Have you ever imagined that elves could be real? Or that dinosaurs were still alive? Even that places like Atlantis were real? Well all of those things are real in The Keeper Of The Lost Cities. Here are some things that happen in the book. Sophie was shocked when someone told her she was an elf. He was also an elf too. So that explained to Sophie that she can read minds after she hit her head when she was 5. When someone picks her up and gets her to the elvin world the council there tells her that she is an elf. She is now living with 2 people Grady and Edaline. They used to have a daughter named Jolie and died in a fire. She almost went to Exile for breaking the law. She is sad because when she went to the elvin world to live there they had to brainwash her family. She soon realizes that she was the project of the moon lark, meaning that the Black swan made her In the elvin world you have powers and if you had more than one it was really rare and Sophie has a lot more than one power. People kidnapped her while she was in a cave. They tried to brainwash her but didn’t work. They took off her tracker and put it in the ocean so it looked like she died. She sent out a signal to Fitz but Fitz thought it was a trap because he went to her funeral. They told him that if you don’t come then I will die. A theme I learned from this book was, ‘don’t be afraid to do something’. Sophie was scared at times but she always overcame it. For example when she was at the top 2 at the splotching match. She was going against Fitz who has been winning for years but she still ended up winning. Sophie never loses courage in what she does even if it means risking her life. Some memorable characters are Sophie and Dex. Sophie is good at everything; she beat Fitz in a splotching match and Fitz has been winning for years. Sophie was told she was an elf and had multiple powers. She goes to a school named Foxfire. Her group of friends always had her back when Stina always teased her. In that group of friends there is Biana, Dex, Fritz, Keefe, Marella, and of course Sophie. Dex is Sophie’s best friend. He is smart and is not failing alchemy. Most people fail alchemy. There are some memorable fictional places that Messenger uses in Keeper of the Lost Cities. There are similar buildings in the elvin world that we have here, such as gates and big houses, trees that take in pollution, gardens and cliffs and even caves. Despite the great parts that I enjoyed from Keeper of the Lost Cities, there were some parts that were confusing. I just didn’t understand how a brainpush worked. After you get energy after years does your brain just push the energy out like a powerful blast? I will still give it five stars because you could feel how the character feels. When Sophie left her family you could feel the pain she was feeling like leaving your family after living with them for so long was heartbreaking. I also liked how the book could be very unpredictable, and you find out new things page after page. Overall, I would recommend this book to 3rd grade and older, as there is some violence, but it seems that it would be very enjoyable for people who like exciting books that give you a rollercoaster of a ride.

Have you ever imagined that elves could be real? Or that dinosaurs were still alive? Even that places like Atlantis were real? Well all of those things are real in The Keeper Of The Lost Cities. Here are some things that happen in the book. Sophie was shocked when someone told her she was an elf. He was also an elf too. So that explained to Sophie that she can read minds after she hit her head when she was 5. When someone picks her up and gets her to the elvin world the council there tells her that she is an elf. She is now living with 2 people Grady and Edaline. They used to have a daughter named Jolie and died in a fire. She almost went to Exile for breaking the law. She is sad because when she went to the elvin world to live there they had to brainwash her family. She soon realizes that she was the project of the moon lark, meaning that the Black swan made her In the elvin world you have powers and if you had more than one it was really rare and Sophie has a lot more than one power. People kidnapped her while she was in a cave. They tried to brainwash her but didn’t work. They took off her tracker and put it in the ocean so it looked like she died. She sent out a signal to Fitz but Fitz thought it was a trap because he went to her funeral. They told him that if you don’t come then I will die. A theme I learned from this book was, ‘don’t be afraid to do something’. Sophie was scared at times but she always overcame it. For example when she was at the top 2 at the splotching match. She was going against Fitz who has been winning for years but she still ended up winning. Sophie never loses courage in what she does even if it means risking her life. Some memorable characters are Sophie and Dex. Sophie is good at everything; she beat Fitz in a splotching match and Fitz has been winning for years. Sophie was told she was an elf and had multiple powers. She goes to a school named Foxfire. Her group of friends always had her back when Stina always teased her. In that group of friends there is Biana, Dex, Fritz, Keefe, Marella, and of course Sophie. Dex is Sophie’s best friend. He is smart and is not failing alchemy. Most people fail alchemy. There are some memorable fictional places that Messenger uses in Keeper of the Lost Cities. There are similar buildings in the elvin world that we have here, such as gates and big houses, trees that take in pollution, gardens and cliffs and even caves. Despite the great parts that I enjoyed from Keeper of the Lost Cities, there were some parts that were confusing. I just didn’t understand how a brainpush worked. After you get energy after years does your brain just push the energy out like a powerful blast? I will still give it five stars because you could feel how the character feels. When Sophie left her family you could feel the pain she was feeling like leaving your family after living with them for so long was heartbreaking. I also liked how the book could be very unpredictable, and you find out new things page after page. Overall, I would recommend this book to 3rd grade and older, as there is some violence, but it seems that it would be very enjoyable for people who like exciting books that give you a rollercoaster of a ride.

