Joint Review: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Bibliotropic

I just… wow. I mean, what more can I say but that? This book might have appealed to me as a quick read, and I like seeing what new fantasy the young’uns are getting their hands on these days, but the blatant Harry Potter rip-offs would just make me want to hurl this book against a wall, I think. I have no patience for rip-offs. References, sure. Homages, fine, if they’re done well. But it sounds like this one was trying to ride some coattails and just couldn’t manage it.

Diana

This is the first time I’ve read a description of this book and I’m really disappointed to find out that it’s not in fact, about “lost cities”. I thought it was going to be a book about Atlantis or something.

AnimeJune

Sorry, I’d respond but I’m too busy shuddering at the thought of a TWELVE YEAR OLD being THE HOTTEST GIRL at her HIGH SCHOOL. Gross gross gross gross.

Plus the “chubby brunette family” line. Sheesh. What an ungrateful little twit. How dare their darker hair colour and higher body mass offend her Aryan body-shaming megahot 12-year-old sensibilities?

I think she ought to spend a little time in a cupboard under the stairs.

At least in the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling actually built on, examined, and dismantled the plot trope of the “Super Special Snowflake” hero with Harry. Harry’s superfamous – but for something he didn’t actually do and really had no control over, and in real life he’s pretty average. And while he is instrumental in bringing down Voldemort, he has to do so with the help of a LOT of people.

And I totally get what you guys mentioned about internal logic – if there are no rules and limitations to what can actually be done (whether it’s magic or science), then what are the stakes in this story?

Rachel Aaron

I’m so so bummed to read this! I’ve had this book on my wishlist forever, but it sounds like it takes one of the only things I didn’t like about HP (the dismissal of science and human achievement) and jumps on it while messing up the stuff that was really good.

Bah, how disappointing.

(I still covet that cover, though)

Lark

How disappointing! But I’ve learned to trust your reviews. Time to take this one off my TBR list. Thank you for the heads-up.

hapax

Wow. It sounds like somebody re-purposed the Harry Potter fanfiction they wrote in high school, and sent it to their uncle at the publishing house.

But the blatant Mary Sue-ishness had me giggling. I kept thinking, “Oh no, another candidate for Sparklypoo!”

(http://piratemonkeysinc.com/ms1.htm, if you don’t get the reference; it’s hilarious)

Yeti

The bit about the light reminded me of something…Have you read the K-Pax books? I’ve not read them for a few years but I’m sure prot travelled on a beam of light.

jillheather

Relatedly, a discussion of the not-terribly-coded racism in elves, from Ars Marginal.

oliolioli

I was kind of sad when I read this review. Sure, I noticed the similarities when I read this book but I still loved it because honestly, I haven’t been able to find any good children fantasy books in a while. Soooooo, even if it was a harry potter ripoff I still liked the book. 🙁

Anonymous

PS. All you people out there. It’s not true. Keeper of the Lost Cities is called Awesomeness. Put it back on your reading list. you will NOT BE SORRY! AT ALL! Don’t listen to those stinking no-good reviewers. Pish.

From Me

Anonymous

I’m OK with your review, but to me Keeper of the
Lost Cities was too good to be true. It was awesome. Well, to me. Thanks for the review, anyway.

~Anonymous

Hss

Some of the stuff in the reviews were defiantly not true but this is one of my favorite books of all time. Then again I’m only twelve but that’s the age this book was mention for.

Hss

Oh and also these reviews just point out the bad points of the story and not the good points like description,some good plots and imagination, and the cliff hangers at the end of each chapter

Another Anonymous book lover

Seriously?????? Umm….. I do trust ur reviews sometimes and I have disagreed with a few of ur reviews before I come to this site a lot as well but this review was like REALLY far off from what the book was actually about, and I think u guys were focusing on the wrong points of this book. When u said that the book “delivers instead is a story about ultra-beautiful, ultra-intelligent, ultra-magical elves (yes, elves), whose existence is secret from disgusting humans. It then morphs into Harry Potter knock-off land, complete with a prestigious, secret and ultra selective academy for young prodigious elves, with classes in specialized areas like alchemy and telepathy. Oh yeah, and it turns out that Sophie Foster, our protagonist, is not only superduper desirable (a humble twelve year old, but already commanding the attentions of fifteen year olds) but possesses unparalleled power and is The One who can Save them All” is ALL complete idiocity, I feel like you were too preoccupied with finding similarities between this book and Harry potter to actually pay attention to any of the real plot. Btw the “hottest girl in the academy” that was WAY exaggerated, because that was like only mentioned once in the actual book. And when the author was comparing Sophie to her family “chubby brunette family” she was doing that to make a point that Sophie was far from her families typical resemblance and that she was starting to take better notice in it. Also Sophie isn’t the perfect “snowflake” that everyone supposedly likes the way you think she is, don’t you notice she has a bit of a temper (when she found out Edaline and Grady cancelled her adoption, u see it around there). another thing since you don’t know how to connect the dots I’ll do it for you, the reason the book is called keeper of the lost cities is because remember how when the were in Atlantis they said Sophie would make a good keeper when she was older? And they are in the lost cities which is hidden from humans because the humans betrayed the elves long ago (u 2 really need to learn how to pay attention to well written books), anyway it’s called keeper of the lost cities because sophie is a potential “keeper” , ” of the lost cities”. Just so you know the author put Marella in there as a side character she’s not really a big part in this book, she’s there to make the book more realistic, on your first day of school you meet new people it’s kinda how it’s supposed to work, right? one more thing ( I know this is getting like rrreeeaaallllyyy long but I wanna cover all of my points) the talent of pyrokinesis was the only forbidden talent because it was unpredictable, mesmerizing, and inflicting is just monitored closely because people with those power can do some atrocious things like inflict pain, or mesmerize someone into doing something crazy like jumping of a cliff. Okay I think that’s the end of this random rambling, but I wanted to acknowledge that I know this was not well written or anything but please these comments are all coming from a 12 yr old Canadian girl

Another Anonymous book lover

I think this is my last comment *crosses finger that it is*. I also wanted to point out that gnomes are entirely different creatures from the elves and they live with elves because they absorb sunlight with their skin (which they re described in the book as looking more like plants than animals) and they are looking for ways to keep busy all the time so they stay with the elves (I got that info from the second book by the way) one last thing (I think), is that although everyone is rich, they don’t consider themselves that because money is something they are given at birth by the council. In the same sense that we all are citizens after were born

Anonymous

i loooooved this book,and any one who disagrees can go eat mud

Anonymous

i really dont care if it is even a smiget CLOSE to dumb old harry potter, i loved it, cant wait for 3 and… YOU ARE SOOO WRONG, THEA & ANA!!!!!!!!!!! BEST BOOK EVER! i hope at least a handful of you guys agree with me.

Anonymous

I do not agree, Keeper of the lost cities was an awesome book and I found nothing wrong with it, it may be like Harry Potter, but Harry Potter is the best book ever and it is hard to think of an idea that isn’t anything like Harry Potter. You want a bad book, read The House of Hades, total disappointment. I think Shannon Messenger is a great writer and she should keep up the awesome work.

Anonymous

Sophie finds out about herself but she still went on, proving to us all that life truly still goes on. I think Shannon was a wonderful writer and am hoping book 3, Everblaze comes out soon! (Has every Shannon fan seen the cover of Everblaze yet?!)

Anonymous

really I liked keeper of the lost citites because of the ripoff

Anonymous

I really feel bad for people basing their opinions on these people’s opinions. It’s a Harry Potter knock off, yes. BUT! It is really good, of course this is only my opinion. You need to at least try and read the book before you hate on it or are bummed out that you can’t. I loved this book so much and really just feel bad for those who base their own opinions on other’s http://www.thebooksmugglers.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif

Tt forever

oh my gosh come on people this book is awesome ok u will understand EVERYTHING when u read the stinking book i mean come on when fitzs says the magic think he says HUMANS he is not a human he is an elf sheeh peopple this is a review this is what other people say about the book and seriously she is skinny ok and when she says twelve year old yes she is but no one says she is the prettiest girl in school her friend dex …nevermind that would spoil it ok just read a sample of the book read it at barnes and noble and then if u dont like it the return it but come on ALOT AND I MEAN ALOT of people like the book

Anonymous

I think you guys could have been a leetle more unbiased and thought about the good parts of the book as well as the bad.

Anonymous

Can I add a gripe? How can Sophie be so naive as to continue to fall for Fitz when he proved he was a jerk in book 2? I mean, come on. And I think, like you said, the book could have been a little less “perfect” for Sophie. But, despite my few gripes, I’m still a fan, so I do think the rest of the book is fine.

Anonymous

Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. But me? I TOTALLY LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

AnimeJune

OMG, this review is over two years old, get over yourselves commenters.

Fria Moon

Wow. This is my first, and last, time using you guys.
Read the book.
Then fix this mess of a review.

Kilo

Well I have to agree with this review. I found the book in my store looking for the last percy jackson and the cover got my eyes so I brought the first two (about 30 euros as I am french). Well i was confused. Everything in the review is kind of true. Plus it’s really weird to have so much shipping especially since fitz is clearly introduced as the main love interest. But what I really disliked is the super power, not one but two talents when it’s stated that it’s extremely hard to have just one talent…. It’s good to have flaw it give the character backbone…

When I read the comment written by twelve years girls who disagree and say it’s the best book ever…. Well that show that twelve years old now want to get fifteen year old boyfriend or several. I weep for the future.

Well I wasted money….

suvashross

What a total crap!!
The series is honestly the best I ever read, and I don’t really care about the money I spent to buy the first book (I’m from Malaysia, so RM 25 is considered cheap by many), and I definitely don’t care what everyone say about this book. Everyone’s choices are different, but I’m still sticking to this series.

