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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Re-reading a book I first read as a kid is always an interesting experience. It’s funny how certain plot points stick out in my mind, but not always as they’re written or in the right order. Also, I forgot how much the protagonist blushes and tugs at her eyelashes.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
January 2023: Fifth read and first post-Stellarlune
September 2023: Sixth read (I'm way too obsessed lol)
September 2024: Seventh read (someone send help, both this and twenty one pilots have completely taken over my soul.)
October 2024:
Completely erased my old review and decided to take a shot at leaving a proper review.
I am well aware that this book is probably - from an objective standpoint - not very good. Even for a middle grade, it's cringy. Given the toxic nature of both the fans and the haters, I would like to make it clear: this review is MY OPINION ONLY. If it helps you, great. If not, oh well. Reading - as much as we pretend otherwise - is a subjective thing. Keeper is my all-time favourite series, so just know going in that this isn't going to be a particularly unbiased review. It's sad that these warnings even have to be given, but that's just the nature of the Keeper fanbase.
Anyway, back to the beginning.
If there are three things I love, it's middle-grade, fierce female leads, and fantasy worlds I want to live in - much like those found in Keeper of the Lost Cities. I've read this book seven times now; when I want a quick read to get me out of a reading slump, this one always delivers. But, being the curious soul I am, I often find myself asking: what about this series is so appealing? Why am I so invested in it, even after three years, nine books, and way too many rereads?
Let's talk characters. Characters are the drivers of any story. Bad characters usually means a bad book (unless they are intentionally so, but Keeper doesn't do that so that's irrelevant here). Although I love middle grade, there's always this uncertainty when I start reading them of, will I like the characters? And I don't just mean as people, I mean will they be flawed enough, traumatized enough, and motivated enough? And while certain characters don't really deliver at first (*cough cough* Sophie *cough cough*), for the most part I find Messenger's characters to be developed, entertaining, and easy to root for. Usually, I have to wait until book 2 or 3 to really care about the characters - but not with Keeper. I remember falling in love with almost everyone right from the word go.
So, let's break the characters down in more detail.
Sophie Foster is our main character, the special-snowflake genetic experiment trying to find her place in a much-too-sparkly new world. I find her entertaining enough in these early books; she's easy to root for, even if she is a bit boring and overpowered to begin with (from about [b:Neverseen|22733616|Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)|Shannon Messenger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422383369l/22733616._SX50_.jpg|42270645] onwards is when I really started to like her, excluding maybe [b:Flashback|32762937|Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)|Shannon Messenger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520545883l/32762937._SY75_.jpg|53353040]). She is a fairly good mix of passive and active - it's just a shame the other characters get in the way when she actually makes a decision for herself. Although Sophie might not be the best character in this book, I can forgive her for it given her circumstances.
Keefe Sencen is often considered by the fans to be the second most important character, so I guess I'll put him here? In the first book we don't know that much about him, except that he's a troublemaker, very smart, and his dad is kinda nasty. Although I'm not nearly as big a Foster-Keefe shipper as I once was, I can't deny - they make a pretty good couple/friendship duo/whatever relationship you want them to have. I like Keefe a lot more in these earlier books than I do in the later books, as you'll see as I continue to post my full reviews for this series.
Fitz Vacker is objectively the second-most important character in this series, especially in the first book. Honestly, I find it difficult to like him from the get-go. In book one, he's this much-too-perfect golden boy who makes it pretty obvious he's almost three years older than Sophie (why does no one talk about that?), only to later have his maturity level completely ruined, and his only actual flaw as a person unfortunately be one that only makes me hate him. I wish I could say I like Fitz more than I actually do. Alas, I am no more than another fangirl who was once blinded by the glory of the Foster-Keefe ship.
Biana Vacker is a queen. Even though we don't know much about her in this book, it's hard not to grow to like her. Another thing I feel like we need to talk about more is that it was partly Biana's fault (mostly Stina's and Alden's) that Sophie was in the cave at that moment, but I guess Biana meant well and all. Biana is definitely one of my favourite characters, and I wish Shannon had utilised her more in future books.
