Fly Me to the Moon, or Robots, or Shark Tale. Granted, many kids like all of these films and there is some entertainment value to find in each of them – but there’s a huge difference in storytelling skill and in quality.
Unfortunately, Keeper of the Lost Cities falls deep on the Shark Tale end of the MG/YA spectrum. A poor man’s Harry Potter, featuring a super special snowflake of a heroine, Keeper of the Lost Cities is a sadly disappointing – and frequently laughable – dud.
But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? From the synopsis, this novel seems like it would be about a telepathic twelve year old girl that discovers secrets about her family, her true birthright, and her abilities. Right? What Keeper of the Lost Cities delivers instead is a story about ultra-beautiful, ultra-intelligent, ultra-magical elves (yes, elves), whose existence is secret from disgusting humans. It then morphs into Harry Potter knock-off land, complete with a prestigious, secret and ultra selective academy for young prodigious elves, with classes in specialized areas like alchemy and telepathy. Oh yeah, and it turns out that Sophie Foster, our protagonist, is not only superduper desirable (a humble twelve year old, but already commanding the attentions of fifteen year olds) but possesses unparalleled power and is The One who can Save them All.
I could go on and on, so let me just focus on the three areas that bothered me the most regarding Keeper of the Lost Cities: the blase treatment/combo of science and magic, Sophie’s super specialness (and unconvincing nature as a character), and the unabashed Harry Potter ripoffs.
Let’s start with Science and Magic. When it’s done well, I love a speculative fiction book that blends fantasy elements with sci fi, magic with hard science. This is, I suspect, what Shannon Messenger attempted to accomplish in this novel. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work. From very early on in the book, we learn that even “the slowest elf can still trump a human” – and that elves, apparently, know ALL the things about genetics and DNA and relative physics, but say this isn’t science OR magic. As heartthrob elf Fitz tells our heroine Sophie:
“This is…magic?”
Fitz laughed – a full body laugh, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard […] “No,” he said when he’d regained control. “Magic is a stupid idea humans came up with to try to explain things they couldn’t understand.”
But in the next breath, when Fitz starts to describe the impossible apparating speed-of-light travel, he tells Sophie that elves “light leap”:
He held the pathfinder up to the sun, casting a ray of light onto his hand. “Light leaping. We hitched a ride on a beam of light that was headed straight here.”
“That’s impossible […] You need infinite energy for light travel. Haven’t you heard of the theory of relativity?”
She thought she had him stumped with that one, but he just laughed again. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
No further explanation, until a few pages later, when Fitz tells Sophie:
This is how the world really works. It’s not magic. It’s just how it is.
Well THAT explains everything, then. In this type of setting, magic would be completely acceptable as an explanation for feathered dinosaur pets, catching lightning in a bottle, using elderberries to transmutate iron, and so on. But instead, Keeper of the Lost Cities insists on not-science science, not-magic magic, and the end result is, well, ridiculous.
Which brings me to my next gripe: Sophie, the Special Snowflake. When we first meet Sophie, we learn that she is twelve years old, telepathic, possessing a photographic memory, and a high school senior that has been accepted at Yale University. We also learn that she is ‘the prettiest girl in school’, that she is an unprecedentedly powerful telepath, sickeningly sweet and good, and everyone rushes to her aid at slightest provocation. And I just want to include this quote, because Ana and I both had a good laugh when we read it:
Her family couldn’t be her family.
She took a deep breath and let the reality settle in.
The strange thing was, in some ways it made sense. It explained why she always felt so out of place around them – the slender blonde among her chubby brunette family.
Oh WOE! WOE! The life of a slender blonde in a chubby brunette family.
And then, finally, there’s the big whopping Harry Potter Ripoff problem. I’ll make this easy: as soon as Sophie gets to Elfland, she hears that she has been invited to attend a prestigious academy for aspiring young witches and wizards elves called Hogwarts Foxfire. The school is presided over by a benevolent headmaster Dumbledore Dame Alina, who also gets to pick the constantly changing sweet treat password sweet treat tasting flavor that unlocks every student’s locker (on day one, the flavor is Fizzing Whizbees Mallowmelt). Harry Sophie quickly makes friends with Hermione and Ron Marella and Dex, and Dex happens to be a mudblood bad match byproduct, meaning that his parents were muggles non-noble elves. While at school, Sophie excels and is a natural at almost all of her subjects, except for potions alchemy (Professor Snape Lady Galvin seems to really have it out for Sophie for some reason).
And on and on the list goes. I’ll stop here, though. While I’m certain there are many people out there that will enjoy Keeper of the Lost Cities, this book failed to work for me on any level.
Ana’s Take:
Yes, to all that. Thea covered basically everything I wanted to say and I don’t have a lot more to add but here is my two cents. Keeper of the Lost Cities is a ridiculous book and I wish I could just make fun of it, disregard it simply as a bad book experience and think no more of it. But this is such a blatant, poor imitation of Harry Potter with the addition of extremely uncomfortable Racefail that I must look at it from a serious perspective.
I do not have anything to add to Thea’s assessment of Sophie but I have a couple of things to add to her other areas of concern – the Magic x Science conundrum and the Harry Potter Ripoffs.
With regards to the former, my main problem with the ridiculous not-science science and not-magic magic is that it results in a complete lack of internal logic and that is a way too big a flaw in the very construction of the story. The idea that the elves don’t know a lot about the human world is reinforced throughout the story – elves often wonder what a “dollar” is or what is “France”. They also insist that what they do is not science. And yet the very human scientific concept of “DNA” and genetics research is at the very centre of this story.
Regarding the clear Harry Potter Ripoff, I can add a lot more to Thea’s breakdown:
All wizards elves perform spells have gifts and Harry Sophie soon learns that there are three Unforgivable Curses gifts that are frowned upon: the deadly Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse the deadly Pyrokineticsm, Infliction and Mermerizing. She also learns to play the wizard’s elven game of Quidditch Catch and that there are other people who don’t really like her like the snobby Lucius Cassius.
I wish I was kidding.
And that brings me to my last point – the brown-skinned Gnomes who work for the Elves as their gardeners.
This is a world in which the vast majority of elves are described as impossibly beautiful with fair skin (there is the odd “olive” skinned elf) and shiny blue/teal eyes. And where, even though everybody works, they do so because they want to because elves are rich and don’t really need money. But basically the elves have important jobs but the Gnomes tend their gardens. And those are the only creatures within the novel described as “brown-skinned”. Then Sophia asks those Gnomes are servants and is promptly told off because of course the elves do not keep servants. The gnomes CHOOSE to live with the elves for their own protection and help them with their gardens because they enjoy it.
The obliviousness to the real-life, historical and racial implication of this point is completely mind-blowing and what made me enraged rather than potentially amused by the book.
In fairness, it is very possible that this might be addressed at some point in the series (after all, didn’t Hermione Granger address the problem of the House-Elves in the Harry Potter series?) and some readers will probably not care about the similarities to HP or even appreciate it as homage of sorts – I am not one of them. Finding the similarities between this and the Harry Potter books might actually have been fun if it wasn’t so awkward – plus the characterisation here is nowhere near as good as Rowling’s endearing creations and this means that characters here are flat, thin, poorly constructed imitations.