It’s bad enough to critisize a book you haven’t actually read, and nodding along with all the people who judged negatively about this book.

To the two people who even bothered to review this book so badly, go and wash your eyes with bleach and try to read the entire series before you say any more bad things!!!

Random

I think this is a bad review so far by them. I read the book and its awesome. besides, this is just the first book,it improves .I totally recommend u to read it. and i am totally looking forward to the 4th book coming out this year.

Keeperfan

One more thing, I read that Shannon Messenger (the author) wanted the title to be way different (I don’t know if its true) so if your expecting it to be about lost cites, well, it’s not exactly the main part of the story.

bookworm2021

Okay, first off, I like the specifics with your book review and I can see where it came from, but I still have a lot of problems with it.

About the Magic and Science and animals thing: it’s the elves’ world and their technology is more advanced.It shows how separated humans and elves are in the book when it talks about how different dinosaurs are from what humans think they are, and it shows how elves are smarter than humans. Plus, it didn’t completely disregard human technology, they just said it elves’ technology was a lot more advanced, which is further proven and explored with Dex. Yes, I do have a problem with the chubby brunette family compared to the slim blonde, but it does show how different Sophie truly is from her family.

Sophie’s an elf, and Shannon Messenger says in the book that elves are normally prettier and smarter than humans. Yes, I do have a problem with the chubby brunette family compared to the slim blonde, but it does show how different Sophie truly is from her family. Also, she didn’t say Sophie was the ‘hottest’ girl in school, she said she was the prettiest, and Dex, who’s opinion is biased, was the one who said that. Also, I take it as Sophie will be prettier than the girls older than her when she reaches that age since Della said she WILL be a heart breaker, as in the FUTURE.

The gnomes spend a lot of time in the sun. When you spend a lot of time in the sun, your skin either gets sunburned or darkens, so the gnomes skin could be brown because of that, or it could be because the trunk of a tree is normally brown bark, and the gnomes are plant-like. Plus, read the fourth book and you’ll find that gnomes are really important and that it is not racist at all, which is proven when Councilor Emery was described as a dark skinned, -IN THE FIRST BOOK – and he’s a councilor, about as high a status as you can get.

Pyrokinesis is the only banned ability, whereas the three Unforgivable Curses are all illegal. Inflictors and Mesmers are just rare and people are usually scared of them, but for any of the abilities to be misused it is frowned upon, so your comparison with the Unforgivable Curses isn’t a good one.

Also, no characterization? Read the next book! This is a first book in the series, and usually in a series, the character gets developed THROUGHOUT THE SERIES. I don’t really think Harry changed that much from the beginning to end of the first book, but even if you do, Sophie changed, too. She went from being the girl who kept her head down and did nothing with her life to the girl who made important decisions. Please, don’t compare the characterization in ONE BOOK to the characterization in SEVEN BOOKS.

Lady Galvin is not like Snape as much as you think. Yes, she is disagreeable and she doesn’t like Sophie, but she doesn’t like ANYONE whereas Snape likes the Slytherins. The food is different, but it’s a world where gnomes grow everything and everyone is a vegetarian and an elf, so OF COURSE THE FOOD IS DIFFERENT, AND SORRY IF THERE IS A FOOD THAT SOPHIE LIKES SINCE I’M CERTAIN EVERYONE LIKES AT LEAST ONE FOOD! The students locker uses the DNA of every students and when I read about the part where the flavor of the lock always changes, my take was it was because it entertained the teachers rather than the reason in Harry Potter because the DNA already does that. Cassius literally bumps into Sophie ONCE in the book whereas Lucius appears throughout the book, and it isn’t Cassius’s son, Keefe, who’s Sophie’s rival – it’s Stina. Dame Alina is NOTHING like Dumbledore – she’s vain and tried to ruin a wedding. Do you see wise old Dumbledore doing that?

Also, it isn’t a game of catch, it’s a game where you have to run and protect a base, so when you said Sophie learned how to play Catch, you’re wrong. You said Dex’s parents were considered bad matches since they weren’t nobility, but you’re wrong; they’re bad match because one was Talentless and one was Talented, which – in Harry Potter terms – would make him a HALF-BLOOD not a muggle-born. Sophie wasn’t ‘Sophie-the-Snowflake’ either, and I have no idea where that came from. You spelled Sophie wrong, too – you spelled it as Sophia at one point – and Mesmer, and I know everyone makes mistakes, but it really irks me.

No offense, but please get your facts right before you make such a criticizing review, because with all your not accurate and not thought out comparisons and points, it makes it seem like you read the book just to look for things to criticize and hate.

Again, nice specifics, but really get your facts and comparisons straight.

Anonymous

“NO TWO PERSONS EVER READ THE SAME BOOK!”
Just because it got a ad review, doesn’t mean you should not read it.
I personally think this review is really stupid, and the reviewer (ANA and THEA) are EXTREMELY NARROW-MINDED.

Averie

I kind of feel personally insulted, because this is my all-time favorite book. However, you are entitled to your own opinion.
Several things I want to point out (some have already been said in other comments_everyone rushes to her aid at slightest provocation):
1. Some characters DO have dark skin. For Example, Wylie Endal, and his father, Prentice, as well as Councillor Emery.
2. Sophie is called “the prettiest girl in school” by someone who has a crush on her. SHE DOES NOT IN ANY WAY THINK THAT SHE IS PRETTIER THAN EVERYONE ELSE, AND I WOULD ASSUME THAT EVERYONE ELSE DOES NOT THINK THAT EITHER.
3. Dame Alina is not benevolent. I actually strongly dislike her.
4. Sophie is not “sickeningly sweet and good,” nor does “everyone rushes to her aid at slightest provocation.” She has a bit of a temper, often makes rash decisions, and yeah, she CHEATS ON HER ALCHEMY EXAM, even though she regrets it a lot later. Also, most of the school hates her/dislikes her/doesn’t bother to pay attention to her until she becomes famous by destroying her horrible alchemy teacher’s cape.
5. Lady Galvin is nothing like Snape. Snape hates Harry’s father, while Lady Galvin just doesn’t like her job, making her dislike everyone.
6. Cassius is nothing like Malfoy. Sure, they are both disagreeable, blond fathers, but Cassius is actually not evil (just arrogant), and neither is his son. You can’t say that much for the Malfoys.
7. Pyrokinesis is the only forbidden talents. The other two mentioned in the review as forbidden are just rare.
8. Dex and Marella are nothing like Ron and Hermione. They are just the main character’s friends. That is not a fair comparison. Plus, Marella isn’t really even a main character.
9. I agree this book has many similarities to Harry Potter. For example, they are both AWESOME! However, the reviewers did not really touch on the unique plot twists (mainly near the end of the book), or the amazing characters, or anything like that. I think that they were to busy looking for faults with the book that they missed all of the good parts. If you are determined not to like something and not open to new ideas as the books improve, you are not going to like it. Also, the rest of the series (which you should definitely read) are much more different from HP than this one. This book just set up the world and characters so that the awesomeness could continue.
I could go on and on, but you probably get my point.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Don’t let this review taint your view of an amazing book. Read it. If you dislike it then, OK. As I said, I will respect your opinion (thought on the inside I will be heart broken.
Happy Reading!

NinjaLady

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Ravens1316

I know this reply is 4 years late, but it’s never to late to read a book!! Keeper of the Lost Cities is my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK!!!!!!!!!! In my opinion it is nothing like Harry Potter and is just as good (or better) than Harry Potter. The series takes you through many twists and turns that you would never see coming!!! PLEASE give this book a try!!!!!!!!!! I’m 99.9% sure that you will love it!!! Now there are currently 4 books in the series (which get better and better as the series go on:) with the 5th one coming out I think in November. Keeper of the Lost Cities may seem weird at first, but keep reading!!!!!! You won’t be disappointed. Sophie is such a special character that i’m sure you will fall in love with!!! If you go on goodreads you will see how MUCH people love and go crazy for this book!!!!!!! PLS, PLS, PLS, READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry if I went too crazy, I’m a teenager who loves this series and loves to read!)

Ravens1316

OMG SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I TOTALLY AGREE!!! I LUV THIS BOOK:)

Anonymous

What is wrong with you people!!!!! Keepers of the Lost Cities is one of my FAVORITE book series. (I have to say that Eragon is always number one.) The TROLLS who made this web obviously never read the other books, or even the first one! Councillor Emery is described as having DARK SKIN!!!!! And so is Prentice and his son are both described as having DARK SKIN as well! If you read the other books they are nothing like Harry Potter. There may be similarities in the first one, but it is NOT a rip-off. These books inspired me to write my own series. The people who wrote this may not have liked it, so they told all these terrible lies about the author and the books. I KNOW I’m not the only one inspired by these books.
To the people who wrote this, read ALL the other books before you judge them.

Anonymous

I know right. Just stop hating on Keeper of the Lost Cities just because you don’t like it. I mean if you don’t like it so much don’t read it. I hate people like y’all. Always talking about something just because you don’t like it. Well NEWS FLASH: WE DON’T CARE WHAT YOU LIKE. I mean just ugh.

Most people in middle school LOVE this book!!!! I mean just shut up! ?Personally I think Keeper of the Lost Cities is better than Harry Potter.

Anonymous

I loved this book. Yes, it has flaws, but every book has flaws. If you want to rant about a horrible book, go rant about Twilight, which ruined vampires & werewolves. And while I do look at book reviews, I read some of the book to see if it’s the kind of thing I like.

Anonymous

this is a rly good book series and Shannon messenger is an amazing author so all of you haters go die in a whole cause you have nothing better to do but be critical and ruin peoples sights of and awesome book series…and incase you haven’t noticed she makes a lot of money because so many people love her books so back off

Anonymous

loved this book!

