Keeper of the Lost Cities (KotLC) is the first book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series written by Shannon Messenger. It was released on October 2, 2012. The cover art shows Dexter Dizznee and Sophie Foster on a bridge in Paris, looking at the hidden leaping crystal on a lamppost.
Synopsis
Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.
Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.
Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.
In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.
Plot
Preface
Blurry, fractured images swam through Sophie's mind, but she couldn't piece them together. She tried opening her eyes and found only darkness. Something rough pressed against her wrists and ankles, refusing to let her move.
A wave of cold rushed through her as the horrible realization dawned.
She was a hostage.
A cloth across her lips stifled her cry for help, and a sedative's sweet aroma stung her nose when she inhaled, making her head spin.
Were they going to kill her?
Would the Black Swan really destroy their own creation?
What was the point of Project Moonlark, then? What was the point of Everblaze?
The drug lulled her toward a dreamless oblivion, but she fought back - clinging to the one memory that could shine a tiny spot of light in the thick, inky haze. A pair of beautiful teal eyes.
Fitz's eyes. The first friend in her new life. Her first friend ever.
Maybe if she hadn't noticed him that day in the museum, none of this would have happened.
No. She knew it'd be too late even then. The white fires were already burning - curving toward her city and filling the sky with sticky, sweet smoke.
The spark before the blaze. Best part of the book!
Summary
Trash.
Playlist
Illustrated and Annotated Edition
As of August 25, 2020, Shannon Messenger will be releasing 'Keeper of the Lost Cities Illustrated and Annotated Edition.’ It is a special edition of the first book, with never before seen embellishments by the author herself.
Contents:
- Sixteen black and white illustrations
- Multiple deleted scenes
- Author Annotations
Errors
Kesler Dizznee refers to Timkin and Vika's last name as Logner when their last name is Heks. This has been corrected for future printings.
Click here to read the French version of the first book in the series.