book review: Keeper of the Lost Cities

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

1st book in series
⭐⭐⭐(3/5 stars)

This book was fun. And so was the whole series, mostly. I think of it all as literary candy — not a great model in the sense of writing and style, but easy to read and an entertaining diversion. 

The main character in this fantasy novel, Sophie Foster, has always been different from those around her. She is way above average in intelligence, but even more strikingly, she has had the ability to read people's minds ever since an accident that occurred when she was five. She's never told anyone about this, because no one could possibly understand... or so she thinks. 

A series of events turns her life upside down. Sophie discovers that she's not a human, she's an elf. She gets whisked away to the world of elves, but as she tries to get accustomed to her new reality of elvin adoptive parents, elvin school, and more, things don't seem to settle down. It turns out she's no ordinary elf either — she has information planted in her brain. As this information gets revealed little by little, Sophie finds herself and the others she's grown to care about sinking into danger, and she has to do something to stop it. 

The writing style was simple. The plot included some intriguing concepts, like how there was stuff purposely put in Sophie's mind, and the reason for her existence (which slowly gets revealed as the series progresses). The classic middle grade themes of friendship, family, and belonging are woven in very well — Sophie's struggle and journey with her adoptive family was at times complicated, sweet, and sad. 

But there was also so much overdramatizing. On the Sophie scope of drama, receiving a necklace that's maybe from a boy is almost as terrifying as figuring out that she, unknowingly, had information planted in her brain at age five. At one point, she runs away from school basically because of friend drama. 

The worldbuilding also wasn't too solid. It seemed as if the author came up with concepts here and there just to make the elf world seem better than the human world. But some ideas, like elves having a birth fund of five million lusters (each luster being equivalent to a million dollars, to Sophie's great shock), just don't work. Currency doesn't have to exist. Neither do vegetables that taste like meat. 

And there's this whole thing about science not being science because that's a human thing, and magic not being magic because magic just isn't. What? This would have worked better as a fleshed out sci-fi world. Or a thoughtful fantasy world. But the concepts seem to only exist to be cute and unique, and then they really just fall flat. 

Sophie isn't the strongest main character. She's very Mary Sue. She's cute. She's shy. She's good at everything she needs to be good at. Nearly everyone loves her. And the few who don't are portrayed as villains to her personal story. 

As for the other characters, they fall under clear tropes, though some are done better than others. There's Alden, the mentor and father figure. Fitz, the gorgeous love interest. Biana, sister of Fitz, is Sophie's jealous rival. Keefe is the afflicted kid who hides behind humor (though he is one of the more interesting characters). Dex is the sidekick (sort of, because he tends to get whiny and cause the Sophie angst level to skyrocket). Stina is the Mean Girl. I could go on... 

Anyway, Keeper of the Lost Cities is an interesting story overall. If you want lighter fare, try it. If you want something to analyze or admire for beautifully crafted characters, worldbuilding, and writing, there are other things out there for you.