Sunshard

What? I’m so confused, did you like KotLC or not. I read your review like 5 times, and I still don’t get it

Anonymous

I politely disagree, I really enjoyed the Keeper of The Lost Cities.

Anonymous

I think this review just spoiled the book for you, I would bet you were reading it thinking ‘how bad could this possibly be?’ and that’s what made you dig for mistakes that weren’t there. Or it could have simply made you doubtful of the contents of the book. What ever it is, you should read it with an open mind, take for example someone told you that your favourite food was disgusting and listed a hundred reasons why they think so, would that suddenly make you dislike it? No! It’s their personal opinion and what really matters is what you think about it. So if you ever plan on reading it again, take it that your trying a new food. Don’t think of the bad things other people said as you consume it, just focus on what you taste. Who knows, it might become your favourite food! Sorry for the food reference, it was the only thing I thought of to explain. Keep an open mind!!!

Keeper 4 Life

I completely agree with you! I Love the Keeper of the Lost Cities book series. I don’t know why people don’t like it. I guess they just don’t understand the mystery, imagination, and true friendship in this book. Even if it is a little bit like Harry Potter, I’ve read a lot of books with similarities to Harry Potter, and other books. I will always stand by Keeper of the Lost Cities.

Keeper 4 Life

Um.!?!. Just so you know, I am 14 YEARS OLD and I loved the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Not trying to put down your opinion or anything, but you should really read the entire series, or at least the entire book, before dumping it. In my opinion you sound just like those book reviewers, Narrow Minded!

Unknown

I actually beg to differ. I have read this book and was suprised by how mediocre it was. I then read it again, and instead of picking up on the little hidden parts of this book, I picked up on more parts, nod kept dwelling on the fact that I was NOT SCARED OR WORRIED AT ALL about the villians. The book seems like a girl finds out she’s a superhuman an ends up going to an idealistic world with advanced tech and no worry about poverty or problems, plus some racial slurs, and of course she’s the best at everything. See the difference between Harry Potter?

Unknown

I read it, and having read large amounts of books, great and trash, was not impressed, and very let down. I don’t believe they were close minded either. They picked up on the books downfalls, and managed to scrounged up like one good part about it.

Anonymous

I really liked the keeper of the lost cities series

I HATE KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES

THANK YOU I read these books and they are so bad, but all my friends love these books and I don’t understand how.

no name

Hmmm. In my opinion these books were actually really good. I think that this review should be taken as a matter of someone else’s opinion, and please read the entire series before coming to any conclusions.
I’d like to note that SOPHIE, not Sophia, was called the prettiest girl in her school by a boy HER AGE and, yes, she did attract boys older than her, but, as we know, elves do have indefinite lifespans, and, as we learn in the later books, do not really count age for much. No one complains about Tris and Tobias’ couple-year-gap, or Katniss’ torn love life, now do they? I would also like to note that this is not a story about a 12 year old getting all smootchy. There is seriously not a kissing scene in all the 5 books out now. AND, by the 5th book Sophie is 14. The most part of relationships are appropriate for her age, and I will also note that most people in 6th grade are in dating relationships (really, people!)

Cheesy

Don’t mind me commenting on your post. You’re not the problem. THIS REVIEWER IS.
Let me just get a few things out of the way here. This book makes CONSTANT jokes about human items. Sophie jokes about about her being an elf at the start of a book by saying, “What am I going to do? Guide the hobbits to Isengard?”. One time one of the characters puts on a human shirt and asks, “What’s the logo on it? It’s cool!” and Sophie didn’t want to answer ‘Wonder Woman’ to ruin his dreams so she said, “A really cool superhero.” She also makes various other references.
You saying that ‘the life of a slender blonde in a chubby brunette family’ is a ripoff of Harry Potter is stupid. She’s making a Harry Potter reference. My god.
With romance. Okay. There is a slight bit of romance but NOT MUCH! It’s like ‘her heart fluttered a bit’, like when you see someone and think ‘Wow. he/she is cute.” and that’s the end of it. One of the characters teases Sophie for liking Fitz but that’s IT. Also, not everyone at the school thinks she’s hot. Briana is the one everyone likes. Nobody likes Sophie because she’s ‘the weird new kid’ and just end up giving her weird looks like ‘how the heck did that loser get in this school?’
Come on man. Have an open mind.

Anyone who reads this just find comments about people who ACTUALLY LIKED THE BOOK. Don’t listen to this guy. His ideas are crap.

Sage

Why the heck, may I add, were you guys up at 4:00 in the morning ranting about how Keeper of the Lost Cities is “ridiculous”, and “laughable”, when this book series is specifically targeting middle grade readers??? I think you two snobby women should stop ruining good books for other people, because as you can see, several comments said they weren’t going to read it just because of this ridiculously laughable review. Oh, and by the way you got so many of your facts wrong it seems like you were just reading Sophie’s story because you wanted to write a dirt review about Shannon Messenger’s masterpiece right off the bat. Stupid, am I right? So please remember if you find yourself reading keeper again- and more than the first book because it gets way better- put your own snobbery aside and notice that the characters are more complex, and the plots more twisting, and the cliffhangers more heart-renching- I could go on and on- than the similarities to HP *epic eye roll*
So please people do not let this review ruin the best book series I have ever read!! – and maybe yours if you’d just give it a try!!!- Go Keeper of the Lost Cities!!!!!

WriterProfile

Wow. REALLY?! This is coming from someone who has made constant OCs for Harry Potter, owns ALL EIGHT BOOKS AND HAS READ ALL OF THEM AT LEAST FIVE TIMES, owns ALL THE MOVIES, has HP posters on their walls, and dressed up for Hermione for Halloween, so believe me, I know HP. I also own all six Keeper books, have created constant OCs for kotlc, have read EVERY SINGLE BOOK AT LEAST TWICE, and see myself in Sophie Foster like I see myself in a mirror, so believe me, I know KotLC. And I didn’t notice ANY of the similarities that you mentioned the first time around. Why? Because you’d have to be looking REALLY hard to see them. Were you even READING it for the sake of READING it or for the sake of BASHING it? Cause it sure seems like the latter.
1. People actually like Dumbledore. I hate Alina so much that I’m KILLING HER OFF in my fanfiction and I’m not sure who I hate more: her or Umbridge.
2. Yes, SOPHIE is a bit OP, BUT that’s because she was GENETICALLY MODIFIED AT BIRTH. Plus, it’s a super important plot point in the following books, especially when they get TAKEN AWAY!
3. She is NOT attracting the attention of people 3+ years older than her. Fitz is BARELY a year and a half older than her.
4. Keefe is as far from boring and flat as it gets. I believe that he is one of the deepest characters in the Keeper series. He hides behind a mask of happiness to keep his friends safe from his pain. Whoa.
5. Keeper is a KIDS book. It’s for young YA readers. Not for adult bloggers who are up WAY too early bashing my favorite books.
6. WILL YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW HEARTBREAKING BETRAYALS AND EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT CLIFFHANGERS COUNT AS “BAD WRITING?!”
7. If it’s “such a waste of time,” then WHY are you getting flame from the Keeper fans who make up the vast majority of these comments and WHY is there a huge Wiki Fandom page and WHY are there six books in the series with a seventh to come out this fall?
How rational do you really think you are at 4 in the morning? Be honest. If you are thinking about reading Keeper and are a KID or enjoy KIDS books, then PLEASE don’t listen to this review. If you don’t like kids books, THEN DON’T READ THEM JUST FOR THE SAKE OF INSULTING THEM!
Honestly, I think that reading this review was a waste of time. The comments are more useful. This review falls on the “Shark Tale” end of the spectrum, as you so eloquently put it. I give this review a 2.
I’m just glad that all the Keeper fans are standing up for Shannon Messenger and the fandom they love. Because they absolutely should.

Anonymous

OK THIS IS SO NOT TRUE!!!!!!!! Keeper of the lost cities is by far my favorite book I’ve ever read. And you people wouldn’t know a good book if it slapped you in the face and said Hi I am a good book. First of all all this Harry Potter Ripoff stuff is totally not true. Sophie learns she is a elf not a wizard. And if you learned you were a elf you probably would go to a school for elf’s. ( OMG ITS THE END OF THE WORLD BOTH HARRY AND SOPHIE GO TO SCHOOL) oh and so sorry that the school is also run by a principal like Harry Potter, maybe Shannon should’ve just had the kids run the school with no adult supervisors. Oh and big whoop Sophie makes friends like Harry Potter I wish she was just a socially awkward person with only a pet imp for a friend. And also she doesn’t just make two friends. And as for the bad matches byproduct and non noble elves of course not all elf’s are going to be perfect just like all humans aren’t perfect that is just the society we live in. I would seriously recommend this book to anyone. So if you planning on reading this please do.

Anon

This is not a real review. I don’t know what parts of the book you guys read, because you obviously didn’t read it correctly. You can’t even remember the main character’s name? I think that you just read and reread the book to pick out the bad parts and those parts weren’t even correct. And all the people that read this review, please don’t believe them. Sophie was told that she was the prettiest girl in the school by Dex, who has a crush on her. This book makes a lot of references to other books/tv shows. They mention Sherlock Holmes a lot and also Wonder Woman. And a slender blonde in a chubby brunette family? This wan’t a rip-off of Harry Potter… it was REFERENCING it. Oh so now schools can’t have principals? And Sophie can’t have friends? Marella and Sophie aren’t even that close, not like Harry and Hermione or Ron. There isn’t even a bit of kissing in these books and there have been 6 so far. You said that you thought this book “would be about a telepathic twelve year old girl that discovers secrets about her family, her true birthright, and her abilities.” And then said it wasn’t, but it is?
With the science and magic part, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove. You said “Oh it’s not magic or science” but yes it is, it’s science. Science is how the world around us is, right? That’s also what Fitz was saying. If you search up the reviews on Google, they’re all good, so maybe you were just trying to pull all the attention to yourselves to be one of the only bad reviews?
This is just what I think

Unknown

I am disappointed at the review. The book is amazing. I even have book 7 pre ordered. In the series it is sooooo different from Harry Potter. In your review you missed everything good about it. You think this book is about Chosen One. It’s more then that, the book is about loyality, friendship, selflessness, and trust. Also no book should be laughed at. People spent years write them and then they get laughed it.

