![]() ![]() “That’s impossible You need infinite energy for light travel. We hitched a ride on a beam of light that was headed straight here.” He held the pathfinder up to the sun, casting a ray of light onto his hand. “Magic is a stupid idea humans came up with to try to explain things they couldn’t understand.”īut in the next breath, when Fitz starts to describe the impossible apparating speed-of-light travel, he tells Sophie that elves “light leap”: As heartthrob elf Fitz tells our heroine Sophie:įitz laughed – a full body laugh, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard “No,” he said when he’d regained control. 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. This is, I suspect, what Shannon Messenger attempted to accomplish in this novel. When it’s done well, I love a speculative fiction book that blends fantasy elements with sci fi, magic with hard science. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.īut 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. Unfortunately, Keeper of the Lost Cities falls deep on the Shark Tale end of the MG/YA spectrum. 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. On the other, there are the lamentable films like Fly Me to the Moon, or Robots, or Shark Tale. On the one side, there are gems like Wall-E and Up and Toy Story. There are two ends of the CG animated movie spectrum. 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. How did we get this book: ARCs from the Publisher (via BEA) Stand alone or series: Book 1 in a planned series ![]() 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. 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. 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. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.Įverything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She’s a Telepath-someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. ![]()
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