Sophie's not normal. She doesn't belong in her family, she hears thoughts of everyone, and her photographic memory combined with her natural intelligence makes her stand out. She's a child prodigy (12) who will attending college next fall. During a field trip to a museum, she meets a boy. He's just like her -a Telepath. He's as surprised as she is, until he realizes that she's the girl he's been searching for.
He shares a bombshell with her, neither of them are human. Sophie's an elf, living in a human world. Fitz takes her to see their world. When Fitz shows up the next day, he's there to take her back to the city for testing. The powers that be don't believe that her abilities are possible. They're dumbfounded to witness them. They know one thing - she needs to learn control over her powers and to see how deep they reach.
Sophie must leave her world behind. She has just enough time to say goodbye to her family before she agrees to this upheaval. She must navigate through school, keeping her powers a secret from her new friends. She must learn to forget her previous life including her family. Most of all, Sophie's told not to think about humans. How can she help it when fires are burning brightly through cities. Sophie knows those fires aren't natural. How can she prove that they're magical if she's not allowed to ask questions? The answers she discovers bring up more questions. Is it possible that the fires are someone connected to her secret past?
My Thoughts: As I started reading this book. I was soon hooked, although the discovery of being an elf threw me for a loop too. I quickly devoured this book. I loved uncovering Sophie's secrets along with her. I found her new world fascinating and liked finding out it's quirks. I liked the jumping. I enjoyed inventiveness of the lockers and how they opened. I grew frustrated along with Sophie at the lack of answers and how the simplest question only seem to bring up more answers. It made me want to read faster to uncover the truth.
I enjoyed her interactions with her new friends, especially Dex. The moments between Sophie and her new foster parents were bittersweet, heart wrenching, and charming. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Keeper of the Lost Cities is a magnificent fantasy debut novel that I know patrons at my library will gobble up as fast as I hand it to them.
Cover Thoughts: Great cover - it drew me in right away
Source: BEA
Purchase from:
About the Author: SHANNON MESSENGER graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she learned that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She also regularly eats cupcakes for breakfast, sleeps with a bright blue stuffed elephant named Ella, and occasionally gets caught talking to imaginary people. So it was only natural for her to write stories for children. Keeper of the Lost Cities is her first middle grade novel. Let the Sky Fall, a young adult novel, will follow in Spring 2013. She lives in Southern California with her husband and an embarrassing number of cats.
Contest Time! Enter to win book (which LOOKS amazing!!!)
I hadn't realized that this one had the elven fantasy twist! It just went on my TBR list. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the review--and being part of the tour!
ReplyDelete