Have you ever wondered what the backstory of the evil enchantress from Sleeping Beauty is like? From first glance, she might seem completely evil, but clearly, Chris Colfer, author of Land of Stories thinks there’s more to it. Here’s a short summary: After Alex’s mom got kidnapped by the enchantress she had to stay cooped up. She goes to her grandma’s house and then falls but in time her brother caught her. When they reached their grandma’s house they found a way to go to the fairy tale world. They meet an old friend Froggy and they go to Red Riding Hood's castle. When they heard the enchantress was taking over the world they thought they needed to do something. They started to go get the things for the wand of wonderment. When they got the Snow queen’s scepter she prophesied out of the 4 travellers 1 would stay. After the harp went into the wand Jack, Goldie, Red, Froggy, and Conner got trapped by the vines. Alex started to get determined and she needed the enchantress' anger. After she got some by talking to her she got blasted by the enchantress. She came back and dropped the wand on purpose and started beating the enchantress. She was beating the enchantress by words. The enchantress started to lose her power. But then the enchantress got the wand. Conner got Goldielocks’s sword and cut it in half. Some things I appreciated about the book were the themes, characters, and worldbuilding. A theme that I discovered while embarking on a journey with Alex and Connor in Book 2 is to never give up because you never know what is going to happen. I know because when Alex beat the Enchantress she never knew it was going to end like that. There was also some significant character development. In the first book Conner never paid attention to the class. But in the second book he became a good writer after he experienced the fairy tale world. Alex on the other hand she stayed the same and is still a straight A student. Lastly, I was intrigued by what happened in the fantasy world that Colfer created. In the fairy tale world there is castles, caves, villages, Kingdoms, Towers Overall, I’d rate the book 5 stars because it doesn’t have any confusing parts. It is also a very imaginative book. I would recommend this book to third graders because it seems like it would be popular among that age group because the fantasy aspect is very engaging.

Have you ever wondered what the backstory of the evil enchantress from Sleeping Beauty is like? From first glance, she might seem completely evil, but clearly, Chris Colfer, author of Land of Stories thinks there’s more to it. Here’s a short summary: After Alex’s mom got kidnapped by the enchantress she had to stay cooped up. She goes to her grandma’s house and then falls but in time her brother caught her. When they reached their grandma’s house they found a way to go to the fairy tale world. They meet an old friend Froggy and they go to Red Riding Hood's castle. When they heard the enchantress was taking over the world they thought they needed to do something. They started to go get the things for the wand of wonderment. When they got the Snow queen’s scepter she prophesied out of the 4 travellers 1 would stay. After the harp went into the wand Jack, Goldie, Red, Froggy, and Conner got trapped by the vines. Alex started to get determined and she needed the enchantress' anger. After she got some by talking to her she got blasted by the enchantress. She came back and dropped the wand on purpose and started beating the enchantress. She was beating the enchantress by words. The enchantress started to lose her power. But then the enchantress got the wand. Conner got Goldielocks’s sword and cut it in half. Some things I appreciated about the book were the themes, characters, and worldbuilding. A theme that I discovered while embarking on a journey with Alex and Connor in Book 2 is to never give up because you never know what is going to happen. I know because when Alex beat the Enchantress she never knew it was going to end like that. There was also some significant character development. In the first book Conner never paid attention to the class. But in the second book he became a good writer after he experienced the fairy tale world. Alex on the other hand she stayed the same and is still a straight A student. Lastly, I was intrigued by what happened in the fantasy world that Colfer created. In the fairy tale world there is castles, caves, villages, Kingdoms, Towers Overall, I’d rate the book 5 stars because it doesn’t have any confusing parts. It is also a very imaginative book. I would recommend this book to third graders because it seems like it would be popular among that age group because the fantasy aspect is very engaging.

Did you ever imagine going into the fairytale world and meeting the fairies that you read or heard about? Conner and Alex are twins. They have a difficult time without their dad who was always there for them. Conner and Alex never were close but when they fall into the fairytale world they need each other the most. Something I really enjoyed about the book is the depth of the character-building. The Evil Queen has a sad backstory making her evil. But once she got her lover Mira out of the mirror it was already too late. She may look evil on the outside but it turns out when she found out that her lover was trapped in a mirror her heart turned into stone. This made me realize just because they did bad deeds there is always a good reason. Next, I’ll discuss the worldbuilding in the novel. The building in the fairy tale world is very specific. It is very imaginable you could just picture in your mind. Some things that could be improved are some confusions in the plot. Once they came into the book Conner blamed Alex but Alex said it was his fault but when Alex said If you just knocked on the door we wouldn’t be in this mess. But before they went into the book Alex was putting her hand in the book already. I give the book 5 stars and recommend it to other kids. I would recommend this book to kids about 3rd grade to 5 grade. Overall the book was interesting especially when the evil queen told about her past and other people treated her unfairly and didn’t experience what she went through. I also appreciate the theme “Don't judge a book by its cover”.