She failed many classes and didn’t really connect with the older kids at school, but she wasn’t comfortable with her family either. Twelve-year-old Sophie has never quite fit into her life. In this gripping debut, a girl with psychic abilities must figure out why she’s the key to her whole new world. Her email is and she blogs at of the Lost Cities is the first book in author Shannon Messenger’s series. Tara Creel is a Logan-native-turned-California-girl and mother of four boys. There are scenes of abduction and torture by burning, a stabbing and a scene with bodies being crushed. "Lodestar" doesn't contain any sexual content or swearing. With tough choices for the characters to face, there are some devastating losses, and as with other beloved children's series, the book gets progressively darker, pointing to a more mature book six and seven. The Keefe-Dex-Fitz-Sophie love square will keep the reader smiling and guessing even after the last line.
None of this will go over the young reader's head, and Messenger puts in plenty of witty, laugh-out-loud lines to keep it light. A lot of relevant present-day issues are discussed such as war, race and the gray topic of different situations changing what a right choice may be. While a lot of "Lodestar" isn't as action-driven as the previous four books, the tension is still high as the characters immerse themselves in training for war and an unexplored political climate. When bits and pieces of the past resurface, the characters are charged with putting the puzzle together and attempting to stay one step ahead of the Neverseen - which may be an impossible task. The Neverseen don't tell Keefe everything though, and surprise attacks happen, putting everyone on edge.Īll of this mistrust drives a wedge between the Black Swan, the leaders of the elf world and other species leaders such as the goblins and the ogres.
Tensions ease up a little when Sophie is able to use her telepathic powers to check in with Keefe to find out the Neverseen's secrets and even warn the elves of impending attacks. While Sophie and her friends and family hope Keefe has good intentions for his betrayal, they still feel its sting and wonder who they can trust or if anyone is really who they say they are.
With this fifth installment in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, "Lodestar," Shannon Messenger picks the reader up right where she left them in the fourth book: reeling from the fact that Keefe, comic relief and sidekick to Sophie, the special Moonlark in secret group Black Swan's operation, has left them and joined their nemesis, the Neverseen. " LODESTAR: Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 5 ," by Shannon Messenger, Aladdin, $17.99, 688 pages (f) (ages 9-12)
0 kommentar(er)
