Have you ever wondered if trolls and gnomes were real?Well in Lodestar the leaders of each species came to sign the treaty including Sophie Foster. Everything was going fine till the shaking started to happen. Everything started to fall Sophie was locked in her room. When she got out she was trying to find her way out because for the safety there they had to blind fold everyone. She found Mr. Forkle and he told her to get out but she said she wasn’t leaving till she left with Edaline. He left to find Edaline Sophie was running to get out of there until she crossed paths with Edaline. They started to work to get out. They eventually came out alive. Keefe told Sophie that Mr. Forkle wasn’t with the other people. Sophie went with Keefe to find Mr. Forkle they found him with Councilor Oralie. When they found him he was bleeding and he told them that he got into a fight with Gethen and he used the sword near his cell. I like how Messenger made Sophie so she never gives up and she is always trying to move on. That’s why I think the theme is “never lose hope”. I think this is the theme because Sophie was going to give up on breaking down the door but Sophie kept trying and trying. Some memorable characters are Sophie, Keefe, and Dex. Sophie is a girl who would do anything to save people who she cares about even if it means risking her life. Keefe is trying to solve problems even though he has some of his own. I can understand Keefe that he is hiding his problems but he should know that his friends are there for him.Dex is always a boy who was looked down on but ever since he manifested as a technopath it stopped. I feel bad for Dex because he was always looked down on just because his parents were a bad match. Now I am going to tell you how elves live like. The world that elves live in is divided up because trolls, gnomes, ogres, goblins, etc need space too. Elves live far apart from each other so they light-leap. Something that could be improved is when Mr. Forkle was with Councilor Oralie. How did he end up there because all I know is that the prison was underground not above ground. Although one spot was confusing I still give it 5 stars. I would recommend this to fourth graders and up because of the violence and because I feel like third graders and above wouldn’t understand fantasy.

Have you ever heard of something called Panakes? Panakes help heal a wound if you eat the petals or put it on the wound. In the book there is only one way to get Panackes. Panackes are a fictional tree related to the Keeper Of The Lost Cities. The way to get Panackes was by a gnome Sophie met when she was joining the Black Swan. When Sophie swears an oath that she would be joining the Black Swan she discovers that Mr. Forkleis also Sir Astin. She also learns Mr. Forkle has other identities like Magnate Leto. Sophie and her friends get banned because the council thought the Black Swan was their enemy and during the time Sophie and her friends decided to join the Black Swan. While Sophie and her friends were with the Black Swan they went to Exullim. Sophie and Biana went to go and investigate about the plague the gnomes were getting. She found out that one tree was staying healthy and the Neverseen was guarding it. During their Exilim training Sophie meets twins. They helped Sophie and became good friends. They joined the Black Swan and they were trying to cure the plague and used Fitz 'brother as a guide because he knew it the best. When they stole the “cure” they made a quick escape and this turned out to be the Neverseen’s plan. After they escaped from that Calla realized that the only way to get Panackes is when a gnome sacrifice themselves and turn into a Panackes tree. What I liked about the book is that Messenger makes a huge twist by making Alvar part of the Neverseen. I think the theme for this book is “trust your instincts”. I think that is the theme because when Alvar Fitzs brother didn’t let Tam read his Shadow vapor. Tam thought it was suspicious. Later they learn that what Alvar was hiding is that he was part of the Neverseen. Important characters in the book include Sophie Foster and her friends. Sophie is a girl who is good at everything but she would take life risking things to destroy the Neverseen. Fitz always tries to stay by Sophie’s side; they are cognates. He wants to Destroy the Neverseen because his brother betrayed him. Dex is a technopath and has been helping the Black Swan build things. The Elvin world is set apart from the human world because they went against the treaty they signed with the Councilors. The Elvin world is very sparkly and everyone is born with a birth fund. Something that can be improved is that when Fintan built a wall of Everbalze around them why couldn’t Tam cover them because of the black fog so it looked like they were gone. I would give this 5 stars despite the part that can be improved. I would recommend this to fourth graders and up because this book series so far has a lot of violence. Neverseen was a good book and I really enjoyed it and it was really breathtaking what they did in this book.

