madeline_c 's review for:

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

DID NOT FINISH: 34%

---

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.