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A review by dianna98
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. I'll freely admit that I'm prejudiced against it because my 11-year-old is literally addicted to this series. She won't read anything else, only these books over and over (and over . . .).
She's been pestering me to read it too—so I finally did, and I was underwhelmed. This book feels like someone cut up Harry Potter, shook it around a little, and pasted it back together. The worldbuilding was okay, but I was disappointed by the characters—they are distinct and recognizable as individuals, but we don't go very deep with any of them except Sophie (the protagonist), and even with her, I still feel that I don't know her very well.
Knowing that my daughter is currently reading nothing but these books, I was disappointed by two things: 1) the sentence structures are very simple and I just wish it was more challenging, and 2) there is far too much blushing and crushing going on for a 12-year-old protagonist. I would have liked it heaps better without all that.
That all said, it's not a bad read. It's well planned and plotted (although it felt a little too planned, if you know what I mean—it's hard to get into the story and forget that the author is yanking the strings behind the scenes), and it's engaging and hard to put down. My daughter goes crazy for all the little worldbuilding details like the food and animals and fancy houses. I did appreciate that our protagonist has a strong sense of personal integrity as well.
Overall, I think Shannon Messenger has hit this one out of the park for her tween fans, but it's not going to be on my list of favorites anytime soon. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll continue reading the series, but seeing how delighted my daughter was that I read the first book, I may have to continue—especially since she's reading one of my favorite books (A Little Princess) in exchange.
She's been pestering me to read it too—so I finally did, and I was underwhelmed. This book feels like someone cut up Harry Potter, shook it around a little, and pasted it back together. The worldbuilding was okay, but I was disappointed by the characters—they are distinct and recognizable as individuals, but we don't go very deep with any of them except Sophie (the protagonist), and even with her, I still feel that I don't know her very well.
Knowing that my daughter is currently reading nothing but these books, I was disappointed by two things: 1) the sentence structures are very simple and I just wish it was more challenging, and 2) there is far too much blushing and crushing going on for a 12-year-old protagonist. I would have liked it heaps better without all that.
That all said, it's not a bad read. It's well planned and plotted (although it felt a little too planned, if you know what I mean—it's hard to get into the story and forget that the author is yanking the strings behind the scenes), and it's engaging and hard to put down. My daughter goes crazy for all the little worldbuilding details like the food and animals and fancy houses. I did appreciate that our protagonist has a strong sense of personal integrity as well.
Overall, I think Shannon Messenger has hit this one out of the park for her tween fans, but it's not going to be on my list of favorites anytime soon. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll continue reading the series, but seeing how delighted my daughter was that I read the first book, I may have to continue—especially since she's reading one of my favorite books (A Little Princess) in exchange.