Anonymous

I think Thea and Ana should read more into the book. I’ve read the whole series, up until Nightfall (the 7th book is almost out!!) and yes, I can agree, the beginning is a little similar to Harry Potter. But even in the first book it spirals off. That bit about Dame Alina being like Dumbledore? Nuh uh. Did you see how she acted towards Alden when Sophie messed up on the rules of telepathy? SHE HATES SOPHIE!!! Also, Marella and Jensi? They’re just in the first book and then *poof* gone. They don’t ever hang out with Sophie again- in fact, Marella hates Sophie for a loooooooooong time. They’re definitely NOT like Ron and Hermione. Keeper of the Lost Cities is a GREAT series, and I think Thea and Ana need to go back and read the book again, and actually look for what the book is about.

Anonymous

^No. I think your forgetting that 3/4 of the fan base ships SOKEEFE, not Sophitz. Read into the series! Sophie’s stressed and angry and sad. She perfectly imperfect. And honey, THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN FOR KIDS. I’m 16, and I love these books. So quit bashing these books and go do what 60 year olds do in their free time.

Anonymous

A. I agree with some of that, because I think that a lot of you have to agree: The first book is not very good. Like, seriously.

B. Dame Alina and Dumbledore are QUITE different. Dame Alina is only the Dame until the middle of book 3, out of a 9+ book series, while Dumbledore is always the headmaster.

C. All of the teachers (at Foxfire) take turns changing the flavor on the lockers, and they are not always sweet. Also, a PASSWORD is very different than a DNA activated lock with a flavor.

D. Mudblood is VERY different from a Bad Match, and also Dex’s parents are in Nobility.

E. Sophie DOES NOT excel at very many subjects. Not Elementalism, not Alchemy, etc.

F. Snape has a MUCH MORE complicated history with Harry than Sophie does with Lady Galvin. Sophie just lit Lady Galvin’s cape on fire and she’s HORRIBLE at alchemy, so that’s why Lady Galvin hates her, and Harry is actually fine at Potions.

G. It never says that Sophie is the prettiest girl at the school.

H. DNA is a human concept, but all animals have DNA, so why don’t elves?

I. ABILITIES, not “GIFTS”.

J. Pyrokinesis, not Pyrokitetisicsm!

K. Inflicting, not Infliction!

L. WHAT IS MERMERIZING???????!!!!!!!

M. Out of the three, Pyrokinesis is the only one that is banned.

N. In Harry Potter, the “Deadly Killing Curse” (Avada Kadavra did I spell that right?) does not set people on fire. Pyrokinesis can be used for good, as well.

O. WHAT IS CATCH?!?!?!?!?! Isn’t that a human game?

P. You spell “Elvin” “Elven”.

Q. They are brown skinned because of the metaphor: they are basically plants. Also, there are many non-white important people in the series: Tam, Linh, Wylie, Teirgan, Emery, Clarette, Liora, and others, some just random characters, and some in positions of POWER.

R. The gnomes DO choose to live with the elves. Read Neverseen.

S. I know this is a typo, but her name is SOPHIE. Not SOPHIA.

In the comments:

T. READ THE REST OF THE SERIES: Atlantis is a BIG part in Nightfall!

U. She is NOT the prettiest girl in her human school. Again, when does it say that?

V. Everyone, please just try it. You may become obsessed — like me!

W. Okay, the first book does sound like a high schooler wrote it (kinda) but READ THE SERIES!!!

X. There isn’t a villain like Voldemort.

Y. Oh, Sophie’s NOT more-than-perfect AT ALL.

Anonymous

Also, I have to say: how stupid is this review.
When you crossed out ‘Harry’ and put ‘Sophie’, my only thought was, “oh yes. Isn’t it soooooooo terrible that Keeper of the Lost Cities has a main character.”

Also, Lord Cassius is not evil like Lucius.

Not all elves have “gifts” (they are actually called talents).
Some are talentless, and are scorned for it.

Lastly, non-noble elves are called bad matches. And muggles are humans in Harry Potter. I can assure you, that a bad match does not mean “Oh guess what! We are now a compleatly different species because we got married!”
Ugh. Such an unhelpful review.

Anonymous

“What Keeper of the Lost Cities delivers instead is a story about ultra-beautiful, ultra-intelligent, ultra-magical elves (yes, elves), whose existence is secret from disgusting humans. It then morphs into Harry Potter knock-off land, complete with a prestigious, secret and ultra selective academy for young prodigious elves, with classes in specialized areas like alchemy and telepathy. Oh yeah, and it turns out that Sophie Foster, our protagonist, is not only superduper desirable (a humble twelve year old, but already commanding the attentions of fifteen year olds) but possesses unparalleled power and is The One who can Save them All.”
First, let me start off with, the whole point of the book is that the lost cities are supposed to seem perfect, but there are obvious flaws everywhere that people are too ignorant to see. It’s normal for people to assume their perfect and better than everyone else, but they’re really not better in total. Ex: Elves have smarter brains that are more logical than humans, however they are unable to make hard choices due to their fatal flaw of guilt. And while humans lack special abilities and increased life span and intelligence, they are able to admit their mistakes and are humbler than elves. Elves also have so much prejudice, but they claim they’re better than humans because they don’t have the same prejudices. This book is in fact a deeply psychological book that reveals truths about human nature, which is ultimately what the book reflects.
Also, Harry Potter wasn’t the first book to have a “prestigious, secret and ultra selective academy”. It is a common pattern in any books with younger protagonists. J K Rowling did not invent the idea of a prestigious school. Also, Foxfire is a much more prestigious academy than Hogwarts, since Foxfire is only for the best, while Hogwarts is for any wizards. Foxfire also has a meaningful name, representing a light in the darkness, which is very metaphorical, unlike Hogwarts which is just two random, funny words put together to appeal to young children. “With classes in specialized areas like alchemy and telepathy” It’s a school. Of course it has specialized classes. Alchemy is their equivalent of science, which I assume the writers of this review did take in their school days, unless they’re dropouts, which wouldn’t surprise me. Also, the abilities of the elves are dangerous, and to leave them to fester without proper training would only have massive horrible consequences, so obviously having school classes for them would make more than enough sense.
“superduper desirable (a humble twelve year old, but already commanding the attentions of fifteen year olds)” This line makes no sense. All elves are considered physically beautiful because they tend to have traits that are beautiful by human standards. Fitz, the oldest of the friend group, is actually only a year and a half older than her and only has a crush on her starting from the 4th book, when she is fourteen and he is 15/16. Keefe is less than a year older than her and has a crush on her, which is understandable, same for Dex who is about half a year younger than her. Also, some people love people who are different, and the characters of the three boys only fit for people who wouldn’t be attracted to ordinary people, instead people who stand out aka the only elf with brown eyes, Sophie, who also has tweaked genetics that give her more abilities than the average elf. Mostly though, it is probably her character, which is kind and understanding, and she’s good at getting people to trust her.
“possesses unparalleled power and is The One who can Save them All” Isn’t Harry Potter “The Boy Who Lived”? And people actually call him that in the books? Sophie doesn’t have unparalleled power, she only has more abilities than the average person, which is how it is in fantasy novels. Because of her tweaked genetics, Sophie has 5 abilities so far, but she is still constantly bested by the rebels, who, btw, managed to kidnap and torture her. The abilities only help her survive, but also set a target on her back. Also, everything she does, she does with friends in the following books. The only time I remember her going solo, is when she collected the Everblaze sample, which had repercussions on her, but was the only way to do it. Every action of hers is completely logical, on Shannon’s part, for the plot and are necessary, but also creative.
Please try to actually read the book and know what’s happening instead of skimming it with the plans of giving a bad review.

Anonymous

Dis book is amazin!!! I read it and was like meh but when you don’t come at it witha critical air its really good! WAY BETTER THAN H.P.! and plot holes shmotoles it gets filled if you read THE WHOLE SERIES!

Anonymous

SERIOUSLY????
WHAT IS THIS…
What infuriated me the most is her response to Fitz saying after they light leap, “It’s just how it is”
YOU EXPECT A TEENAGER TO KNOW ABOUT OR CARE ABOUT IT? HE’S GROWN UP LIGHT LEAPING SO THAT’S VERY MUCH “just how it is” FOR HIM! And I’ll agree there are some weak points in the series (mostly in book one) like their economy, their population, and how their abilities aren’t magic that’s just not called magic–but seriously, other than that it’s a GREAT series!

Anonymous

Lol coming back years later to look at my cringy comment. Tbh, I wish I could scrub it cleanly from my mind. Now, that I’m a lot more older, by a few years, I still do keep up with the series, but my passion for it is just not as same as it was six years ago. I still enjoy reading the books, but I feel like the pacing and the plotlines are…too convoluted? Currently reading book seven now, and… I can see why the shipping in the fandom is unnecessarily immature and childish (I used to be a casual shipper, but I don’t ship anyone anymore). And there’s so many things that you have to remember from the previous books if you’re not a mega-huge fan, which isn’t me (unfortunately, but I’m not going say more into that). However, I totally understand the point of this review, and the fans who defended their favourite series respectfully are applauded. On the other hand, saying that this series is “the best series in the world” and invalidating others’ opinions isn’t cool and is plain immature. My honest opinion summarised: I still do enjoy reading and keeping up with the series, there are flaws, but I read it for the reason because it is enjoyable, and that’s what matters to my reading experience.