Dex Dizznee is Sophie's 'best friend', at least in this first book. He's funny and sweet, sure, and I really like his family, but I can't help thinking the fandom is overreacting to his insignificance. Y'all have clearly never written a book and experienced the moment you realise you actually don't need a character as much as you once did. And since Shannon's very much a pantser, there's no way she could have planned for Dex to be so important now, and so forgotten later.
Whatever. I'm not here to give Dex my praises. He's a cool character. That's all imma say.
Marella Redek is another character who goes kind of forgotten beyond this point (unlike Dex and Biana, though, she's revived later), but she's a proper badass. Every moment with Marella is highly enjoyable. Let her join the hall of legends Shannon let whither away too soon.
While at first I really liked Alden Vacker - he seemed like that mentor trope I so love in middle-grade fiction - rereads and future books have taught me this man is nothing more than a red flag. Did he really have such little faith in Sophie's ability to make friends that he forced his children to become friends with her? How sad must you be, to be that old and still such a manipulator? I know he thought he meant well, but the fact is that this man is toxic and creepy and he actually deserves to die. Unlike all the perfectly good villains Shannon offs later in the series.
Iggy , my beloved, Sophie's pet imp, gets an entire section to himself. How can he not? He's hilarious, adorable, and the cause of 90% of my excitement for new Keeper books (the sad part is, I'm only partially joking). Iggy is an icon. Justice for Iggy (he's not even that forgotten, I just want more of him).
Now that my extraordinarily long yap about characters is over, let's talk plot. This book has been compared to Harry Potter for many reasons - and it's not difficult to see why, if you've only read the first book, which unfortunately is what we're here to talk about. The plot of Keeper is infamously difficult to pinpoint exactly, but in essence it follows twelve-year-old Sophie Foster, a secret Telepath, as she is taken to the Lost Cities - a magic sparkly elf world - and has to adjust to her new life there while finding out the truth about her upbringing, her powers, and her new world. I love the worldbuilding in this book, even if I think the history of the elvin world could be expanded on. The plot in book 1 is definitely more school-life than fantasy. It's easy to see how people could be led astray and believe this is a Harry Potter ripoff (when in reality it's probably better written and much longer than HP). I also love the Chosen One plot going on here, although that's mostly after having read the other books. Still, book 1 gets props because at least it has a discernible plot.
To finish: I know this book is probably objectively bad, and it has way too many sequels, and it's cliche, and it leaves so many characters to rot I wonder if the author even has a character list. But still, it grabs my emotions in a chokehold and refuses to let go. Keeper will be my favourite series for a few more years I would imagine, and I'm both terrified and excited to see how it will end. If you're a middle grade fan who doesn't mind a bit of cringe - give this a go. If you're any other kind of reader - maybe give this one a miss.
September 2023: Sixth read (I'm way too obsessed lol)
September 2024: Seventh read (someone send help, both this and twenty one pilots have completely taken over my soul.)
October 2024:
Completely erased my old review and decided to take a shot at leaving a proper review.
I am well aware that this book is probably - from an objective standpoint - not very good. Even for a middle grade, it's cringy. Given the toxic nature of both the fans and the haters, I would like to make it clear: this review is MY OPINION ONLY. If it helps you, great. If not, oh well. Reading - as much as we pretend otherwise - is a subjective thing. Keeper is my all-time favourite series, so just know going in that this isn't going to be a particularly unbiased review. It's sad that these warnings even have to be given, but that's just the nature of the Keeper fanbase.
Anyway, back to the beginning.
If there are three things I love, it's middle-grade, fierce female leads, and fantasy worlds I want to live in - much like those found in Keeper of the Lost Cities. I've read this book seven times now; when I want a quick read to get me out of a reading slump, this one always delivers. But, being the curious soul I am, I often find myself asking: what about this series is so appealing? Why am I so invested in it, even after three years, nine books, and way too many rereads?
