Monday, September 22, 2014

MG Book Review: Exile, by Shannon Messenger

(Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 2)


General Information
Publisher: Aladdin (Simon & Schuster)
Year of publication: 2013
# of chapters: 63
# of pages: (e-book)
Genre: Fantasy
Website: 
ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com



Plot summary (from the website):
Sophie Foster thought she was safe. Settled into her home at Havenfield, surrounded by friends, and using her unique telepathic abilities to train Silveny--the first female alicorn ever seen in the Lost Cities--her life finally seems to be coming together.

But Sophie's kidnappers are still out there. And when Sophie discovers new messages and clues from the mysterious Black Swan group, she’s forced to take a terrifying risk—one that puts everyone in incredible danger.

As long buried secrets rise to the surface, it’s once again up to Sophie to uncover hidden memories—before someone close to her is lost forever.

In this second book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must journey to the darkest corners of her luminous world in a sequel that will leave you breathless for more.

Next book in the series: 











Positive Points
This series reminds me of Harry Potter in many ways: a school to learn special abilities, unusual animals, and the main character being one year older in each book. And like the Harry Potter series, these books kept me up late, reading to find out what happens next!

This book captures the innocence of early teens. Sophie just turned thirteen, and she does have crushes, but she's not ready for any relationship past friendship yet. Three boys could be possible future boyfriends, and I'm sure young readers will want to keep reading the series to find out who will win her heart when she's older. Keefe (pictured on the cover) is my favorite. He makes me laugh a lot! Will he be the one?

The writing style flows well and the voice is strong. It was a pleasure to read such a well-written novel.

Negative Points
I found the beginning a bit slow, and some parts were repetitive at times: Sophie getting a sudden headache and brushing it off as nothing; grieving parents always tearing up. But these things were minor and definitely did not stop me from reading.

What Makes This Book Unique
An alicorn who communicates by telepathy, a pet imp, a goblin bodyguard with a squeaky voice, these are only a few of the unique creatures in this book.

Overall Impression
Not many stories keep me up until 2:00 a.m. to finish reading. I guess this one was good! My teenage son liked it as much as I did. He read Book 1 again and asked me when he can read Book 3. Enough said!

My Rating:


Thinking of purchasing this book? I'll make it easy for you:

5 comments:

Janet, said...

Sounds like a pretty good recommendation! I admire anyone who can write a series of books.

Greg Pattridge said...

I've started book one so I can't wait to continue with the second one in the series. Thanks for the teaser.

Claire Caterer said...

Wonderful! Looks like a marvelous series.

Jenni said...

You had me with the interesting creatures and the "Potteresque" feel. I also liked what you said about the crushes. That seems very age-appropriate, which is nice to find in MG. Thanks for the feature! I need to check this one out!

Anonymous said...

Great review, Annie! Love books that are somewhat similar to popular series, as they present a different view to the genre the original author may not have explored. I also appreciate how you also focus on telling us what we need to look out for when reading it. Overall, wonderful post, Annie!

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