Arizona

I remember reading this review about a year ago and leaving a comment befitting a fangirl scorned. I’m coming back and reading my comment and the comments of so many others and I’m trying to figure out what to say.
I will begin with saying that everyone has the right to their personal opinion. I will add that no one has the right to force their personal opinion onto others. I have become a character reviewer myself, which means that I can, to some degree, now sympathize with the authors of the review. However, I will also say that one of the things I pride myself on is pointing out both the good and the bad in every character. I feel that the same should be done for stories, and that was not what was done here.
It is true that where there is smoke, there is fire, and that even the best of stories will have its flaws. I will not deny that KotLC is not perfect and will never be perfect. Nothing will ever be “perfect” while still being made by human hands. However, this review is far from perfect and is coming from a biased place. Everything is made with a target audience in mind. Ana and Thea, you are not the target audience. It wasn’t written for 40-year-old women to enjoy at 4:00 AM. That’s not what young adult novels are for.
I respect your right to your opinion. Please respect everyone else’s right to form theirs. Everyone has different tastes. There are a lot of people here who disagree with you, and for good reason. There is a lot of good in the KotLC series, and there is only so much you can do in one book. A lot has changed in the past 7 books and a lot will change in the next 2. There are a lot of people looking forward to it, and I am one of them.
You claim that this is a Harry Potter ripoff, yet you forget that there is nothing new under the sun. Trends in literature exist because they work. You may not like a trend, but it’s a trend for a reason. People like something because there is something to like about it and they like that something enough to move past whatever flaws it may have. KotLC is far from perfect, but people like it for a reason. This review fails to show why, and in that sense, it fails to be a review. You pointed out detractors without mentioning any of the strengths. If you had done a more balanced review and pointed out some of the strengths in KotLC – its humor, its themes about self-consciousness, bullying, and losing friends, its wonderful character dynamics – I doubt you would be receiving this current response.
Is KotLC perfect? No. Was this review fair?
No.
Thank you for your time.

Anime Girl Alex ( the much better, much smarter one)

To all the lovers of KotLC: I completely agree with you. Thea and Ana: you are 1,000,000% nuts if you think this book is as bad as you wrote, then you are MISTAKEN. Read the other six, soon to be seven, other books in the series! You will find they are MUCH better then junk. It wasn’t meant for middle aged book nerd to read and then rant about how bad it is on their blog at 4 am the next morning. It was meant for kids about 11 through 16 year olds who actually enjoy these kinds of books, not you! I am going to personally message Shannon Messenger herself about this, and we’ll see what she has to say about your “review”!!!!!!!

Another Peep That Loves This Series

I honestly think you shouldn’t be doing reviews. At least not for this book. I’m not trying to be rude, but you only point out the bad parts of the series. This series was one of the best things I’ve ever read! It’s exciting and it’s like a rollercoaster, with its ups and downs in every chapter. For everyone reading this, don’t trust reviews. Trust yourself and your own opinion. Try out the books! If you don’t like it, I get it. But don’t let bad reviews keep you from trying something.

Magnolia Evans

Dear Ana and Thea,

I have read and agreed with many of your review, but, I must be honest, your review left me frustrated. I’m sure you aren’t even considering reading the next book, Exile, but I do believe you could benefit from it. The plot strays very much so from the “Harry Potter storyline” later on in the series. For example, by the fourth book, Sophie ends up spending much time away from school due to complications she experiences. And that’s just one example.

There are a few points I would like to address, if you don’t mind. Dame Alina turns out to be a less-than-pleasant character, for one. And Sophie turns out to be closer in age to Keefe and Fitz than previously thought, due to the fact that elves count their age from their conception date, rather than their birthdate.

Aside from that, I don’t believe you correctly conveyed the concept of Sophie’s appearance. First of all, in the human world, Sophie might have been above-average beautiful, but that’s because she’s an elf. No one was making moves on her, because she was an outcast. They called her “Curvebreaker,” etc.

In the elven world, Sophie was about as beautiful as anyone else. The only people who would tell her that she’s more beautiful would be the love interests (i.e. Dex, Fitz), but that’s because they have crushes on her. Which leads me to also point out that, in the elven world, differences in ages in relationships are not uncommon. Seeing as even some human societies are also this way, it’s not something to automatically judge. In Keeper of the Lost Cities, Della and Alden Vacker are 100 years apart, but that’s not weird to them. It’s just how their society works. Since Sophie turns out to be about two years younger than Fitz, and a year younger than Keefe, it’s not a huge difference when compared to the elder Vackers.

Another benefit to reading further into the series would be to learn more about Project Moonlark. Sophie, being genetically edited, was given the large amount of powers artificially. This makes for an interesting storyline, as well as inspiring doubt in Sophie about her own deservance and other related worries.

Sophie is not a perfect snowflake in many ways. She does not perform very well in elven school, where she is actually nearly sub-par; she is often distrusting; she struggles to fit in and live up to the expectations set before her; and she was an outcast among the people she was raised alongside, because she was so different. And, like I’ve already said, she’s is comparatively normal-looking to other elves.

I’d also like to add that the main Keeper group, as it develops, turns out to be pretty diverse. Search up “Wylie Endal,” “Tam Song,” or “Linh Song.” Elves are from all different races; they’re not all pale or olive-skinned.

Gnomes have dark skin alongside mossy green “hair” to give the appearance of trees, which they become when they die. Their skin is supposed to be bark-like. It’s not meant to be racial discrimination. And while the gnomes to assist the elves without pay, they do it because they love to garden, and because the elves provide security for them, which is described in more detail in Nightfall. It’s like a gift in return for the elves’ help — and the elves don’t force them to help, either.

One of the main points of Keeper is how society needs to move past unfair stereotypes. This appears with the matchmaking system and the nobility system, as well as elven view of humans. The main characters of Keeper begin to push against discrimination and injustice. I’m saying this to point out that Shannon Messenger doesn’t support such things.

On a side note, I’d like to address the fact that Shannon Messenger’s marketing agent chose the name based on what they thought would attract the correct age group, so please don’t judge the book for its title. Besides, it does make sense — Sophie is a Keeper (she is a telepath with memories planted inside her), and she lives in the Lost Cities.

Keeper is so much more complex than a cheap Harry Potter rip off, if you take the time to read further into the series. My last encouragement to you would be to make sure that you’re reading from the eyes of the intended audience. This book is largely directed at a tween audience, so it’s written as a tween audience might enjoy. I myself am of an older age group, but I can and do enjoy this series because I’m willing to appreciate it for what it was written to be.

My plea to you is to give the rest of the series a chance, and to try to focus a bit more on the positives. Many readers have read your review and will not be giving this book a chance now, due to it. I find that extremely saddening.

I understand that opinions may differ, and I respect that. I also have read and agreed with many of your other reviews. I suppose that’s why the sarcasm and disgust in this review hits me so hard.

Thanks for your time, and for your work in reviewing books! I truly do admire and respect you two.

Sincerely,
Magnolia Evans

The Honest Person

Hello I am from the future! I know this is very old but reading this review made me want to scream my head off. First of all, this book series is clearly children’s literature, so give us a break. Second of all, this series is the best you fricking didn’t give it a chance. Third of all, nothing in this book makes me want to laugh at. It has an exciting plot with interesting characters that are very original. If you think this is just a Harry Potter ripoff you are wrong. I think it’s a more modern and futuristic Harry Potter and deserves more recognition. So, if you are willing to follow these two stupid people’s advise, know that you haven’t known for sure yet. Guess that’s a lot of typing for tonight. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am!

CM

Oh my goodness. This review sounds like you barely paid attention to the book. Resaon one: This is in no way a ripoff of Harry Potter. If we want to go there, pretty much every great book is a rip off of Harry Potter if you dont go deep enough. And there is zero rascism! I mean, you didn’t notice the many many character’s that are not fair-skinned? Obviously you just didn’t read the rest of the series. tons of people love this series. Just check this out! https://lost-cities-keeper.fandom.com/wiki/Thread:87110

Their review was completely wrong

I’m sorry, but no. This review is completely and utterly wrong. Keeper of the Lost Cities is my favorite book series and I’ve read the Harry Potter books. If you actually read the book(s) you will see that these “comparisons” aren’t that comparable at all! She didn’t say she was mistreated or it was “tough” for her in her chubby brunette family, she merely stated that she was DIFFERENT as in, not similar!!! Next, Dame Alina is hardly the benevolent Dumbledore; she is a brat and Sophie hates her. Sophie never ever goes to her for advice or support. Ana said that Sophie learns about three gifts that are frowned upon Pyrokinetics, Mesmerizing, and Inflicting aka Cruciatious, Imperious, and Killing curses. Nope, it turns out that she has Inflicting and so does one of the longest standing leaders of their world and everyone knows! It’s not a forbidden curse it’s a powerful and dangerous ability that people are aloud to use. Guess what else her Father has mesmerizing and the leaders beg him to use it! Also, no brown skinned elves, um yah, there is!!! He is one of the main characters, and is on the front cover of a book. Another brown skinned elves is beautiful and fierce not a “lower species” or whatever these two horrible reviewers were saying. Another thing she isn’t a “desirable” twelve year old or whatever. She is a girl who is called a freak and is considered weird because of the way she looks.

Anonymous

I’m so mad at you! I’ve read the entire series of this book and I’d just like to say that most of the things you say here AREN’T TRUE!!!