Let's talk characters. Characters are the drivers of any story. Bad characters usually means a bad book (unless they are intentionally so, but Keeper doesn't do that so that's irrelevant here). Although I love middle grade, there's always this uncertainty when I start reading them of, will I like the characters? And I don't just mean as people, I mean will they be flawed enough, traumatized enough, and motivated enough? And while certain characters don't really deliver at first (*cough cough* Sophie *cough cough*), for the most part I find Messenger's characters to be developed, entertaining, and easy to root for. Usually, I have to wait until book 2 or 3 to really care about the characters - but not with Keeper. I remember falling in love with almost everyone right from the word go.
So, let's break the characters down in more detail.
Sophie Foster is our main character, the special-snowflake genetic experiment trying to find her place in a much-too-sparkly new world. I find her entertaining enough in these early books; she's easy to root for, even if she is a bit boring and overpowered to begin with (from about [b:Neverseen|22733616|Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)|Shannon Messenger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422383369l/22733616._SX50_.jpg|42270645] onwards is when I really started to like her, excluding maybe [b:Flashback|32762937|Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)|Shannon Messenger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520545883l/32762937._SY75_.jpg|53353040]). She is a fairly good mix of passive and active - it's just a shame the other characters get in the way when she actually makes a decision for herself. Although Sophie might not be the best character in this book, I can forgive her for it given her circumstances.
Keefe Sencen is often considered by the fans to be the second most important character, so I guess I'll put him here? In the first book we don't know that much about him, except that he's a troublemaker, very smart, and his dad is kinda nasty. Although I'm not nearly as big a Foster-Keefe shipper as I once was, I can't deny - they make a pretty good couple/friendship duo/whatever relationship you want them to have. I like Keefe a lot more in these earlier books than I do in the later books, as you'll see as I continue to post my full reviews for this series.
Fitz Vacker is objectively the second-most important character in this series, especially in the first book. Honestly, I find it difficult to like him from the get-go. In book one, he's this much-too-perfect golden boy who makes it pretty obvious he's almost three years older than Sophie (why does no one talk about that?), only to later have his maturity level completely ruined, and his only actual flaw as a person unfortunately be one that only makes me hate him. I wish I could say I like Fitz more than I actually do. Alas, I am no more than another fangirl who was once blinded by the glory of the Foster-Keefe ship.
Biana Vacker is a queen. Even though we don't know much about her in this book, it's hard not to grow to like her. Another thing I feel like we need to talk about more is that it was partly Biana's fault (mostly Stina's and Alden's) that Sophie was in the cave at that moment, but I guess Biana meant well and all. Biana is definitely one of my favourite characters, and I wish Shannon had utilised her more in future books.
Dex Dizznee is Sophie's 'best friend', at least in this first book. He's funny and sweet, sure, and I really like his family, but I can't help thinking the fandom is overreacting to his insignificance. Y'all have clearly never written a book and experienced the moment you realise you actually don't need a character as much as you once did. And since Shannon's very much a pantser, there's no way she could have planned for Dex to be so important now, and so forgotten later.
Whatever. I'm not here to give Dex my praises. He's a cool character. That's all imma say.
Marella Redek is another character who goes kind of forgotten beyond this point (unlike Dex and Biana, though, she's revived later), but she's a proper badass. Every moment with Marella is highly enjoyable. Let her join the hall of legends Shannon let whither away too soon.
While at first I really liked Alden Vacker - he seemed like that mentor trope I so love in middle-grade fiction - rereads and future books have taught me this man is nothing more than a red flag. Did he really have such little faith in Sophie's ability to make friends that he forced his children to become friends with her? How sad must you be, to be that old and still such a manipulator? I know he thought he meant well, but the fact is that this man is toxic and creepy and he actually deserves to die. Unlike all the perfectly good villains Shannon offs later in the series.
Iggy , my beloved, Sophie's pet imp, gets an entire section to himself. How can he not? He's hilarious, adorable, and the cause of 90% of my excitement for new Keeper books (the sad part is, I'm only partially joking). Iggy is an icon. Justice for Iggy (he's not even that forgotten, I just want more of him).
