Lodestar (Keeper of the Lost Cities)

AHHHHH!! This book had me waiting forever to get it, so when I did, you can imagine how excited I was! I've loved all the other books in the series, and love this one as well. Just so you know, all you Sophitz fans are so ignorant of how awesome, sweet, caring, funny, and overall charming Keefe really is. I swear if he was real, I would be trying to get his attention all the time! (I'd probably be one of those fangirls that he would end up loving, at least I'd hope!) If anyone agrees with me on Keefe being better, select helpful please! Anyways, now that I'm done gushing about Keefe, here is what I thought. During the whole book, I was on the edge of my seat, and it was awesome. I LOVED the plot twists and new Collective characters identities being shown. I wish that the one character didn't die in the end, and that it wasn't such a cliffhanger, but I guess that's what I secretly like about these books. The cliffhangers. I promise you that you'll love this book, and if you are reading this and the next book is already out, quite reading this gushy ranty post, and start reading the book!

OMG WHEN IS BOOK SIX I LITERALLY CANNOT WAIT!!! This writer is evil, killing Mr Forkle and then ending the book! But she is also amazing! Her work has made me feel so many different emotions, and it's so well written. The twists and jump scares in here do everything that a great book should; and once you've latched on, you can't let go!
Definite page turner! Thanks Messenger!

This book was AMAZING! I love the drama, suspense, and action! All the characters have strong relationships that make them feel real. You will shed tears at parts. This book is also very mysterious and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I totally recommend this... BUT BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE CLIFFHANGER!!!
Reviewed by my 7th grade daughter

The fifth book is good, worth the wait. The story move with fast pacing and there's another mystery added to the keeper of the lost cities many2 mysteries, hope all the mystery will get answer in the sixth book. After all i enjoy this book very much and i am team Fitz hahaha...

I love Shannon Messenger's series, and I really liked this book, however, I didn't fall in love with it like I did the others. This series was supposed to be a trilogy, but now that we are on book six, I think it is time for the end. Putting in fillers and unnecessary characters may add to the pages, but takes away from the story. I liked the original characters and plot, now I am struggling to keep up with who is who and who likes who. I hope she can wrap the next book up with a rich plot line and developed characters, that way I could finish the series and say I enjoyed it. As I said before, I did like this book, there was some suspense, but also a few unnecessary arcs. The book does end on a cliffhanger and I am excited for the next book to come out so I can find out what happens.

A chance meeting five years ago led me to discover the books of Shannon Messenger, and I am so thankful. I am completely hooked on her Keeper of the Lost Cities series. They may be fantasy books aimed at kids, but they are outstanding for any age. Lodestar just came out, and I bumped it to the top of my to be read pile because I absolutely had to know what happened next.

Now if you have not yet met Sophie Foster and her family and friends, DON’T START HERE. Seriously, I can’t emphasize that enough. I am going to attempt to write my review in such a way that it doesn’t spoil not only this book but also the previous books, and considering the cliffhanger the last book left us with, that’s going to be hard. Plus, you won’t truly appreciate all that happens here if you jump in with book five of the series. Trust me, you won’t be sorry you headed back to the beginning.

The series is set in a world parallel to ours that contain all those creatures you thought were mythical. They just withdrew from our world. Sophie Foster, a young teen elf, is our main character. She’s found herself caught up in the changes happening to her world, including a fight with a group who call themselves Neverseen and are out to gain power for themselves.

This book opens just a few weeks after the previous book ended. Sophie and her friends have returned to school in time for mid-terms, but as the break starts, the Neverseen make a move that shocks everyone. Sophie isn’t content to remain on the sidelines and begins to press for things she thinks will help figure out the Neverseen’s next move so they can be stopped. This especially hits home when Sophie gets a warning that her family might be a target for the group.

But through all their efforts, Sophie and her friends keep finding a symbol and a reference to the Lodestar Initiative. What does the symbol mean? And what is Lodestar? Can Sophie find a way to stop the Neverseen’s latest plan?

Phew, avoiding spoilers of previous books was harder than I thought. Hopefully, this still gives you a feel for the plot because once again it is a wonderful ride. The book is 676 pages, but it never feels like it is dragging. There is always something happening to advance the story. Granted, it helps that the story is advancing on several different fronts, but each piece of the puzzle leads us somewhere interesting. And watching how everything comes together at the end was wonderful.

Meanwhile, the characters are just as strong as ever. All the regulars are back, and they all get a chance to show some growth. (Yes, even that character. Fans of the series will know who I mean.) I love these characters, and it is always fantastic to spend time with them, and this book was no exception.

As I mentioned, the last book ended with a cliffhanger, but I wasn’t that concerned about what would happen next. This book has a cliffhanger as well. I was shocked by it, and I am definitely anxious to find out what happens next. I’m starting the countdown to the release date for book six even though we don’t have a release date for the book yet. That’s how anxious I am.

So if you have already met Sophie, don’t hesitate to pick up Lodestar. You’ll love it every bit as much as the previous books in the series. And if you haven’t started yet, fix that today.

I thought about saving this one until next month, but couldn’t hold out long. The sixth book doesn’t come out until November. Seriously, how does Messenger keep raising the stakes?! I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. I love the romance that is starting to blossom between Sophie and Fitz. I also love the relationship between Sophie and Mr. Forkle. The ending had me in tears. I can’t wait until November!

