What if you were told that everything you’ve learned in life was completely wrong? That’s exactly what 12-year-old Sophie Foster, the main character of Keeper of the Lost Cities,  experienced. Shannon Messenger’s best-selling and debut novel has won a 2014 South Carolina Childrens, Junior, and Young Adult Book Award and has been sold all over the world. In Keeper of the Lost Cities, Sophie must figure out her true origin and identity before the wrong people discover it first.

     There are multiple plot twists and suspenseful moments that hooks the reader. Messenger’s use of vivid imagery, especially during the action scenes, brings the reader into the story. “...flew backward and collapsed on the ground, his body jerking in a seizure.” The descriptive adjectives (ex: jerking, collapsed, seizure) makes the scene so realistic and easy to imagine; I can just see the events actually happening in front of me. While reading action scenes, I feel my heart beating faster; the descriptions are just too good. 

     The characters in the book are extremely complex and multi-dimensional; each has their own way of dealing with problems. The dialogue is not flat and monotone; I can easily tell who said what because each character has a unique style of talking. While some have a great sense of humor, others are serious and straightforward. Not only is the dialogue realistic, the events that happen are also believable; Messenger plants little seeds of hints that bloom into great surprises when the time is right, and it makes the book so alive and exciting. Keeper of the Lost Cities is full of exceptional characters and events that brings the story to life. 

     While Keeper of the Lost Cities is a great novel in multiple ways, it is also a bit cliché. Sophie is super smart and powerful, like most of the protagonists in other novels. Keeper of  the Lost Cities would be much more unique if Sophie wasn’t so talented in everything she does. The book paints an unrealistic view of perfection and portrays a character with no flaws, which can give young impressionable readers false expectations. In reality, most people aren’t amazing at everything, and Sophie would be more relatable if she slowly learned instead of being a natural talent at everything. Nonetheless, Keeper of the Lost Cities is still an amazing novel.

      The novel is full of positive messages and includes multiple themes such as the importance of friendship, family, and trust. The characters in Keeper of the Lost Cities learn to become a better person and are great role models for readers to learn from. Sophie and her friends are courageous, loyal, and caring, which are some of the most important character traits one should have. The antagonists in the book will do anything to reach their goal, so there are battle scenes and violence. Younger children should be aware of this fact before starting to read.

     The demographic for this novel is children ages 9 and above. Too young and they wouldn’t understand the story well very. An adult wouldn’t really enjoy reading Keeper of the Lost Cities because they are older than the main characters in the book. Pre-teens and early teens will like the book most because Sophie is 12 years old; teens can relate most to how Sophie thinks and why she reacts to certain things a specific way. Books are more enjoyable when the reader can relate to how and why the characters act a certain way.

          I personally really enjoyed Keeper of the Lost Cities; I liked it so much I reread it more than ten times. The plot of the book was especially interesting to me- the plot twists, the fun characters, etc. One of the main reasons why I liked the novel is because I was able to envision everything in my head- it made the process of reading so much more fun. I just couldn’t stop reading it when I first picked up the novel; I read for the entire day and reread it when I finished. I didn’t get sick of reading it so many times, and I doubt you would too, if you were to read the book. 

    Ultimately, Keeper of the Lost Cities is a captivating novel. The plot and characters are so enthralling, and the descriptions draws the reader into the scenes. Everything that happens is backed up with realistic explanations, so the events that happen seem like they could really happen in real life. Messenger left me wondering if everything I’ve learned about the world really is true.