Have you ever heard of something called Panakes? Panakes help heal a wound if you eat the petals or put it on the wound. In the book there is only one way to get Panackes. Panackes are a fictional tree related to the Keeper Of The Lost Cities. The way to get Panackes was by a gnome Sophie met when she was joining the Black Swan. When Sophie swears an oath that she would be joining the Black Swan she discovers that Mr. Forkleis also Sir Astin. She also learns Mr. Forkle has other identities like Magnate Leto. Sophie and her friends get banned because the council thought the Black Swan was their enemy and during the time Sophie and her friends decided to join the Black Swan. While Sophie and her friends were with the Black Swan they went to Exullim. Sophie and Biana went to go and investigate about the plague the gnomes were getting. She found out that one tree was staying healthy and the Neverseen was guarding it. During their Exilim training Sophie meets twins. They helped Sophie and became good friends. They joined the Black Swan and they were trying to cure the plague and used Fitz 'brother as a guide because he knew it the best. When they stole the “cure” they made a quick escape and this turned out to be the Neverseen’s plan. After they escaped from that Calla realized that the only way to get Panackes is when a gnome sacrifice themselves and turn into a Panackes tree. What I liked about the book is that Messenger makes a huge twist by making Alvar part of the Neverseen. I think the theme for this book is “trust your instincts”. I think that is the theme because when Alvar Fitzs brother didn’t let Tam read his Shadow vapor. Tam thought it was suspicious. Later they learn that what Alvar was hiding is that he was part of the Neverseen. Important characters in the book include Sophie Foster and her friends. Sophie is a girl who is good at everything but she would take life risking things to destroy the Neverseen. Fitz always tries to stay by Sophie’s side; they are cognates. He wants to Destroy the Neverseen because his brother betrayed him. Dex is a technopath and has been helping the Black Swan build things. The Elvin world is set apart from the human world because they went against the treaty they signed with the Councilors. The Elvin world is very sparkly and everyone is born with a birth fund. Something that can be improved is that when Fintan built a wall of Everbalze around them why couldn’t Tam cover them because of the black fog so it looked like they were gone. I would give this 5 stars despite the part that can be improved. I would recommend this to fourth graders and up because this book series so far has a lot of violence. Neverseen was a good book and I really enjoyed it and it was really breathtaking what they did in this book.

Have you ever heard of something called Everblaze? If you didn’t it is a fire that destroys everything in its path. Eveblaze is only put out by something called frissyn. In order to save Eternia and the people they love, Sophie and Fitz must defeat the ferocious Everblaze in “Keeper of the Lost Cities: Everblaze” book three of the series. In the third book, a variety of events occur. After Sophie tells the Council she could heal minds, the Council decides they are going to heal Fintan. While they were trying to heal Fintan he made Everblaze go into the sky. Sophie, Fitz, and Councilor Oralie almost died but instead, Kenric pushed them away, saving them. At his funeral, the Ogre King came. Sophie wanted to know if the ogres were at the sanctuary so she was going to read his mind. When she tried, the Ogre King realized it quickly and told the councilors. Sophie’s punishment for reading the Ogre King’s mind was that they were going to take away her abilities. When Sophie told Grady that Brant killed Jolie, Grady went to confront Brant. Sophie had to help Grady so she had to take off the thing that took away her abilities. That’s why Alden decided that Sophie and her friends were going to go to the Black Swan. What I liked about the book was that Shannon Messenger creates a clear perspective of the internal conflict that the main character Sophie faces. I also loved the emotions portrayed by the different characters in the novel. I think the theme of this book was “if you set your mind to it you can do it”. I think that is the theme because despite the gadget supposedly taking away Sophie’s abilities, her determination allowed her to read the mind of Mr. Leto. When the Council asked she tried if it worked it did but Sophie didn’t give up Sophie kept pushing all her mental force to do it. She eventually did it but didn’t tell the Council. Sophie Foster, the main character, is always in danger because the Black Swan planted their secrets in her. The Neverseen has been tracking her and trying to get the information about the Black Swan's secrets. Sophie doesn’t want Keefe, Fitz, Biana, and Dex to come, scared they would also get hurt. Some characters that almost always had Sophie’s back are Keefe, Biana, Fitz, and Dex. Keefe is a prankster; he also is an Empath meaning that he feels Sophie’s feelings. He also comes with Sophie to go to the Black Swan. Biana, Fitz, and Dex also come with Sophie to the Black Swan not wanting to leave Sophie's side. Something interesting that I learned about the Elven World is that it’s ruled by something called a Council. The Council is usually half males and half females. I would give this 5 stars because it is creative. I would recommend this to kids in fourth grade because it has some violence. It was very emotional and understandable.