Now that my extraordinarily long yap about characters is over, let's talk plot. This book has been compared to Harry Potter for many reasons - and it's not difficult to see why, if you've only read the first book, which unfortunately is what we're here to talk about. The plot of Keeper is infamously difficult to pinpoint exactly, but in essence it follows twelve-year-old Sophie Foster, a secret Telepath, as she is taken to the Lost Cities - a magic sparkly elf world - and has to adjust to her new life there while finding out the truth about her upbringing, her powers, and her new world. I love the worldbuilding in this book, even if I think the history of the elvin world could be expanded on. The plot in book 1 is definitely more school-life than fantasy. It's easy to see how people could be led astray and believe this is a Harry Potter ripoff (when in reality it's probably better written and much longer than HP). I also love the Chosen One plot going on here, although that's mostly after having read the other books. Still, book 1 gets props because at least it has a discernible plot.
To finish: I know this book is probably objectively bad, and it has way too many sequels, and it's cliche, and it leaves so many characters to rot I wonder if the author even has a character list. But still, it grabs my emotions in a chokehold and refuses to let go. Keeper will be my favourite series for a few more years I would imagine, and I'm both terrified and excited to see how it will end. If you're a middle grade fan who doesn't mind a bit of cringe - give this a go. If you're any other kind of reader - maybe give this one a miss.
Naw. The fact that this was published in 2012 & not the 80s with the ongoing senseless girl-bashing was so shocking to me. As a school librarian, I see (one reason) why my kids like this: it jumps immediately into action with no exposition AT ALL. That’s good for reluctant readers. But lordy, the constant disses about girls being lame, annoying, or silly is just so out of place in a fantasy book for kids with a(n already insecure) female protagonist! My throw-the-book-against-the-wall moment was when Sophie finally meets the first not evil girl of the book (3rd girl’s the charm) and the first thing the new girl does is announce how much she HATES girls, then goes right into talking about how hot one of the boy characters is. I’m out. The prose is bad. Sophie couldn’t relate (in part) to her human family because they are chubby. All of the adults are weird. Sophie is such a Mary Sue it’s not even funny. Just reread Harry Potter instead of this rip off. Read any other middle grade fantasy, I implore you.
Sophie is a young woman, who is nearly 13, that has been able to hear the thoughts of those around her without any reason. That is until she discovers a hidden world of elves, dwarves, goblins, and more. There she learns more about herself, however she discovers more questions about herself.
An amazing book of mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, adventure and so much more. The characters are amazing, yet complex enough to keep you guessing. I found the plot and story to pull me along without letting go until the very end.
An amazing book of mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, adventure and so much more. The characters are amazing, yet complex enough to keep you guessing. I found the plot and story to pull me along without letting go until the very end.
ahhhhh.... my friend introduced me and i love it!!!!!!!!!!!
4.5
Nunca creí q al final me leeria este libro. Pero lo hice.
La vd es que la historia esta muy bien y hay DEMASIADO por saber todavía. Ahora entiendo los 9 libros q hay y el decimo q queda por salir xd.
Tanto misterio por la historia de la protagonista es lo q te mantiene leyendo, ademas de los personajes. En general son muy buenos, pero mi favorito fue Keefe♥️. Por favor Sophie, olvidate de Fitz y ve con él, gracias.
Me leere los siguientes si o si pq necesito saber q coño pasa con TODO. Además se q me quedan muchos personales por conocer asiq espero con ganas leerlos :).
Nunca creí q al final me leeria este libro. Pero lo hice.
La vd es que la historia esta muy bien y hay DEMASIADO por saber todavía. Ahora entiendo los 9 libros q hay y el decimo q queda por salir xd.
Tanto misterio por la historia de la protagonista es lo q te mantiene leyendo, ademas de los personajes. En general son muy buenos, pero mi favorito fue Keefe♥️. Por favor Sophie, olvidate de Fitz y ve con él, gracias.
Me leere los siguientes si o si pq necesito saber q coño pasa con TODO. Además se q me quedan muchos personales por conocer asiq espero con ganas leerlos :).
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No