Ultimately this is what it boils down to: Keeper of the Lost Cities is not one of the worst books I have ever read but it is certainly one of the most laughable ones. And it made me despair that books like these even get to see the light of day.
Notable Quotes/Parts: HA HA HA. No.
Rating:
Ana: 2 – Complete waste of time
Thea: 3 – Very, Very Bad
Reading Next: Only Superhuman by Christopher L. Bennett
Buy the Book:
(click on the links to purchase)
111 Comments
Allison (Allure of Books)
October 12, 2012 at 4:29 amHUGE bummer.
Bibliotropic
October 12, 2012 at 4:43 amI just… wow. I mean, what more can I say but that? This book might have appealed to me as a quick read, and I like seeing what new fantasy the young’uns are getting their hands on these days, but the blatant Harry Potter rip-offs would just make me want to hurl this book against a wall, I think. I have no patience for rip-offs. References, sure. Homages, fine, if they’re done well. But it sounds like this one was trying to ride some coattails and just couldn’t manage it.
Ana
October 12, 2012 at 4:45 amI know, right? We were SO excited about this book and simply could not believe our eyes when we started reading it.
Diana
October 12, 2012 at 6:08 amThis is the first time I’ve read a description of this book and I’m really disappointed to find out that it’s not in fact, about “lost cities”. I thought it was going to be a book about Atlantis or something.
Ana
October 12, 2012 at 6:13 amDiana – there is in fact, Atlantis which is like, an elven city. But it appears very little and it is not central to the plot of this book. I feel that Sophie will eventually (maybe, who knows) become the Keeper of those places but this is not the main story here and it is barely addressed at all, to the point where I have NO IDEA why the book is even called that.
AnimeJune
October 12, 2012 at 6:15 amSorry, I’d respond but I’m too busy shuddering at the thought of a TWELVE YEAR OLD being THE HOTTEST GIRL at her HIGH SCHOOL. Gross gross gross gross.
Plus the “chubby brunette family” line. Sheesh. What an ungrateful little twit. How dare their darker hair colour and higher body mass offend her Aryan body-shaming megahot 12-year-old sensibilities?
I think she ought to spend a little time in a cupboard under the stairs.
At least in the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling actually built on, examined, and dismantled the plot trope of the “Super Special Snowflake” hero with Harry. Harry’s superfamous – but for something he didn’t actually do and really had no control over, and in real life he’s pretty average. And while he is instrumental in bringing down Voldemort, he has to do so with the help of a LOT of people.
And I totally get what you guys mentioned about internal logic – if there are no rules and limitations to what can actually be done (whether it’s magic or science), then what are the stakes in this story?
Ana
October 12, 2012 at 6:26 amAJ – With regards to the high school thing. Thea and I have both been talking about how we feel this is not really a MG book. It doesn’t read like one and heroine doesn’t sound lika e 12 year old. It’s really weird.
Rachel Aaron
October 12, 2012 at 6:38 amI’m so so bummed to read this! I’ve had this book on my wishlist forever, but it sounds like it takes one of the only things I didn’t like about HP (the dismissal of science and human achievement) and jumps on it while messing up the stuff that was really good.
Bah, how disappointing.
(I still covet that cover, though)
Jill
October 12, 2012 at 7:16 amAs I read this review, I kept thinking, “This cannot be real.” How do authors publish something like this? Are they just blissfully unaware of the ripoffs/horrible messages or do they just not care?
Lark
October 12, 2012 at 8:50 amHow disappointing! But I’ve learned to trust your reviews. Time to take this one off my TBR list. Thank you for the heads-up.
Alex/AnimeGirl
October 12, 2012 at 9:47 amWow!
You saved me from being fooled by another pretty cover!! I think Sophia would annoy me beyond reason and I would have DFN this book on the whole slender blond/chubby burnet thing.
Talk about lack of tact!
Thanks for this review 😀
hapax
October 12, 2012 at 2:33 pmWow. It sounds like somebody re-purposed the Harry Potter fanfiction they wrote in high school, and sent it to their uncle at the publishing house.
But the blatant Mary Sue-ishness had me giggling. I kept thinking, “Oh no, another candidate for Sparklypoo!”
(http://piratemonkeysinc.com/ms1.htm, if you don’t get the reference; it’s hilarious)
Brandy
October 12, 2012 at 3:57 pmOh my. As I read this I was thinking, “Should I take it off the TBR immediately or read it just to see how awful awful can be?” I don’t have that kind of time on my hands though, especially for a book that has super “hot” twelve year olds (ewwwww) and that level of racefail going on.
Thanks for suffering through this one so many of us don’t have to.
Yeti
October 13, 2012 at 7:05 amThe bit about the light reminded me of something…Have you read the K-Pax books? I’ve not read them for a few years but I’m sure prot travelled on a beam of light.
Heidi
October 14, 2012 at 3:50 pmWow. Just wow. I was really excited about this one as well (excited enough to have waited in line for it at BEA), so this is a pretty big bummer. It sounds so amazingly grating I almost want to read it anyway just to see how big my eyes can get at the ridiculousness, but I think I’ll just go ahead and donate it to someone who wouldn’t find such blatant similarities to Harry Potter and an uncomfortably perfect heroine completely unpalatable. At least Harry had faults (in fact, he was one of my least favorite characters–which I like)!
jillheather
October 14, 2012 at 9:38 pmRelatedly, a discussion of the not-terribly-coded racism in elves, from Ars Marginal.
Mary
October 15, 2012 at 1:55 amHave a villain like Voldemort? lol
oliolioli
October 28, 2012 at 7:26 amI was kind of sad when I read this review. Sure, I noticed the similarities when I read this book but I still loved it because honestly, I haven’t been able to find any good children fantasy books in a while. Soooooo, even if it was a harry potter ripoff I still liked the book. 🙁
Judith
November 27, 2012 at 11:14 amWow, this definitely made me delete this book from my TBR list! I can’t BELIEVE that someone would actually write a book that’s such an obvious rip off! Where’s the creativity?! And that quote about the family? That really annoyed me. I mean, not only is the main character apparently more-than-perfect (which I hate in books) but that is just really offensive and sets a bad example for the children who read it!
Haven’t read this book but I won’t after reading your review. I know it will really irritate me!
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger – A Review | J. Keller Ford ~ Author
January 16, 2013 at 9:55 am[…] Joint Review: Keeper of the Lost Cities (the booksmugglers.com) […]
Anonymous
January 17, 2013 at 4:02 pmUm, yeah. Thanks. Like THea and Ana know everything. Sure, they DID review books from, like, I dunno. The 1900s, maybe? What I’m saying is that you two know NOTHING about what a great book is. Plus. Harry potter is a fail. Keeper of the Lost Cities totally replaces it. I don’t care what you two think, and I don’t know who you think YOU are, but seriously? Keeper of the Lost Cities is one of the B-E-S-T books in the world. Come to think of it, people who despise the book and write dumb reviews -wink wink- act like stuck up idiots. >:< Stop insulting good books!