Have you ever heard about alicorns? Well an alicorn is a horse with wings and a horn that can teleport— just one of the many magical beings that you’ll read about in “Keeper of the Lost Cities: Book 2”. Sophie Foster finds an alicorn and the alicorn transmits that her name is Silveny. When Sophie finished getting her mind fixed she almost got kidnapped again. Luckily the Black Swan stepped in and helped her. During the process Silveny hurt her wing. Sophie and Silveny were supposed to make a grand opening to the sanctuary. Sophie realized she could teleport so she rode on Silveny and teleported her there.When Sophie was moving up a level, the Foxfire always had a party. When it was the upper grades turn Alden saw Whylie and he fainted. This happened because Alden had a broken mind. Elves thought no one can heal a broken mind but Sophie saved Alden because she was made that way. A theme I saw in the book was “never give up” when Sophie saw that Alden had a broken mind. She started crying in the beginning. She kept getting told that no one can fix a broken mind. But when the Black Swan said that she could fix her mind issues so that she could fix others like Alden and Prentice. She went and they said that they made her heal minds so right after she got limbulim she had a bad allergic reaction. Sophie still kept fighting because she wasn’t going to leave Alden like that after what he did for her— she never gave up. Now I am going to tell you about a few characters. Sophie Foster is mostly good at everything. She has many powers and that is rare. Dex is Sophie’s best friend. He is smart and people say that his parents are a bad match. Keefe is an Empath and always has been at Sophie’s side and he could feel Sophie’s emotions. Some buildings in the elvin world are similar to the world we live in. In the Elf world there are Gates, Big houses, Gardens and Caves. A part of the book that can be improved is when Sophie gets fixed and kidnappers try to get her. Wouldn’t the Black swan know already because they know things right away? That’s just one of the things that confused me and distracted me from the plot. Overall, Exile was confusing but still a good book even though it has some rough spots. I still give it 5 stars because it is a very adventurous book with all kinds of exciting events, like hunting down bigfoot, flying on an alicorn, or going into exile. I also really enjoyed the diversity of characters and the important themes portrayed in the novel. In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book to kids my age around 9-10 years old.

Have you ever heard about alicorns? Well an alicorn is a horse with wings and a horn that can teleport— just one of the many magical beings that you’ll read about in “Keeper of the Lost Cities: Book 2”. Sophie Foster finds an alicorn and the alicorn transmits that her name is Silveny. When Sophie finished getting her mind fixed she almost got kidnapped again. Luckily the Black Swan stepped in and helped her. During the process Silveny hurt her wing. Sophie and Silveny were supposed to make a grand opening to the sanctuary. Sophie realized she could teleport so she rode on Silveny and teleported her there.When Sophie was moving up a level, the Foxfire always had a party. When it was the upper grades turn Alden saw Whylie and he fainted. This happened because Alden had a broken mind. Elves thought no one can heal a broken mind but Sophie saved Alden because she was made that way. A theme I saw in the book was “never give up” when Sophie saw that Alden had a broken mind. She started crying in the beginning. She kept getting told that no one can fix a broken mind. But when the Black Swan said that she could fix her mind issues so that she could fix others like Alden and Prentice. She went and they said that they made her heal minds so right after she got limbulim she had a bad allergic reaction. Sophie still kept fighting because she wasn’t going to leave Alden like that after what he did for her— she never gave up. Now I am going to tell you about a few characters. Sophie Foster is mostly good at everything. She has many powers and that is rare. Dex is Sophie’s best friend. He is smart and people say that his parents are a bad match. Keefe is an Empath and always has been at Sophie’s side and he could feel Sophie’s emotions. Some buildings in the elvin world are similar to the world we live in. In the Elf world there are Gates, Big houses, Gardens and Caves. A part of the book that can be improved is when Sophie gets fixed and kidnappers try to get her. Wouldn’t the Black swan know already because they know things right away? That’s just one of the things that confused me and distracted me from the plot. Overall, Exile was confusing but still a good book even though it has some rough spots. I still give it 5 stars because it is a very adventurous book with all kinds of exciting events, like hunting down bigfoot, flying on an alicorn, or going into exile. I also really enjoyed the diversity of characters and the important themes portrayed in the novel. In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book to kids my age around 9-10 years old.