First, you CANNOT base this entire book series on its first book. That’s basically like reading the first few chapter of a book and deciding it’s not good. The characters in this series seem less thought-out because you don’t KNOW them yet. They are explained much better in future books.

Also, NOT ONCE DID THEY EVER SAY THAT SOPHIE WAS THE PRETTIEST/HOTTEST GIRL IN SCHOOL!!!! In fact, it is implied that she IS NOT the prettiest girl in Foxfire. Honestly, there’s nothing else to say about this fact other than, yeah, it’s wrong.

Also about Foxfire, Sophie IS NOT good at all of her subjects other than alchemy. She also struggles with Elementalism and she finds her history class very boring. This shows that she’s not some “star prodigy”, but that she’s really just an everyday student.

Regarding what you said about the gnomes, the reason they have darker skin is because they are part plant. (Tbh, I don’t even remember them having darker skin, but I’ll take your word for it. I always imagined them having gray skin, like the color of a stone statue, or maybe green-y skin). Also, it is proved even more in later books that the gnomes are there COMPLETELY BY CHOICE!!!! And, no, not all of the characters are white. There are councilors with darker skin, one of which being Emery. Wylie has darker skin as well as his father (Prentice). Tam and Linh (they were first mentioned in book 4, so I’ll give you a pass on this one) are Asian. Even Fitz, a VACKER, seems to be mixed/Hispanic.

On the topic of looks, when Sophie said that she was ‘a slender blond’ and her family were ‘chubby brunettes’ she mean they looked different. She’s not body-shaming them and she’s definitely not implying that she “better than them.” She’s merely stating that she has a different body-type from them and that they have different color hair (they also have different color eyes, too). She’s saying she felt out of place, because she stood out so much in her own family. It’s like in Frozen, how Elsa looked so weird in the family pictures.

At one point you claim that the series is trying hard to ‘not be science’ I assume this is a typo, bc it’s contradictory to your previous statements, but that’s not true. The series is trying to say that it’s SCIENCE, NOT MAGIC.

Also, with Fitz’a explanation about light leaping, it’s like trying to explain how a car works to someone who’s never seen a car before. Sure, there are some things you know, but (unless you’re really knowledgeable about cars) at the end of the day, your answer will be ‘I dunno, that’s just how it works,’ just like Fitz says.

I have lots more to say, but I’m not gonna take the time to say it. I’m fine with you disliking this series, but saying things that are just incorrect (the ‘Sophie is the hottest girl in school’ thing) and stopping people from reading the series because of it is downright INFURIATING.

Anonymous

THANK YOU

REPETITIVE POST SEVEN YEARS LATER

Upon reading this horrible book review and all the nasty comments that followed, I honestly have seldom been more angry. KOTLC might be a HP rip-off, but in like, five ways. As the series continues, it is COMPLETELY different, the characters and plot are deep and well written. Ana and Thea, I’d like to see YOU try and write a book HALF as good. (I realize that I’m following in the same vein as other comments, but I don’t care.) This series was amazing, and you picked apart the smallest things, not even the plot or the characters or the style of writing. The best you could come up with is that it’s a HP rip-off, and SO WHAT. You obviously have no appreciation for good literature. It’s like you didn’t even read the book but just skimmed it for the less-than-perfect parts. This series has made me laugh, cry, scream in anger or surprise, and literally jump up and cheer more times than I care to say. And yes, I realize that this was seven years ago, but it deserves to be said. If you are considering reading this series, ignore this nasty review and READ IT BECAUSE IT’S AMAZING.

REPETITIVE POST SEVEN YEARS LATER

Also, even though I almost to start crying when I read this review and those comments people left about not even going to try the series, THANK YOU to all the people who backed up KOTLC. It was so gratifying to read all the comments people left about how amazing the series is, and I wanted to bash my head into my computer much less. As long as there are people who won’t even read a book because of one review, there are people who will back up an amazing series that I know I will continue to love even out of my teenage years. This series does not deserve any hate, and hopefully people reading this review will look in the comments and read what the series is really like from actual, dedicated readers. (last post, I promise.)

naomi

Alright, I can see the basis of all of your points. You make some good ones-don’t get me wrong. But most of your points are based on incorrect fact. There are several other great books in the series, and if you read past the first page of the first book you might realize that there are points you missed out on. Again, I’m seriously open to discussion but PLEASE do it with CANON FACTS.

Loki

While Keeper of The Lost Cities is similar to Harry Potter in some aspects, I firmly hold on to the belief that it is its own, individual universe with its own original plot. Foxfire is hardly even used as an environment after the first two or three books, for one thing. Another thing is, is that while Sophie is overpowered, there are reasons for it. She’s a science experiment created by an organization called The Black Swan, thus having several abilities. Plus, her powers have limits, she can’t really control them perfectly, etc etc. This review seems false to me.

SoKeefeForLifeFangirl

This review is so inaccurate!!!!! Its NOTHING like Harry Potter. And its Sophie, not Sophia. Please don’t hate on this, peace!!

Anonymous

Ok, so I actually have very much enjoyed this entire series. This review got a lot of things wrong, but I’d like to preface this by saying that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and no book is for everyone. That said, let me get into my review of this review!

“ Oh yeah, and it turns out that Sophie Foster, our protagonist, is not only superduper desirable (a humble twelve year old, but already commanding the attentions of fifteen year olds) but possesses unparalleled power and is The One who can Save them All.”

So already there’s a LOT to unpack. First, she doesn’t “command the attention” of any 15 year olds. She is discovered by Fitz, a 15 year old. But after meeting him and going to school she is completely ignored by him, and after that he repeatedly refers to her as something like a little sister. Second 15 year old: Keefe. She meets Keefe while trying to find the Healers Office and he’s ditching class in the hallways. He takes her there so he can get a pass from class. They become friends, I can imagine due to the fact Keefe skipped a grade and is closer to Sophie in age than any of his classmates.
And there goes the only two “15 year olds” who she draws the attention of. Second part, she “posses the power to Save Them All” she’s been genetically modified by a group called the Black Swan but feels overwhelmed by these implications and cannot use her powers to save anyone thus far, as you assumed. (SPOILERS!!!) She’s barely able to save herself and Dex by the end of the book and nearly dies in the process. She doesn’t even stop or remotely hinder the villains. (/SPOILERS)

“Well THAT explains everything, then. In this type of setting, magic would be completely acceptable as an explanation for feathered dinosaur pets, catching lightning in a bottle, using elderberries to transmutate iron, and so on. But instead, Keeper of the Lost Cities insists on not-science science, not-magic magic, and the end result is, well, ridiculous”

Well. Quite possibly a 15 year old boy can’t explain the intricacies of the science of his world, but I digress. And, if you had paid attention, you would have noticed multiple thorough explanations for the dinosaurs. I agree the explanation of elementalism is thin, this is a valid criticism. And, on the elderberry bit. They use fictional runkleberries, not elderberries and they are used to cleanse iron, not transmutate it.

“ We also learn that she is ‘the prettiest girl in school’,”

This is just blatantly untrue. Biana is constantly portrayed as more beautiful and graceful than Sophie. This is said by the only person to have a crush on Sophie for 7 books, and is even refuted by someone else in the scene. For most of the book her classmates all despise her, or are afraid of her.

“Oh WOE! WOE! The life of a slender blonde in a chubby brunette family”

Sophie has just discovered she is an elf (a slender species) and is coming to terms with the fact that her family IS NOT HER FAMILY. She’s describing how she’s different from her family and has always felt out of place. Not about how much better she is than her family.

And now we get to my favorite part of this review. The Harry Potter parallels. I’ll try to make this as quick as possible.

“as soon as Sophie gets to Elfland, she hears that she has been invited to attend a prestigious academy for aspiring young witches and wizards elves called Hogwarts Foxfire. (Is this world not supposed to have a school? Would you rather magical teenagers run amok In society because no fantasy worlds are allowed to have schools? Not to mention all of Foxfire is drastically different from Hogwarts (1 on 1 lessons, not a boarding school, ect;) The school is presided over by a benevolent headmaster Dumbledore Dame Alina, (Dame Alina is most definitely nothing like Dumbledore. She is hated by all the students and is portrayed as a sort of control freak) who also gets to pick the constantly changing sweet treat password sweet treat tasting flavor that unlocks every student’s locker (Ok, you’ve lost me here. The password in Harry Potter is to Dumbledores private office, and you need to know it to get in. The lockers are opened by each students DNA, so they lick a stamp of the lockers. Dame Alina doesn’t even chose the flavors, various faculty do, and they are any flavor, not confined to sweet treats, one day when Elwin chooses the flavor its Gulon Gas) (on day one, the flavor is Fizzing Whizbees Mallowmelt) (sigh) . Harry Sophie quickly makes friends with Hermione and Ron Marella and Dex, (Who have nothing alike with Ron and Hermione aside from: ) and Dex happens to be a mudblood bad match byproduct, meaning that his parents were muggles non-noble elves. (This is a good example of prejudice in the Elvin world, would you rather it be perfect? Secondly, this means that his parents were not genetically compatible, not that they aren’t nobles, as his mother is a noble) While at school, Sophie excels and is a natural at almost all of her subjects, (She excels at her Telepathy and Universe subjects. She is horrible at everything else) except for potions alchemy (Professor Snape Lady Galvin seems to really have it out for Sophie for some reason. (Some reason? It’s already given that Lady Galvin hates her job, and then Sophie blows up her cape, her pride and joy, so she doesn’t like her. She even grows to somewhat like her when Sophie turns herself in for cheating.)”

There’s much more of this review I could go in to, but this has gotten much to long. I hope you don’t discount this book because of this review, even if you don’t end up enjoying it.

Happy reading!