Anonymous
January 17, 2013 at 4:04 pmPS. All you people out there. It’s not true. Keeper of the Lost Cities is called Awesomeness. Put it back on your reading list. you will NOT BE SORRY! AT ALL! Don’t listen to those stinking no-good reviewers. Pish.
From Me
Anonymous
February 23, 2013 at 8:47 pmLittle disappointed by this review.
Anonymous
November 28, 2013 at 4:44 pmI’m OK with your review, but to me Keeper of the
Lost Cities was too good to be true. It was awesome. Well, to me. Thanks for the review, anyway.
~Anonymous
Anonymous
November 28, 2013 at 4:46 pmPlus, you woke up at 4 in the morning!?
Hss
December 8, 2013 at 8:48 pmSome of the stuff in the reviews were defiantly not true but this is one of my favorite books of all time. Then again I’m only twelve but that’s the age this book was mention for.
Hss
December 8, 2013 at 8:51 pmI think every one should STOP obeying reviews and think for themselves
Hss
December 8, 2013 at 8:54 pmOh and also these reviews just point out the bad points of the story and not the good points like description,some good plots and imagination, and the cliff hangers at the end of each chapter
Qwerty
December 12, 2013 at 8:03 pmOkay, to all you losers out there, DO NOT listen to those reviews. Keeper of the Lost Cities (and the sequel, Exile) was AN AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!!!!! Seriously! So if you didn’t like this book, well, go f*** yourself. I totally agree with Anonymous (from January 17)! Oh, and Alex/AnimeGirl, why don’t you READ the friggin’ book before you read it??? I mean, that’s so incredibly lame, not reading a book, and then writing a stinking review about it! And I don’t know why y’all hate this book! I, personally and honestly, enjoyed this book very much! So, get out there and read it!
Another Anonymous book lover
December 17, 2013 at 11:00 pmSeriously?????? Umm….. I do trust ur reviews sometimes and I have disagreed with a few of ur reviews before I come to this site a lot as well but this review was like REALLY far off from what the book was actually about, and I think u guys were focusing on the wrong points of this book. When u said that the book “delivers instead is a story about ultra-beautiful, ultra-intelligent, ultra-magical elves (yes, elves), whose existence is secret from disgusting humans. It then morphs into Harry Potter knock-off land, complete with a prestigious, secret and ultra selective academy for young prodigious elves, with classes in specialized areas like alchemy and telepathy. Oh yeah, and it turns out that Sophie Foster, our protagonist, is not only superduper desirable (a humble twelve year old, but already commanding the attentions of fifteen year olds) but possesses unparalleled power and is The One who can Save them All” is ALL complete idiocity, I feel like you were too preoccupied with finding similarities between this book and Harry potter to actually pay attention to any of the real plot. Btw the “hottest girl in the academy” that was WAY exaggerated, because that was like only mentioned once in the actual book. And when the author was comparing Sophie to her family “chubby brunette family” she was doing that to make a point that Sophie was far from her families typical resemblance and that she was starting to take better notice in it. Also Sophie isn’t the perfect “snowflake” that everyone supposedly likes the way you think she is, don’t you notice she has a bit of a temper (when she found out Edaline and Grady cancelled her adoption, u see it around there). another thing since you don’t know how to connect the dots I’ll do it for you, the reason the book is called keeper of the lost cities is because remember how when the were in Atlantis they said Sophie would make a good keeper when she was older? And they are in the lost cities which is hidden from humans because the humans betrayed the elves long ago (u 2 really need to learn how to pay attention to well written books), anyway it’s called keeper of the lost cities because sophie is a potential “keeper” , ” of the lost cities”. Just so you know the author put Marella in there as a side character she’s not really a big part in this book, she’s there to make the book more realistic, on your first day of school you meet new people it’s kinda how it’s supposed to work, right? one more thing ( I know this is getting like rrreeeaaallllyyy long but I wanna cover all of my points) the talent of pyrokinesis was the only forbidden talent because it was unpredictable, mesmerizing, and inflicting is just monitored closely because people with those power can do some atrocious things like inflict pain, or mesmerize someone into doing something crazy like jumping of a cliff. Okay I think that’s the end of this random rambling, but I wanted to acknowledge that I know this was not well written or anything but please these comments are all coming from a 12 yr old Canadian girl
Another Anonymous book lover
December 17, 2013 at 11:05 pmOh and I forgot to add that what they really said in the book was Sophie was the prettiest girl in the school, this was said by someone who has a big crush on her so it’s understandable why’d they put it in the book
Another Anonymous book lover
December 17, 2013 at 11:18 pmI think this is my last comment *crosses finger that it is*. I also wanted to point out that gnomes are entirely different creatures from the elves and they live with elves because they absorb sunlight with their skin (which they re described in the book as looking more like plants than animals) and they are looking for ways to keep busy all the time so they stay with the elves (I got that info from the second book by the way) one last thing (I think), is that although everyone is rich, they don’t consider themselves that because money is something they are given at birth by the council. In the same sense that we all are citizens after were born
Random Human
February 17, 2014 at 9:33 pmOkay honestly this rant about Keeper of the Lost Cities is horrible. This is a great book and even if it shares blood with Harry Potter, that’s perfectly fine! Keeper of the Lost Cities is still different. For instance, the terms, the “magic” and “wizards”, yeah, that doesn’t happen in Keeper. Fitz even says magic isn’t real. And, to everyone’s reviews, you real trust a page that talks about the negatives? Try READING the book, see if you LIKE it.
Anonymous
February 26, 2014 at 3:11 pmi loooooved this book,and any one who disagrees can go eat mud
Amanda
February 26, 2014 at 5:59 pmWhen I see or hear of elves, I think Lord of the Rings. Tolkien revolutionized the way we read and write stories, with the help of his friends, one of whom was C.S. Lewis. Now, I understand what you are saying about the book, but that’s not what I was seeing or thinking when I read it for I went in with the thought of Lord of the Rings, not Harry Potter (though I did notice some similarities). On top of that, I am not a fan of Harry Potter, but I did enjoy Keeper of the Lost Cities and I will continue the rest of the series. After all, if others don’t mind the rip-offs of Twilight (Mortal Instruments, which was also considered a rip-off of Harry Potter) and other such stories, then why should we have a problem with this?
However, if you do wish to read about elves with a little more variety, you should try The Berinfell Prophecies, one “race” of elves is blue-skinned.
Anonymous
February 27, 2014 at 8:17 pmi really dont care if it is even a smiget CLOSE to dumb old harry potter, i loved it, cant wait for 3 and… YOU ARE SOOO WRONG, THEA & ANA!!!!!!!!!!! BEST BOOK EVER! i hope at least a handful of you guys agree with me.
Anonymous
March 13, 2014 at 8:51 pmI have to agree with Anonymous. I loved this book. I am always looking for good books and now a-days it’s hard to find good books. I think that even though Thea and Anna think this book is a rip-off I think that Harry Potter is a much darker book and therefore not awesome for a younger audience.
