Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #1)

by Shannon Messenger

A New York Times bestselling series
A USA TODAY bestselling series
A California Young Reader Medal–winning series

In this riveting series opener, a telepathic girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world before the wrong person finds the answer first.

Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. She’s skipped multiple grades and doesn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she’s not comfortable with her family, either. The reason? Sophie’s a Telepath, someone who can read minds. No one knows her secret—at least, that’s what she thinks…

But the day Sophie meets Fitz, a mysterious (and adorable) boy, she learns she’s not alone. He’s a Telepath too, and it turns out the reason she has never felt at home is that, well…she isn’t. Fitz opens Sophie’s eyes to a shocking truth, and she is forced to leave behind her family for a new life in a place that is vastly different from what she has ever known.

But Sophie still has secrets, and they’re buried deep in her memory for good reason: The answers are dangerous and in high-demand. What is her true identity, and why was she hidden among humans? The truth could mean life or death—and time is running out.

• ISBN10: 1442445947
• ISBN13: 9781442445949
• Publish Date: 6 August 2013 (first published 2 October 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 7 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Aladdin
• Edition: Reprint ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

This is the first middle grade book I've picked up in a while (I can't even remember the last time). But the premise seemed so interesting, and it's been compared to Harry Potter, so I had to check it out.

I really enjoyed the world. The idea of the lost cities is such a cool idea. The fact that they hide in their own little world away from the humans was so fascinating to me. I mean, they get to Atlantis by jumping into a whirlpool. I pretty much enjoyed everything about the magical world Sophie was thrust into.

Now before I read this book, I read a review (actually 2 reviews) saying it pretty much ripped off Harry Potter and that any Harry Potter fans should steer away from this book because it will leave them livid over how similar it is. This made me apprehensive about reading it, but I read it anyway to see what they were talking about, because I am a very big Harry Potter fan.

I do see and recognize what they were talking about (because they mapped it out in their review) but I don't agree with them. It is similar in the fact that Sophie was hidden among humans to keep her safe from the magical world she belongs in and is thrust into everything when she's twelve.

Sophie is something special (just like Harry). She can read people's thoughts, but others who can read people's thoughts, can't read hers. Her mind cannot be accessed by the most powerful mind reader (I forgot what they were called in the book).

There are more similarities, like the school Sophie goes to (all though it's not a boarding school like Hogwarts) but nothing that really made me aggravated enough to hate the book. I just wanted to point out that I am a Harry Potter lover and I still enjoyed this book.

There were some instances that made me flinch, but it had nothing to do with Harry Potter. Like when Sophie realizes that she was never related to the family she lived with. She mentions how she should have noticed since she was blonde and skinny and her family was brunette and stocky (I don't have the book with me so I don't have the exact quote, but it was similar to that). I mean, come on.

I'd say if you're on the fence about reading this, read it and get your own idea. I'm happy I decided to read it, because I did really enjoy the whole lost cities world.