Anonymous

OK, a lot of stuff in this review is taken out of context but let me set the biggest straight:
SOPHIE WAS NOT THE “HOTTEST AT HER HIGH SCHOOL”, she was told (BY A ELF THAT HAD A MEGA-CRUSH ON HER) that she was the prettiest girl at FOXFIRE! NOT her high school! IN A SETTING WHERE SHE WAS WITH ELVES HER OWN AGE!

Anonymous

OK, a lot of stuff in this review is taken out of context but let me set the biggest straight:
SOPHIE WAS NOT THE “HOTTEST AT HER HIGH SCHOOL”, she was told (BY A ELF THAT HAD A MEGA-CRUSH ON HER) that she was the prettiest girl at FOXFIRE! NOT her high school! IN A SETTING WHERE SHE WAS WITH ELVES HER OWN AGE! SO please actually READ the books before you review them INCORRECTLY. This is an AMAZING book series and I do not want people to take them off of your To Be Read lists because of this review.

Grenadine Kid

Please don’t judge a 8-part series on the first book. I love this series, and Shannon Messenger’s writing has only improved over time. If you didn’t like the book, that is fine, just please read the whole series before you write a review on it.

ANONYMOUS

Honestly if you dont like the book that’s your opinion , its something you should keep to yourself

Moonlight song

Wow I feel this is inaccurate, these are opinions NOT facts. I’ve read these books and they are worth reading.

Anonymous

I totally agree with Anonymous that the review is WRONG. I have read the books and to me I think the book is EXCELLENT.

Gracyn

@Anonymous 3 comments up.

“And if it’s so horrible, how did it get published?”

For your own information, Shannon Messenger visited my school and said it took her about 23 re writing copies and ages to write it, since she wrote a book like 23 times before she went with the final one

ari :)

first of all, noah fence but some of y’all are insane 😮 people are entitled to their own opinions, and while you may not agree with them, you don’t have to say that the reviewers are dumb or narrow-minded because not everyone likes the same things that you guys do.
second, the harry potter rip-off is an issue, but it has devolved from that, so maybe give it another try?
third, i agree about the special-snowflake thing aha. i’ve read all 8 books and sophie has not changed substantially. she’s still the same. everyone loves her for no reason, especially seeing as her only personality is angst and “bravery.”
fourth, the race problem in these books is also.. really concerning. i completely agree with your take on the gnomes, and that’s the same problem that i had with the house elves in harry potter – both are extremely insensitive and ignorant.
finally, the characterization is a little awkward and not as well-executed as it should have been, but there are some good characters. i find keefe’s character arc and person as a whole to be one of my favourites, and he’s carrying the entire series for me at this point.
all in all, i enjoyed your review! i thought it was well-written and i had a good laugh reading it as well. if you still check the comments on this post, i suggest maybe giving kotlc another try if you have nothing better to do. i can’t guarantee that you’ll like it, but keefe is genuinely one of my favourite characters after shannon developed him further and i hate to think that some people don’t know about him 🙁
have a fantastic day!
(and kotlc fans – please, stop harrassing them for their opinion. it’s frankly a little embarrassing at this point.)

DexIsWayUnderAppreciated

I don’t have enough time to say all the things i want to say, but I do want to say these 5 things
1) I feel like you just read the books to find the flaws and decided not to enjoy it at all from the start, because you didn’t write a single good thing about the books, which can’t be accurate because of all the people saying how much they enjoy the KotLC books, so how would that be possible without at least one good thing?
2) Are people not allowed to have schools now? Or friends?
3) From what I hear, you are around the age of forty, and this is targeted toward middle- high schoolers, so that may be a reason you don’t care too much for this book.
4) I don’t think it’s fair to judge an entire series by it’s first book, because the characters and plotholes are expanded on and filled in, so maybe try one or two of the other books.
5) The Harry potter similarities are because majority of fantasy fiction books follow a plotline called Heroes Journey (look it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about) where a lot of these things you mentioned are explained. For example, the whole “special snowflake” thing is because the hero(ine) has to be different/unique in some way because usually, when this character is introduced to a new extraordinary world, they show it’s flaws and help solve the problems. They need to bring something new or different, otherwise the story would be bland and the main character would be boring. I would like to say a lot more, but I don’t have the time right now.
I’ll finish up by saying I respect your opinions, but I hope you try the series again with a more open, unbiased mindset and see if you enjoy it a little more.

Anonymous

Okay, a few things.
People who read this review and decided not to read this book, I’m sorry for your loss. Keeper of the Lost Cities may have some similarities to Harry Potter, but it isn’t a ‘cheap ripoff’. Sure, she’s magical and she goes to a magical school, but what did you expect? She’s twelve! She isn’t going to get a job or anything. And Marella was added in there simply so that Thea could get her point across, she isn’t one of Sophie’s close friends or really in her friend group at all. Yes, she meets new people, but… doesn’t everyone on their first day of school? The password to Dumbledore’s office is NOT at all related to THE PASSWORDS ON THEIR LOCKERS. (Also, Dame Alina doesn’t make the passwords, all the teachers do, and they usually aren’t sweets) The only thing that Dame Alina has in common with Dumbledore is that they are both principals. And most schools have principals. Also, every student has a special power, unlike at Hogwarts. If anything, I would compare Foxfire to the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters from X-men. Unlike the common saying ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ I would say ‘Don’t judge a book solely by it’s bad reviews’ There are a whole lot of good reviews out there, so don’t just focus on the bad ones. These reviews are opinions, and opinions can sometimes stray from the facts. Also, if you’re an adult and you don’t like it, that might be because it’s meant for kids, just saying.

Anonymous

Well, I know this is 8 years (!) too late, but I am still reading KOTLC and absolutely love it. I know that some people do not like it, and that that is their opinion, but that is no excuse to bend the facts about the book. If you are trying to right a proper review, judge by the facts, not opinions.
In my opinion, KOTLC is a great series (now of almost 9! books) and should not be compared to other great books such as Harry Potter. Both series’ are great and have very different plot lines.
But that is just my opinion.
Since you are writing a review (and I know I have said this a lot) you should forget about your opinions and just write the facts. You shouldn’t try to steer people away from the book(s) because, as we can see, people have different opinions about books. Instead, you should tell them the facts and let them decide for themselves if they want to try it or not.
Again, I love KOTLC but others may not. Don’t bias your reviews.

AnymousKoltc

OMG THIS IS a lIE I HAVE READ ALL HE BOOKS I REPEAT THIS IS A LIE THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING SERIES EVER I SPEAK FOR THE THOUSands OF PEOPLE ON FANDOM WHO LOVEEEEEEEE THSI BOOK I AM SO DISSIPOINTED WITH THIS REVIEW

Anne

This book is not a rip-off! It is an amazing story and does not copy Harry Potter.

TheRealCleoKnight

You’ve both clearly interpreted the book wrong. VERY WRONG. I honestly wonder if you’ve been following the story at all. Sophie being in high school was only mentioned in the first couple chapters, so, again, how is she the prettiest girl in high school? That particular bit was mentioned away after the high school part AND was stated by a boy who had a large crush on her.

KOTLC fan

This book is extremely well-written, and you’re hearing this from someone who has read the series 3 times, and not two people who didn’t even have the courtesy to pay attention to the actual plot. The part about Sophie being the prettiest girl in school was about foxfire not her high school, and was said by a character who has a huge crush on her. And before you say the characters are bad, read the other books, because the first book is barely scratching the surface of the true characters. And in the reference to her “chubby brunette family” She was simply comparing her physical traits to her family’s to show how different they were. Most of the similarities between this book and HP are very exaggerated. Also, what is elven catch? Unless you’re talking about base quest (which doesn’t even involve a ball) which Sophie plays like twice, you’re waaaaay off. Also, not once does it say in the book that what the elves are doing isn’t science, they just say it isn’t magic!!! And Sophie isn’t as perfect as you made her seem. She got really upset when Grady and Edaline cancelled her adoption, she broke a bunch of major elven laws, and she cheated on her alchemy exam. Not to mention she almost blew up her school.

Anonymous

Gosh maybe be nice?

kotlcfangirl664

SPOILER ALERT: Alvar’s evil.
SPOILER ALERT: Keefe’s mom is evil.
Bet you didn’t see that coming. Because you just read a book and go like, “Here’s something bad about it, and here’s something bad about it.” You can’t see the GOOD part about the book! SERIOUSLY, WHY DID I EVEN BOTHER TO READ THIS???