Anonymous
May 19, 2014 at 5:29 pmI do not agree, Keeper of the lost cities was an awesome book and I found nothing wrong with it, it may be like Harry Potter, but Harry Potter is the best book ever and it is hard to think of an idea that isn’t anything like Harry Potter. You want a bad book, read The House of Hades, total disappointment. I think Shannon Messenger is a great writer and she should keep up the awesome work.
Anonymous
May 21, 2014 at 10:24 amI personally LOVED this series. Sophie was really struggling at her school in the human world, bothered by all the noisy sounds. She didn’t have to try really hard to get a test right or answers correct. She just memorized them. And when Fitz swept her off her feet and brought her to the Land of Elves, she didn’t have to hear jabbering sounds anymore. She had to try harder to achieve things among other elves and truly tried her absolute best
Anonymous
May 21, 2014 at 10:27 amSophie finds out about herself but she still went on, proving to us all that life truly still goes on. I think Shannon was a wonderful writer and am hoping book 3, Everblaze comes out soon! (Has every Shannon fan seen the cover of Everblaze yet?!)
SVJ
June 23, 2014 at 12:24 amThea and Ana you guys are stupid. Just because a book was like HP doesn’t it mean it wasn’t good. If it keeps you reading or when your done with the book you feel satisfied or want the next book then it is a good book. All of you that didn’t read the book read it! It is good. Thea and Ana I refuse to listen to your summary’s anymore you guys didn’t even give the book a chance and I doubt you will with other books! Goodbye!!!!!
Anonymous
July 1, 2014 at 12:58 pmreally I liked keeper of the lost citites because of the ripoff
Peacemaker
July 23, 2014 at 9:31 pmI have actually READ the Keeper of the Lost Cites and Exile– and yeah, I GET that their are some similarities between this book and Harry Potter. But, come on. Seriously? You’re going to drop a book just because it’s SIMILAR to another one? Don’t get me wrong, I love HP too. But you know what? Keeper of the Lost Cities is a whole new adventure. It has meaningful characters, characters that are really believable and real, characters that you’ll believe in and WISH they were actually real. I fell in love with the Sophie–she’s a main character who is a brave, strong, young girl–and she’s getting stronger. How often do you get to meet a main protagonist like that?
The entire series so far has been a huge adventure for me, and I honestly don’t even notice sometimes a few things are almost the same with this and HP. I don’t even care, because it’s not Harry Potter. HP will always shine in a different spotlight.
All I’m saying is, maybe all you need to do is give this book a chance.
Or, if you absolutely hate it, then that’s fine too. Not everyone has to love the same thing. Where’d be the fun in that, right?
Anonymous
July 30, 2014 at 11:48 pmI really feel bad for people basing their opinions on these people’s opinions. It’s a Harry Potter knock off, yes. BUT! It is really good, of course this is only my opinion. You need to at least try and read the book before you hate on it or are bummed out that you can’t. I loved this book so much and really just feel bad for those who base their own opinions on other’s http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif
Anonymous
July 30, 2014 at 11:51 pmGod, I’ve been reading more comments and people wont even give it a chance and are giving them away and I just ASDFGHJKLNQEFWCEGIWXHFWTHGNC 3Q
Tt forever
August 8, 2014 at 5:15 pmoh my gosh come on people this book is awesome ok u will understand EVERYTHING when u read the stinking book i mean come on when fitzs says the magic think he says HUMANS he is not a human he is an elf sheeh peopple this is a review this is what other people say about the book and seriously she is skinny ok and when she says twelve year old yes she is but no one says she is the prettiest girl in school her friend dex …nevermind that would spoil it ok just read a sample of the book read it at barnes and noble and then if u dont like it the return it but come on ALOT AND I MEAN ALOT of people like the book
Anonymous
September 23, 2014 at 9:13 amI disagree with the review. Sophie was not described as hot. In fact she is hated and called a freak. I love both Harry potter and keeper of the lost cities. It’s unfair to criticise books As authors spend a whole year writing and get pounded down by you people?
Anonymous
November 7, 2014 at 4:41 pmI think you guys could have been a leetle more unbiased and thought about the good parts of the book as well as the bad.
Anonymous
November 7, 2014 at 4:44 pmI’d like to see you try to write a book as good and then criticize your own writing. I mean, sorry, but could you maybe approach it from all sides, considering the author’s purpose and all? That would make it a very balanced review. I know you can have an opinion, but seeing as you’re writing this for a wide audience, you could be more considerate to the people who enjoy this sort of book.
Anonymous
November 7, 2014 at 4:49 pmCan I add a gripe? How can Sophie be so naive as to continue to fall for Fitz when he proved he was a jerk in book 2? I mean, come on. And I think, like you said, the book could have been a little less “perfect” for Sophie. But, despite my few gripes, I’m still a fan, so I do think the rest of the book is fine.
Anonymous
November 7, 2014 at 4:53 pmYeah, um, I don’t recall you mentioning anything GOOD about the book. What about the humor? What about the PLOT? What about the THEMES in this book? I mean, we can all gripe about the book. But the challenge is to take a book and find the good parts in it, ones that narrate the author’s personality. So who cares if some of it spins Harry Potter? People, there is nothing new under the sun. You’ll never find anything “ORIGINAL”.
Anonymous
November 7, 2014 at 4:58 pmHaters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. But me? I TOTALLY LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
Anonymous
November 7, 2014 at 5:20 pmI think your review could have used some balance. I personally loved this book, and it didn’t deserve the criticism that you gave it. Yes, anyone can gripe about a book, but can they point out the TOTALLY AWESOME stuff about it if they scorn it after ONE READ?
Shannon Messanger would scorn this review. As do I.
AnimeJune
November 7, 2014 at 9:27 pmOMG, this review is over two years old, get over yourselves commenters.
Fitzkitty
November 14, 2014 at 9:14 pmI think Keeper was an AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! book. You notice all the comments on here saying they loved the book are from people who READ the book and the comments saying they were glad they read this review were from people saying they had NEVER ACTUALLY READ THE BOOK. And now, thanks to this review, they probably never will. i just want to say, you guys SHOULD read this book. It’s fine if you don’t like it, because everyone likes different things, but you should at least TRY it. Please.
By the way, alot of the comments about simalarities to Harry Potter seem to stretch the truth a bit, it seems to me.
Fria Moon
December 1, 2014 at 9:31 pmWow. This is my first, and last, time using you guys.
Read the book.
Then fix this mess of a review.