This is my eleven year old daughter's review. . .
I love KOTLC. It is my favorite series, and I love all the characters. I love this book the best, and it was totally worth the wait. I would reccomend this from ages 8-1000, as I read the first three books when I was 7, and i believe you can read them at any age, young or old. If I had to choose an adjective for each of the books, the first book would be emotional, the second slow-moving, the third sad, and the fourth amazing. I love all the books, but the fifth, this one, is wonderful because it combines all those adjectives, with more emphasis on amazing, and less on slow- moving. I absolutely can NOT wait till the sixth book comes out and I have recommended this series to all of my friends. I highly dislike Keefe after reading this book, and I will always be on team Sophitz. Thank you Shannon!!!!

AMAZING. thats all iv got im speechless after i finshed this book!!!!!!!

...ok so i only wrote this because it says i have to write twenty words or more so...and just saying i sayed up till 12 just waiting for the book to be auto dilivered for me!!!!!!!!

The Good:
The plot twists
The action and the danger
The friendships
The possible romance
The betrayals
Learning more about this world.

The Bad:
That ending! (It was a good ending but a huge cliffhanger)
And waiting until the next book.

Holy cow there are so many sticken plot twists! First of all, I'd like to say that I totally ship Grizandor! And Keefe, CAN I JUST PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE ALREADY YOU JERK!!!! I really don't want to spoil. I have to buy the next book!

Book 6 of KOTLC

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AND WRITTEN BY A 12 YEAR OLD GIRL

This book is probably my least favorite of all the books. All the other books, I would easily give 5 stars, but this one, although it was still good, had some issues that made it a little less enjoyable.

SLOW SECTIONS- Normally her books are extremely fast paced and never boring, like in Neverseen, but this book had a some slow parts. At many parts, before a major event there's a really slow part, and I keep on losing my place because it's hard to pay attention. The other parts that were not slow were very good, though.

CLIFFHANGER- It killed me.

KEEFE AND THE NEVERSEEN- I wish Keefe weren't just a double agent for the Neverseen. It would've been very entertaining if he was a secret Neverseen project andSOphie had to try and turn him back to the Black Swan. The double agent thing is just kind of predictable.

MAJOR CHARACTERS IGNORED- This is what really annoyed me the most. Many characters, except for Keefe, Oralie, Tam and Linh, and sometimes Fitz were completely ignored. Marella shows up for a couple pages, and is almost never mentioned again. What ability did she manifest? Also, Dex was basically just there because he was Sophie's 'best friend.' Fitz and Keefe seemed more like best friends than Dex no, though, Sophie rarely payed attention to him. Biana has a bit more screen-time, but not much. Basically, the whole book mainly evolves around 5 characters, which is disappointing, since it is normally well-rounded.

There were some good things, though.

SOPHIE DEVELOPS- Sophie is obviously getting stronger and smarter, mentally and physically, like she should. In the two years in the Lost Cities, she's gone from a confused human to a girl who knows what she's doing and putting the interest of her friend's first. She manifests a new ability, the Enhancer, to help save her friends, since it enhances THEIR abilities, not hers in any way. (Which is super cool!)

MORE ORALIE- I always liked Oralie as a Counciller and was really happy with how much she was in the book. She tries to help Fitz and Sophie get to Gethen, showing her compassionate spirit, and was diplomatic at the Peace Meeting. She's easily one of my favorite adults in the book.

TELEPATHIC CONVERSATIONS- These were REALLY fun to read. I think Keefe's old funny, carefree characteristics comes through in them a lot. Sophie gets easily annoyed by the teasing sonf off-track comments, but they made the book a lot more funny and interesting. Keefe is one of the characters I like the most, (but I don't like him and Sophie,) and he always makes me laugh.

I liked this book, just not as much as I liked the others, though the other books are a tough act to follow. Exile is still my favorite out of them all.

I rate this 4 stars, adding half a star because my friend read this after me on my Kindle and said it's her favorite and she loved it. :) I'd recommend this to ages 10 and up, since there's some violence and terminology that you have to get used to.

If you liked this book you should read:
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

BEST SIRIES EVER!!! For the book, the paperback was VERY flimsy and my title page got ripped of in a month. It came in fine, but gets ripped at the spine gets line easily. The . quilitly o the book was ok but the book is great

!!NO SPOLERS!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK I LOVED THIS BOOK ENOUGHT TO WAIT UNTILL MIDIGHT FOR IT TO COME ON MY KINDLE I am truy a huge fan of shannon messenger i have read the books more than 5 times EACH!!
PROS: MORE DRAMA BETWEEN FITZ KEEFE AND DEX (maybe Tam) TEAM FITZ FOR THE WIN! SOPHIE GET ONE MORE ABILITY WHATT IS? WELLL READ TO FIND OUT
CONS
THERE IS A BOOK SIX AND SEVEN BUT OTHER THAN THAT... NOTHING BAD

This is probably the most in depth, intresting books in the series. I CAN NOT believe it had such a big cliff hanger!! It is killing me not to know the ending!! I absolutely love this series and cannot wait for the next 2 books.

THIS BOOK is soooooo good!!!!! The series is awesome! This is my first seven hundred page book series and its so worth it. My friend recommended this series and by the first book im already in love with it! I can read these book all day long!!