andriakennedy 's review for:

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

4.0

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Ms. Messenger has created a world of elves unlike any other out there. Sophie's schism between her childhood and the new reality reads so true that you find yourself sucked into every nuanced emotion. How WOULD a pre-teen react to finding herself no longer the stunning "prodigy" among older teenagers - now an ordinary prodigy in a school of prodigies? The tangled threads and questions pile up, with Ms. Messenger allowing very few of the answers to escape her grasp. True, many of Sophie's peers fall into expected school tropes, but they're a slight step above cardboard. (And, honestly, for a Young Reader's book, what would one expect?) The absurd opulence and the system of "work" in the elven world creates a stumbling block that's difficult to swallow and comprehend, though it creates a stark contrast to Sophie's human upbringing. With a number of books remaining in the series, I can assume Ms. Messenger has plenty left to explore.