Anonymous
January 22, 2015 at 6:33 pmI understand that everyone has there own opinion but I happened to COMPLETELY disagree with this one. I LOVED this book and it is my second favorite series of all time. I don’t understand why everyone always relates things to Harry Potter nowadays!! I mean, the story has some fantasy characters in it and special powered and BOOM, it’s exactly like Harry Potter. I do appreciate this review but I think that Keeper of the Lost Cities is DEFINITELY worth your time!!! 😀 😀
Kilo
February 16, 2015 at 11:42 amWell I have to agree with this review. I found the book in my store looking for the last percy jackson and the cover got my eyes so I brought the first two (about 30 euros as I am french). Well i was confused. Everything in the review is kind of true. Plus it’s really weird to have so much shipping especially since fitz is clearly introduced as the main love interest. But what I really disliked is the super power, not one but two talents when it’s stated that it’s extremely hard to have just one talent…. It’s good to have flaw it give the character backbone…
When I read the comment written by twelve years girls who disagree and say it’s the best book ever…. Well that show that twelve years old now want to get fifteen year old boyfriend or several. I weep for the future.
Well I wasted money….
suvashross
March 12, 2015 at 3:14 amWhat a total crap!!
The series is honestly the best I ever read, and I don’t really care about the money I spent to buy the first book (I’m from Malaysia, so RM 25 is considered cheap by many), and I definitely don’t care what everyone say about this book. Everyone’s choices are different, but I’m still sticking to this series.
It’s bad enough to critisize a book you haven’t actually read, and nodding along with all the people who judged negatively about this book.
To the two people who even bothered to review this book so badly, go and wash your eyes with bleach and try to read the entire series before you say any more bad things.
It is mentioned perfectly in the first book that magic isn’t real. BESIDES, THIS IS A FICTION FANTASY BOOK, SO THINGS ARE NOT ALL LOGIC, IT’S JUST IMAGINATIVE AND CREATIVE. WELL, GO AND WRITE A BOOK BETTER THAN HARRY POTTER, AND SEE WHOSE WRITING IS RUBBISH!!!
suvashross
March 12, 2015 at 3:15 amWhat a total crap!!
The series is honestly the best I ever read, and I don’t really care about the money I spent to buy the first book (I’m from Malaysia, so RM 25 is considered cheap by many), and I definitely don’t care what everyone say about this book. Everyone’s choices are different, but I’m still sticking to this series.
It’s bad enough to critisize a book you haven’t actually read, and nodding along with all the people who judged negatively about this book.
To the two people who even bothered to review this book so badly, go and wash your eyes with bleach and try to read the entire series before you say any more bad things!!!
Anonymous
May 17, 2015 at 3:38 pmI LOVED the book!
I like Harry Potter. I read all of them.
Now that you point it out, I now notice the resemblance.
Just because they are some alike, does not mean anything!
Just on the first page, I was hooked! AWESOME BOOK!!!
Also, most books follow the same line. You need a bad guy, something wrong has to happen, and the main character gets out of it.
Thse book reviewers must take sides. I’m not the person to say things like that, but what they put was horrible! Now people think this is a bad book, but it’s AMAZING!!! PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!!
Random
May 29, 2015 at 5:18 amI think this is a bad review so far by them. I read the book and its awesome. besides, this is just the first book,it improves .I totally recommend u to read it. and i am totally looking forward to the 4th book coming out this year.
Keeperfan
November 1, 2015 at 5:10 pmI would just like to say that Sophie wan NOT considered the hottest girl in school, she was just the least admired (in high school). And for “the slender blonde among her chubby brunette family.” Sophie was just describing some of the differences between her family and her. Mesmerising and inflicting isn’t “frowned upon” it’s just rare and one of the more dangerous abilities! One of the Councillers abilities isinflicting! And for the 12 year old girl attracting the attentions of 15 year olds, not true. But everyone has their own opinions and that was mine. Personally, I think that you should read this book for sure. And if you check out the book at the library and you don’t like it, no biggie! Its not like you wasted money on it!
Keeperfan
November 1, 2015 at 5:21 pmOne more thing, I read that Shannon Messenger (the author) wanted the title to be way different (I don’t know if its true) so if your expecting it to be about lost cites, well, it’s not exactly the main part of the story.
Fan
November 8, 2015 at 1:38 pmRead book four it is awesome it explains a lot and you see the true colors of the elvin world
bookworm2021
November 18, 2015 at 8:15 amOkay, first off, I like the specifics with your book review and I can see where it came from, but I still have a lot of problems with it.
About the Magic and Science and animals thing: it’s the elves’ world and their technology is more advanced.It shows how separated humans and elves are in the book when it talks about how different dinosaurs are from what humans think they are, and it shows how elves are smarter than humans. Plus, it didn’t completely disregard human technology, they just said it elves’ technology was a lot more advanced, which is further proven and explored with Dex. Yes, I do have a problem with the chubby brunette family compared to the slim blonde, but it does show how different Sophie truly is from her family.
Sophie’s an elf, and Shannon Messenger says in the book that elves are normally prettier and smarter than humans. Yes, I do have a problem with the chubby brunette family compared to the slim blonde, but it does show how different Sophie truly is from her family. Also, she didn’t say Sophie was the ‘hottest’ girl in school, she said she was the prettiest, and Dex, who’s opinion is biased, was the one who said that. Also, I take it as Sophie will be prettier than the girls older than her when she reaches that age since Della said she WILL be a heart breaker, as in the FUTURE.
The gnomes spend a lot of time in the sun. When you spend a lot of time in the sun, your skin either gets sunburned or darkens, so the gnomes skin could be brown because of that, or it could be because the trunk of a tree is normally brown bark, and the gnomes are plant-like. Plus, read the fourth book and you’ll find that gnomes are really important and that it is not racist at all, which is proven when Councilor Emery was described as a dark skinned, -IN THE FIRST BOOK – and he’s a councilor, about as high a status as you can get.
Pyrokinesis is the only banned ability, whereas the three Unforgivable Curses are all illegal. Inflictors and Mesmers are just rare and people are usually scared of them, but for any of the abilities to be misused it is frowned upon, so your comparison with the Unforgivable Curses isn’t a good one.
Also, no characterization? Read the next book! This is a first book in the series, and usually in a series, the character gets developed THROUGHOUT THE SERIES. I don’t really think Harry changed that much from the beginning to end of the first book, but even if you do, Sophie changed, too. She went from being the girl who kept her head down and did nothing with her life to the girl who made important decisions. Please, don’t compare the characterization in ONE BOOK to the characterization in SEVEN BOOKS.
Lady Galvin is not like Snape as much as you think. Yes, she is disagreeable and she doesn’t like Sophie, but she doesn’t like ANYONE whereas Snape likes the Slytherins. The food is different, but it’s a world where gnomes grow everything and everyone is a vegetarian and an elf, so OF COURSE THE FOOD IS DIFFERENT, AND SORRY IF THERE IS A FOOD THAT SOPHIE LIKES SINCE I’M CERTAIN EVERYONE LIKES AT LEAST ONE FOOD! The students locker uses the DNA of every students and when I read about the part where the flavor of the lock always changes, my take was it was because it entertained the teachers rather than the reason in Harry Potter because the DNA already does that. Cassius literally bumps into Sophie ONCE in the book whereas Lucius appears throughout the book, and it isn’t Cassius’s son, Keefe, who’s Sophie’s rival – it’s Stina. Dame Alina is NOTHING like Dumbledore – she’s vain and tried to ruin a wedding. Do you see wise old Dumbledore doing that?
