Take a photo of a barcode or cover
villainous_hoopdreams 's review for:
Keeper of the Lost Cities
by Shannon Messenger
I understand why my students really like this book. I’m not it’s target audience, but I did have fun reading it.
That being said… It does feel like it’s checking boxes on a YA trope list, and feels like Harry Potter but girl and elves this time.
There’s also the fact that everyone seems very white, heteronormative, and beautiful, which is clumsy and problematic, and there’s definitely classist issues that are overtones, not undertones, that I hope it’s sequels act upon. Additionally, the social positioning of other races like goblins and gnomes also feels like it could be co-opted and read as a race theory in ways that are deep ick. I don’t think it’s intended, but it is kinda there.
That being said… It does feel like it’s checking boxes on a YA trope list, and feels like Harry Potter but girl and elves this time.
There’s also the fact that everyone seems very white, heteronormative, and beautiful, which is clumsy and problematic, and there’s definitely classist issues that are overtones, not undertones, that I hope it’s sequels act upon. Additionally, the social positioning of other races like goblins and gnomes also feels like it could be co-opted and read as a race theory in ways that are deep ick. I don’t think it’s intended, but it is kinda there.