Keeper of The Lost Cities: Book 9.5
I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with Shannon Messenger’s book series, but I certainly have. I’ve read them, had a crush on pretty much all of the male characters—not you, Ritz Cracker—and written non-cringey fanfiction about it. (I promise it’s actually good T.T)
My dear mother gave me Unraveled—which is in Keefe’s perspective!!—on Christmas Eve and I finished it in two days. It was that good. So let’s talk a little in detail, shall we?
Warning! Contains mild spoilers from book 9, but none from book 9.5.
First off, I was worried that Keefe was going to be sort of annoyingly angsty and mopey from his perspective, and I mean… he was at first. But seeing the world from his eyes reminded me of everything he’s been through, and how tough it must’ve been for him growing up with distant parents, and then being tortured by his mom, and having his crush be enamored with his best friend. Well… former best friend, I guess. This book was definitely filled with the most character development and evolution I’ve ever witnessed in the Keeper series, and I’ve witnessed a lot of character development. Because guess what? The light doesn’t shine solely on Keefe. I actually… liked Lord Cassius in this book.
*shudders*
I know: gross.
But… he did sort of redeem himself. And he deluded me into thinking he actually cares about his son, so. He’ll definitely never be my favorite character, but he’s been bumped above Councilor Alina, so we’ll count that as a win.
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Alvar.
Just think about that name for a minute. What do you see? What do you feel? I’ll tell you what comes up for me: A black cloak. Gelled hair. An evil smirk. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing… But hey—at least he’d dead.
Right?
Wrong.
HE IS IN THIS BOOK YOU GUYS. HE ROAMS THE HUMAN REALMS AND ACTS LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING. Yes, I did say human, because guess what? His powers are gone. Something between the poisonous troll goop and the fact that he almost faded away sucked his powers away from him—and I mean all of them.
I thought I hated this kid. I really, really did. But seeing him lead a normal, non-psychotic life made me realize…
He’s just a baby. An infant. Too precious for the Neverseen, and all the evil things they like to do. He becomes besties with Keefe, and the adventures they go on together, the repartees they share… He’s literally all the good parts of Fitz—which, to be clear, are his hair and pretty eyes—plus Keefe’s old sparkling humor.
I kind of… value him as a character??? Shannon, what sorcery have you cast upon me??
Something else I need to address is the cover—namely the naked hardcover. You know what it says at the front? “Adventures in Humanland” in Keefe’s handwriting. (I’m sorry, is this too much fangirling in one post? I’ll try to tone it down.) In the beginning of the story, Keefe finds a journal and decides to document his adventures and thoughts and feelings as he grapples with his new abilities, and he wrestles with a few different title ideas before finally deciding on the one listed above. And all the names he contemplated are right there on the cover, crossed out, and beautifully written for us to gaze at. (The cover designer is a bone fide genius.)
You guys. You know what Lord Hunkyhair discovers whilst in Humanland?
Ritz crackers.
Shannon Messenger has seen the Pinterest memes and bowed down to the internet’s genius. Keefe made the whole “Fitz Vacker=Ritz Cracker” connection, and I—😭😭😭 I started laughing so hard that my mom gave me the eyebrow look. You know the one: raised brows, head slightly tilted away from the subject so one may cast a sidelong glance, concern emanating from their gaze.
Oh, oh! And we find out what Keefe’s middle name is!!
And the last thing I can say before I hit the spoiler jackpot: at the end of the book, there’s a bonus chapter. It’s the scene from Stellarlune in Keefe’s POV.
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Can I just say that I think Keefe’s new ability is kind of… awesome? Like… he can trigger anybody’s ability just by giving their hand a little squeeze. And he healed Alvar! Also, thank you Alvar Vacker for naming his ability! I don’t think I could’ve handled much more non-descript “Keefe’s new ability” XD
Thanks for another amazing book, Shannon! And I’ll see you guys next week ;)
—Leah Larkspur (14)