Also, it isn’t a game of catch, it’s a game where you have to run and protect a base, so when you said Sophie learned how to play Catch, you’re wrong. You said Dex’s parents were considered bad matches since they weren’t nobility, but you’re wrong; they’re bad match because one was Talentless and one was Talented, which – in Harry Potter terms – would make him a HALF-BLOOD not a muggle-born. Sophie wasn’t ‘Sophie-the-Snowflake’ either, and I have no idea where that came from. You spelled Sophie wrong, too – you spelled it as Sophia at one point – and Mesmer, and I know everyone makes mistakes, but it really irks me.
No offense, but please get your facts right before you make such a criticizing review, because with all your not accurate and not thought out comparisons and points, it makes it seem like you read the book just to look for things to criticize and hate.
Again, nice specifics, but really get your facts and comparisons straight.
Anonymous
December 1, 2015 at 1:39 amTotally agree with you guys. Honestly, those parts you’ve mentioned was what turned me off the book. Big time. Also, I found the prose of the book kinda lacking and was boring to read. I think I was at 25% until I couldn’t stand it and dropped the book.
Anonymous
December 3, 2015 at 7:28 pm“NO TWO PERSONS EVER READ THE SAME BOOK!”
Just because it got a ad review, doesn’t mean you should not read it.
I personally think this review is really stupid, and the reviewer (ANA and THEA) are EXTREMELY NARROW-MINDED.
anonymous
December 7, 2015 at 6:42 pmAnimeJune, and anyone who blindly trusts this review and thinks the same, I’m not sure if you can see this comment or not, but about your latest comment about this being over two (now three) years old: it’s just that keeper fans are kinda mad since, let me tell you, this review has lies in it. Read the other comments to see which ones. And as for the Sophie is the hottest girl in high school – not true. Foxfire starts at age eleven or around that number, and Dex was the one who said that, and Dex likes Sophie. Plus, the words were prettier, not hotter. The slender blonde in a chubby brunette family is something I don’t like much, but she’s just highlighting how different Sophie is. Yes, she could have done it in a different way, but that doesn’t mean the whole book is terrible.
Mel’s Holiday Staff Recommendations | The Shelf Life
December 11, 2015 at 6:22 pm[…] Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger, ISBN# 9781442445949, $8.99, from Simon and Schuster. […]
Anonymous
January 21, 2016 at 4:27 pmHow dare you!!!
Averie
February 5, 2016 at 10:54 pmI kind of feel personally insulted, because this is my all-time favorite book. However, you are entitled to your own opinion.
Several things I want to point out (some have already been said in other comments_everyone rushes to her aid at slightest provocation):
1. Some characters DO have dark skin. For Example, Wylie Endal, and his father, Prentice, as well as Councillor Emery.
2. Sophie is called “the prettiest girl in school” by someone who has a crush on her. SHE DOES NOT IN ANY WAY THINK THAT SHE IS PRETTIER THAN EVERYONE ELSE, AND I WOULD ASSUME THAT EVERYONE ELSE DOES NOT THINK THAT EITHER.
3. Dame Alina is not benevolent. I actually strongly dislike her.
4. Sophie is not “sickeningly sweet and good,” nor does “everyone rushes to her aid at slightest provocation.” She has a bit of a temper, often makes rash decisions, and yeah, she CHEATS ON HER ALCHEMY EXAM, even though she regrets it a lot later. Also, most of the school hates her/dislikes her/doesn’t bother to pay attention to her until she becomes famous by destroying her horrible alchemy teacher’s cape.
5. Lady Galvin is nothing like Snape. Snape hates Harry’s father, while Lady Galvin just doesn’t like her job, making her dislike everyone.
6. Cassius is nothing like Malfoy. Sure, they are both disagreeable, blond fathers, but Cassius is actually not evil (just arrogant), and neither is his son. You can’t say that much for the Malfoys.
7. Pyrokinesis is the only forbidden talents. The other two mentioned in the review as forbidden are just rare.
8. Dex and Marella are nothing like Ron and Hermione. They are just the main character’s friends. That is not a fair comparison. Plus, Marella isn’t really even a main character.
9. I agree this book has many similarities to Harry Potter. For example, they are both AWESOME! However, the reviewers did not really touch on the unique plot twists (mainly near the end of the book), or the amazing characters, or anything like that. I think that they were to busy looking for faults with the book that they missed all of the good parts. If you are determined not to like something and not open to new ideas as the books improve, you are not going to like it. Also, the rest of the series (which you should definitely read) are much more different from HP than this one. This book just set up the world and characters so that the awesomeness could continue.
I could go on and on, but you probably get my point.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Don’t let this review taint your view of an amazing book. Read it. If you dislike it then, OK. As I said, I will respect your opinion (thought on the inside I will be heart broken.
Happy Reading!
Ninja lady
April 15, 2016 at 9:49 pmI love the Keeper series and if none of you bums will stand up for it I will.
KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES GIVES ME LIFE! I FORCED MY OTHER FRIENDS TO READ IT AND THEY ALL LOVED IT! I AM HONESTLY OBSESSED WITH IT AND I ALMOST THREW THE COMPUTER AT THE WALL WHEN I READ THIS LIE! LOTS OF PEOPLE LOVE THIS BOOKS AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE MY FRIENDS, WELL THAT AND THE FACT THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A GOOD PERSONALITY UNLIKE YOU! SERIOUSLY WHAT KIND OF JERK GOES AROUND INSULTING PEOPLE’S HARD WORK! SHANNON MESSENGER WORKED HARD ON THAT SERIES AND THEN YOU JUST GO AND MAKE FUN OF IT! Dude, get a life.
NinjaLady
April 15, 2016 at 9:51 pmThank you. Thank you so much.
Tracy
May 4, 2016 at 2:22 pmThanks for the great review. My 10 year old daughter read this book and wanted me to read it. I suffered through the first 10 chapters. When I couldn’t take any more cliches and badly written plagiarism, I went looking for a review. Reassured by a few well written reviews, including this one, I skimmed the rest of the book.
It’s perfect for a pre teen who wants to explore strange fantasy works without much development or depth. Thankfully, we don’t buy books but use our local library. I prefer my YA books to be much higher quality if I’m going to spend time or money on them.
Ravens1316
July 9, 2016 at 8:46 pmI know this reply is 4 years late, but it’s never to late to read a book!! Keeper of the Lost Cities is my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK!!!!!!!!!! In my opinion it is nothing like Harry Potter and is just as good (or better) than Harry Potter. The series takes you through many twists and turns that you would never see coming!!! PLEASE give this book a try!!!!!!!!!! I’m 99.9% sure that you will love it!!! Now there are currently 4 books in the series (which get better and better as the series go on:) with the 5th one coming out I think in November. Keeper of the Lost Cities may seem weird at first, but keep reading!!!!!! You won’t be disappointed. Sophie is such a special character that i’m sure you will fall in love with!!! If you go on goodreads you will see how MUCH people love and go crazy for this book!!!!!!! PLS, PLS, PLS, READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry if I went too crazy, I’m a teenager who loves this series and loves to read!)