Anonymous

I understand that everyone has an opinion, and I respect that they have an opinion. But this review was narrow-minded and completely crossed the line. Even though I am a fan of KOTLC, I am trying to write this in an unbiased way, but there is no way I can avoid a bit of anger and disappointment toward this review. With so many canonical errors, biased opinions, and disrespectful remarks toward this book, I can’t help but call this out in a comment – which, mind you, I have never done before.
First and foremost, this book is NOT racist. There are people of multiple races and ethnicities who are very amazing and relatable characters in the series . . . Tam, Linh, Wylie, Maruca, Emery, Prentice, Quinlin, Livvy . . . And that is to name just a few. The gnomes are darker-skinned in resemblance to a plant’s tree bark, and they are never mistreated. It’s a peaceful and symbiotic relationship between two species.
Sophie (not Sophia, people) is NEVER described as “hot” in any way. She doesn’t even think herself remotely good-looking and is not vain at all. The only person who calls her “the prettiest girl in the school” is Dex, who has a totally biased opinion due to having a crush on Sophie. (And, AHEM, he is HER AGE and only has a silly crush on her, much like many tweens’ feelings. It’s ridiculous to say that she attracts people three years older than her – as you’d find out in the fourth book, she’s literally only one and a half years younger than Fitz and even closer to Keefe, and neither of them start developing even the slightest feeling for her until she’s fourteen, nearing fifteen, which is pretty normal in this society and in literature.)
I absolutely hate it when anyone calls a book a “Harry Potter rip-off.” As a total Potterhead myself and someone who has read the HP books many times, I consider it both disrespect to Harry Potter and to the series you are comparing it to when you use that title. Anybody who reads the review can see that you’re reading the book with a pessimist spectacle, literally only reading it to try to find out what’s wrong with it. Much like Rita Skeeter. I’m not asking you not to point out criticisms, but try not to read a book for the sole purpose of bashing it and figuring out your own far-fetched comparisons to make it a rip-off. Maybe try to actually see what’s good in the book too . . . We have FAR too much negativity in the world.
Now to dismantle every one of these ridiculous Harry Potter comparisons that are thrown together. One, Dame Alina is not benevolent. She is vain and spoiled, tries to stop the wedding of two characters, and turns out to be a pretty corrupt leader. She’s only the principal of the school for a few books, and barely plays a role in the books. This is much unlike Dumbledore, who plays an important role in Harry Potter, is a kind-hearted and wise wizard, and has SO MUCH depth as a character. Dex and Marella are nothing like Ron and Hermione. They have totally different personalities, for one. They aren’t Sophie’s two best friends and aren’t the components for the iconic golden trio of Harry Potter. Sophie makes so many other friends in the story. Pyrokinesis, Mesmerizing, and Inflicting are nothing like the Unforgivable Curses. Only pyrokinesis is forbidden. Mesmerizing and inflicting are in no way restricted or frowned upon, they’re simply rare abilities that can cause damage if not ethically regulated. The flavored strips that unlock lockers are not like the password to Dumbledore’s office, and are definitely not a key component of the story. “A bad match” has nothing to do with nobility level or blood status, like in Harry Potter. It means that two people are “genetically incompatible” and are still partners anyway, something that is frowned upon in the elvin world. Though both of these are societal issues in their respective series, they are nothing like each other, and while blood status plays an important role with Voldemort in Harry Potter, a bad match is a societal issue that is not necessarily central to the plot or antagonists in KOTLC. Magic does not exist in KOTLC – while magic is totally centric to Harry Potter. And Lady Galvin is nothing like Snape. She simply hates all of her students (she hasn’t JUST got it in for Sophie!) and her job, while Snape had a complexity to his hate for Harry Potter. Not to mention that alchemy is fundamentally different from potions. Base quest and splotching are simply casual games that elvin kids like to play in their free time, unlike Quidditch, which is an official sport in the wizarding world.
About the Fitz and light-leaping thing . . . Honestly, people, were you expecting a teenager to give a science lecture? And even if he had, remember, this is middle grade fiction. Adding a ten-page science lecture to it would certainly not impress its target audience. Plus, this is FANTASY! Are you wanting everything to be so perfectly real? And if the world did include “magic” in KOTLC, that would make you criticize it even more as a so-called “Harry Potter rip-off.” Enough said.
Sophie is NOT a perfect golden girl. The book specifically says that her being a prodigy in the human world doesn’t help her – it makes people tease, torment, and bully her, to take it straight out of the book. And even when she’s come to foxfire, people whisper about her and some even call her a human freak. The only reason she becomes popular in the story is for accidentally burning Lady Galvin’s cape. The reason why she has abilities like telepathy and a photographic memory are crucial to the plot – SPOILER – because she was altered by the Black Swan at birth. It’s not just to make her a “perfect snowflake” (no idea where that came from) and a “desirable” character. It’s literally part of the plot. And Sophie is NOT perfect. She struggles in a lot of her sessions, she has quite the temper, she actually CHEATS on her alchemy exam, and she is overall just totally not the “sickeningly sweet” character you’re describing.
The one thing you do say that makes sense to me about why you wouldn’t like it is the slender blonde vs. chubby brunette thing. To be honest, I dislike it as well. But seriously, if you actually paid attention while reading, the only reason Shannon Messenger wrote it like this is to make clear the stark contrast between Sophie and her family, and her questioning about whether they are actually related. Sophie is not sickened at the thought of being a slender blonde in a chubby brunette family, she’s sickened at the idea of not being related to her family. She actually loves her family so much, as we can see throughout the story. She would never make fun of her family because they look different from her . . . Quite the opposite, actually.
Phew, that’s the end of my long rant. I hoped all of you who haven’t read the book took the time to consider this . . . It makes me sad that people are turned away from reading a great book just because of a negative and inaccurate review. And if you’re a keeper fan out there, I hope you appreciated my effort ? and take it upon yourself to call this out as well.
Thanks for reading!

KOTLCisthebest

OMG. This review is soooo not true. KOTLC is my favorite book and Sophie is nothing like what the review said. She has her own flaws and she doesn’t even think she is pretty. (Pretty much the opposit. If you think KOTLC was ridiculous, guess that we don’t need you in this millions of KOTLC fans. KOTLC has its OWN humor, OWN story and OWN characters. Seriously, I don’t get the point why you dislikes KOTLC.
KOTLC 4 ever!!!
Sokeefe!!!!
??????

Anonymous

This review is 100% absolutely STUPID. Yes there may be a couple tiny little non-important harry potter refrences but the whole book is nothing like harry potter. You should really read the whole book before you criticize it. So keep calling yourself great review writers even though you’re not.

.............................

This review is 100% absolutely STUPID. Yes there may be a couple tiny little non-important harry potter refrences but the whole book is nothing like harry potter. You should really read the whole book before you criticize it. So keep calling yourself great review writers even though you’re not.

TheRealCleoKnight

Hi everyone! I personally love all of your book reviews, so this one was a little disappointing because I personally love all of the KotLC books. I just wanted to let you know that the series gets better and better and there are a wider variety of characters, etc. But anyway, still love your reviews! Keep it up:)

oops

As a person who has kept up to date with all the keeper books until now… I’m sad to say…. I completely agree with this review. Reasons? To name a few, Sophie continues to be absolutely perfect at everything that she does. The only true round character is Keefe–you cannot convince me otherwise. And a point that personally offended me? Sophie meets Tam and Linh and describes them as looking like they’d stepped out of an anime, or were k-pop idols. Um, hello? First of all, those are from two very different cultures: Japan and Korea. As an asian person, I found that veeeeeeery offensive. (also do you know how terrifying it would be if you saw someone who looked exactly like an anime character LOL) I could go on for so long–but the best way is to sum it up is that I respect the opinions of others, even if we completely disagree, but I personally think that overall, Shannon has lost view of her plot and is just going ooooooon and ooooooooooooooooon and ON, with no forseeable view in sight.

Anonymous

i

Eliana G Waechter

I disagree strongly. Yes, it is like the Harry Potter series, but not all the characters are white, straight, super smart, and pretty. Also, they are not described horridly. Sophie Foster is not just a classic pick me/quirky girl. She has many feelings and different emotions. It is not just pointless writing. Also, how would you feel if writing was your career and someone called it pointless. What you just called pointless was someone else’s life work. You should really think about how the writer tries to write the story. Also, I doubt that you could ever write as well as Shannon Messinger ever will.

Dancergirl123

And the fact that you can leave such a negative review on such a great book makes me sick! Like have you even read all 9 books?!
I AM SORRY THAT YOU DIDN’T LOVE A BOOK BUT UT ISN’T OKAY TO GO OUT AND SHAME IT LIKE THIS! I MEAN…. NOW ALL OF THESE READERS THAT SHOULD READ THIS AMAZING BOOK WON’T!
So yeah! Plz don’t go around shaming such an amazing book like this! It just makes me soooo mad and I think you should read the whole series before you can go out there and HATE ON IT!

R2A88

Though I can agree with some of these points, KOTLC DID NOT copy Harry Potter. And the book series gets better and better as it goes on. The characters go through things that real teens go through, just with some fictional components to it.
How many stories can you name when the main character is the chosen one, destined to defeat the bad guys?
A lot.
And the characters aren’t perfect at all! In fact, they’re going through horrible things. Some things that kids can relate to. And if you gave the other books a chance, you would see that.
These books are soooooo worth the read. I mean, sure. They’re not on a Harry Potter level, but they’re still charming in their own way! I read all of the books (except Unlocked because it wasn’t out yet) in a week and immediately reread them. Once you get into it, it builds up so much awesome story and you can’t set it down.
Also, I can name over 25 people who have a crush on Keefe freaking Sencen (INCLUDING MYSELF).

Eliana G Waechter

Sophie Foster was NEVER the prettiest girl in school. She wasn’t even described as the prettiest girl in school and everyone bullied her because she was a 12-year-old high school senior.

KENNEDYDAPOTATO

Lol my grammar is so bad. Also sorry for the poor structure. I had added spaced in between paragraphs of this book I just wrote in the comment section but it didn’t go though

Anonymous

I’m sorry, but I can’t take this seriously. You guys didn’t even try to cover the GOOD parts of the book, like the emotions and plot, and instead picked it apart searching for the negative. This was said before, but the amount of books and television shows where the lead turns out to be the hero/heroine is more myriad than the stars. You said it journeys into “Harry Potter Knock-off land”, but it simply contains some similar elements. After the first book the series grows increasingly distant from that claim, building into its own world that does NOT prominently feature school, mean teachers, curses, etc.

To all the people who removed/are removing this series from their to-be-read list, I implore you to just try the first couple books for yourself, or at LEAST find some more reviews. Do not shun a story that you may turn out to love because of two people’s incomplete review.

Anonymous

I personally couldn’t agree more with Thea and Ana. This book is very poorly written and the characters and world building are unoriginal and bland. To everyone saying to read the book before you criticize it, I have read the whole series though it pained me to do so. If you really enjoy this book that’s fine, but I think it’s one of the worst books I’ve ever read.