Ravens1316
July 9, 2016 at 9:06 pmSPOILER FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: If you would have read the whole series, things would have made a lot more sense!!!!!!! In (I think) book 4 Sophie is surprised to learn that Human and elf ages are not the same, so it turns out in the elven world, Sophie is closer to Fitz, Keefe’s and Dex’s ages than you really think. Also in my opinion this is nothing like Harry Potter!!! Honestly, There was so much more to the plot than you described to the readers. Sophie makes A LOT more friends than Dex and Marrella (later in the series Marrella and Sophie are not) Also, they have abilities and in Harry potter they have wands that can whip up magic. Base Quest isn’t even a “sport” where everyone attends. It’s just a game that the teens enjoy playing unlike quidditch. (Sorry if I went A little too Far!!! I just love this Series so much and think you should have read the rest of the series!!!!! Sorry for spelling errors!!!!!!!)
Ravens1316
July 9, 2016 at 9:08 pmOMG SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I TOTALLY AGREE!!! I LUV THIS BOOK:)
Ravens1316
July 9, 2016 at 9:31 pm🙂 I agree
Anonymous
August 18, 2016 at 1:11 pmWhat is wrong with you people!!!!! Keepers of the Lost Cities is one of my FAVORITE book series. (I have to say that Eragon is always number one.) The TROLLS who made this web obviously never read the other books, or even the first one! Councillor Emery is described as having DARK SKIN!!!!! And so is Prentice and his son are both described as having DARK SKIN as well! If you read the other books they are nothing like Harry Potter. There may be similarities in the first one, but it is NOT a rip-off. These books inspired me to write my own series. The people who wrote this may not have liked it, so they told all these terrible lies about the author and the books. I KNOW I’m not the only one inspired by these books.
To the people who wrote this, read ALL the other books before you judge them.
Anonymous
September 13, 2016 at 3:32 pmI know right. Just stop hating on Keeper of the Lost Cities just because you don’t like it. I mean if you don’t like it so much don’t read it. I hate people like y’all. Always talking about something just because you don’t like it. Well NEWS FLASH: WE DON’T CARE WHAT YOU LIKE. I mean just ugh.
Most people in middle school LOVE this book!!!! I mean just shut up! ?Personally I think Keeper of the Lost Cities is better than Harry Potter.
Anonymous
September 13, 2016 at 3:33 pmI know right. Just stop hating on Keeper of the Lost Cities just because you don’t like it. I mean if you don’t like it so much don’t read it. I hate people like y’all. Always talking about something just because you don’t like it. Well NEWS FLASH: WE DON’T CARE WHAT YOU LIKE. I mean just ugh.
Most people in middle school LOVE this book!!!! I mean just shut up! ?Personally I think Keeper of the Lost Cities is better than Harry Potter.
Noelle213
November 12, 2016 at 1:10 amOh, wow. You guys should REALLY read the book instead of relying on this blog. First of all, in HP, Harry hates the family he is living with, while in Sophie’s case, she loves them. Second, um, the deadly curses were deadly but the three abilities (pyrokinetiscm, inflicting and mesmerizing) aren’t deadly, they are just closely watched. Third, the books that followed were simply lovely and is different from the HP series. Fourth, really? You think only gnomes were brown skinned? Well sorry to tell you but a lot of other characters were brown skinned and one of them is a really important character. Fifth, I don’t think that this story is a live story, rather, it is a story about finding out who Sophje really is. Lastly, I hope you read all books before you judge it too harshly and I hope you feel happy that you made rude comments about a book that you haven’t really read.
P.S. I love both Harry Potter and Keeper of the Lost Cities, so I am sure I am not biased
Anonymous
November 19, 2016 at 2:07 pmI loved this book. Yes, it has flaws, but every book has flaws. If you want to rant about a horrible book, go rant about Twilight, which ruined vampires & werewolves. And while I do look at book reviews, I read some of the book to see if it’s the kind of thing I like.
Anonymous
November 23, 2016 at 2:59 pmFirst off lol, Twilight is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much worst than KotLC. I agree, all books have flaws even Harry Potter. This is a fun and page turning book.
Anonymous
November 29, 2016 at 8:13 pmthis is a rly good book series and Shannon messenger is an amazing author so all of you haters go die in a whole cause you have nothing better to do but be critical and ruin peoples sights of and awesome book series…and incase you haven’t noticed she makes a lot of money because so many people love her books so back off
Anonymous
November 29, 2016 at 9:55 pmoh and the people who say she is a twelve year old actually if you read on she is fourteen and if she attracts 15 year olds its not her fault and the people she attracts are only 2 years older then her and that is tots normal so if you want to rant about a horrible book do one of your favorite books because seeing your taste i think that they are worthy of being burt up
Anonymous
November 29, 2016 at 10:05 pmloved this book!
Anonymous
November 29, 2016 at 10:08 pmthe best book ever and it is not anything like harry potter because i tried reading it and i actually tried to stand it not just skim it like these crappy people who reviewed it and said it was horrible well i actually tried but i could not stand the book its tots stupid and it even gets kids to believe that black magic is real and stuff!!!!!!!
Sunshard
December 1, 2016 at 1:03 pmWhat? I’m so confused, did you like KotLC or not. I read your review like 5 times, and I still don’t get it
Anonymous
December 10, 2016 at 9:50 pmI get it. I read the Keeper of the Lost Cities books, and they were decent, and the review was a bit unfair saying the charecters were “flat, thin, and poor imitations,” (especially Keefe, he is anything but boring) but the Sophie Foster IS the most special snowflake I have ever read about. Honesty? I think I would have enjoyed the book better if she had been talentless and had to use her witt instead of manifesting a new ability for every problem. Last note, please don’t dissmiss Harry Potter like that. Harry Potter was an amazing series, with a better Protagonist that was not such a *cough* special snowflake *cough*. Harry actually had LOTS of flaws, and the ladies didn’t exactly swoon when it came to dating. Harry was also about an average student, and many people could relate to him. Not so many people can relate to being a beautiful genius with boys fawning all over her. Why do you think there’s a Harry Potter theme park? And the new “Fantastic Beast and Where To Find Them” can’t be classified as “old”. Calling Harry Potter dumb is like blowing a whisle for a herd of angry fangirls, and we’ve arrived.
Anonymous
December 10, 2016 at 9:56 pmI politely disagree, I really enjoyed the Keeper of The Lost Cities.
OnlyKLCfanhere
December 25, 2016 at 1:14 pmIt’s really not as bad as they make it sound. Firstly, Shannon never implied that Sophie was hot, only that she was prettier than her low self esteem deemed her to be it’s one of my favourite books and as you read more and more of the series, it’ll drift out of the Harry potter. In my opinion, I really like this book and you should try reading it, everyone has their own opinion and you should see for yourself and have your own take on it.
Anonymous
December 25, 2016 at 1:38 pmI think this review just spoiled the book for you, I would bet you were reading it thinking ‘how bad could this possibly be?’ and that’s what made you dig for mistakes that weren’t there. Or it could have simply made you doubtful of the contents of the book. What ever it is, you should read it with an open mind, take for example someone told you that your favourite food was disgusting and listed a hundred reasons why they think so, would that suddenly make you dislike it? No! It’s their personal opinion and what really matters is what you think about it. So if you ever plan on reading it again, take it that your trying a new food. Don’t think of the bad things other people said as you consume it, just focus on what you taste. Who knows, it might become your favourite food! Sorry for the food reference, it was the only thing I thought of to explain. Keep an open mind!!!
Anonymous
December 25, 2016 at 2:11 pmJudith, can you please read the book first? You can probably find it in the libraries easily. Everyone is sort of good-looking in the elf world and Sophie is far from perfect. Let me name a few of her flaws; she is extremely clumsy, always falling down. She is quite reckless, she often does things without permission and ends up having close brushes with death. She is horrible at physical activities and alchemy, but of course that is already mentioned. It may be true that the are a few similarities between KLC and HP but everybody gets idea through inspirations and Shannon’s inspiration for have been from Harry potter. There are now 5 books of 7 in the series and as you read them, it slowly unveils into its own beautiful unique story. Please take the time to read it, it’ll probably only take 1 week of your time to try out the first book. And keep an open mind for the best experience.
Keeper 4 Life
January 20, 2017 at 12:22 amI completely agree with you! I Love the Keeper of the Lost Cities book series. I don’t know why people don’t like it. I guess they just don’t understand the mystery, imagination, and true friendship in this book. Even if it is a little bit like Harry Potter, I’ve read a lot of books with similarities to Harry Potter, and other books. I will always stand by Keeper of the Lost Cities.
Keeper 4 Life
January 20, 2017 at 12:35 amThese book reviewers make this series sound like a trash book thrown together for some board middle schoolers with nothing else to read. I know everyone has a right to an opinion, but straight forward telling people that this series is terrible and not worth the light of day, is not just expressing your own opinion, but trying to change other people’s opinion before they even finish the first few chapters. Keeper of the Lost Cities is definitely in my top ten series.
Keeper 4 Life
January 20, 2017 at 12:59 amUm.!?!. Just so you know, I am 14 YEARS OLD and I loved the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Not trying to put down your opinion or anything, but you should really read the entire series, or at least the entire book, before dumping it. In my opinion you sound just like those book reviewers, Narrow Minded!
Anonymous
March 16, 2017 at 5:54 pmYOU GUYS!! Where are you getting the”hot gorgeous girl” line from?
She believes herself to be average looking. NO WHERE in the book does she think she is beautiful.
Unknown
March 18, 2017 at 4:12 pmI actually beg to differ. I have read this book and was suprised by how mediocre it was. I then read it again, and instead of picking up on the little hidden parts of this book, I picked up on more parts, nod kept dwelling on the fact that I was NOT SCARED OR WORRIED AT ALL about the villians. The book seems like a girl finds out she’s a superhuman an ends up going to an idealistic world with advanced tech and no worry about poverty or problems, plus some racial slurs, and of course she’s the best at everything. See the difference between Harry Potter?
Unknown
March 18, 2017 at 4:16 pmOnce again…… I beg to differ. She was actually told she was the prettiest and crap. And a love square of twelve year olds????!!??!! When it come to looks and love, this book fails laughably.
Unknown
March 18, 2017 at 4:22 pmI read it, and having read large amounts of books, great and trash, was not impressed, and very let down. I don’t believe they were close minded either. They picked up on the books downfalls, and managed to scrounged up like one good part about it.
C
March 29, 2017 at 1:18 pmIn my opinion, this review is VERY misleading. Yes, the main character, Sophie, is a special girl in the way that she has more power and talent than the other characters. In response to your review, here is my take on Keeper of the Lost Cities.
1) The story actually has a very complex plot that is deep and meaningful. These books are meant to be part of series, and review just the first book does not give you the right to be making such harsh judgments about it when you don’t know the full story. The first book is just a part of the series, which leads up to more complex problems, much like Harry Potter, which brings me to my next point.
2) Yes, the books are similar to Harry Potter in some ways. It’s hard to find a series that isn’t these days because Harry Potter contains so many elements to it. You can’t say that everything that has the tiniest similarity between Keeper of the Lost Cities and Harry Potter is plagiarism of sorts. For example, you crossed out Dumbledore with Dame Alina. What school would not have a principal? Reading later on in the series it would show you these two characters are nothing alike. You crossed out Hermione and Ron with Marella and Dex. What character doesn’t normally make friends with someone at their new school. Hermione and Ron stuck with Harry till the very end, but Sophie and Marella eventually split up. There are many more of these that are similar to Harry Potter, but if you go by those standards, most every tween book would be similar to Harry Potter.
3) Yes, Sophie is special. But later on in the book and series you realize why. And without her being the way she is, there would be no book and no story to tell. Some books tell about characters with no extraordinary differences. But this is crucial to the story and plot. Sophie does have flaws just like any other character.
4) As of the first book, there isn’t really a love square at all. Sure, there are a few crushes, what 12 year old doesn’t, but it’s nothing different from real life at all. No boyfriends or girlfriends, no kissing, nothing. Just one or two crushes. I guess it my seem to some people like a love square, but all the characters are really just close friends.
For anyone reading this review before you read the book, please do not go by it. Read the book for yourself and make your own decisions on how you feel about it. I’m sad that this is the first review that comes up on Google.
Anonymous
March 30, 2017 at 3:57 pmI really liked the keeper of the lost cities series
book lover
March 30, 2017 at 3:58 pmI really liked the keeper of the lost cities series
I HATE KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES
May 3, 2017 at 2:29 pmTHANK YOU I read these books and they are so bad, but all my friends love these books and I don’t understand how.
Anonymous
June 12, 2017 at 7:35 pmI LOVE keeper of the Lost Cities!!! They are VERY well written, and this review of it STINKS!!! Read all of the book before commenting… X(
no name
September 28, 2017 at 7:01 pmHmmm. In my opinion these books were actually really good. I think that this review should be taken as a matter of someone else’s opinion, and please read the entire series before coming to any conclusions.
I’d like to note that SOPHIE, not Sophia, was called the prettiest girl in her school by a boy HER AGE and, yes, she did attract boys older than her, but, as we know, elves do have indefinite lifespans, and, as we learn in the later books, do not really count age for much. No one complains about Tris and Tobias’ couple-year-gap, or Katniss’ torn love life, now do they? I would also like to note that this is not a story about a 12 year old getting all smootchy. There is seriously not a kissing scene in all the 5 books out now. AND, by the 5th book Sophie is 14. The most part of relationships are appropriate for her age, and I will also note that most people in 6th grade are in dating relationships (really, people!)
Anonymous
October 24, 2017 at 11:45 pmI would just like to mention that even though books can be very similar, it does not mean that they cannot be enjoyed. In addition, I would not consider this to be a rip-off of Harry Potter because many other books have a somewhat similar plot line of a magical protagonist that is “the chosen one” with magical creatures.