Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Action-packed return to form in elf-girl epic series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 7 parent reviews
Based on 46 kid reviews
Kids say this installment in a beloved series received mixed reactions, with many praising character development and important plot revelations, while others criticized its slow pacing and heavy emphasis on romance over action. The emotional breakup between two main characters stirred strong reactions, and the narrative's depth and complexity appealed to devoted fans despite it feeling repetitive to some readers.
- mixed reactions
- character development
- slow pacing
- romance emphasis
- important plot revelations
- emotional breakup
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In the wake of Book 7's shocker ending, Sophie Foster is trying to come to terms with her LEGACY -- which includes being "unmatchable" with any potential elvin partner because her biological parents are unknown,and apparently want to keep it that way. This definitely puts a crimp in her budding romance with Fitz, while other love interest Keefe says it won't matter to anyone who really cares about her. Meanwhile, Sophie's got other things to deal with as the evil Neverseen rally their forces and enslave one of her friends, and she finds herself facing the challenges of leadership, enhanced powers, and new possibilities as the characters race headlong to another cliffhanger ending.
Is It Any Good?
Book 8 in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series ups the ante with a raft of action, character developments, new magical powers, ethical dilemmas, world-saving, and teen romance. By now we're beginning to suspect that author Shannon Messenger has no intention of wrapping up the series in this lifetime, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This year's doorstop-size volume brings a satisfying immersion in glitter, cosmic conflict, increasingly complex characters, teen anxiety, new magical powers, moral dilemmas, page-turning plot developments, and cliffhanger endings. Sophie and her friends battle evil, question authority, and struggle to do the right thing in impossible situations yet again, and many peripheral characters from previous installments make return appearances.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about adoption and how it figures in Legacy: Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 8. Do you know kids who are adopted? Are they interested in finding their birth parents someday, or do they not want to know? How do their parents feel?
Have you ever had to work as part of a team with somebody you didn't like at all, as Sophie sometimes has to do in Legacy? Did you figure out how to make it work?
If you were to become a new character in this series, what would you be like? What would you look like? What powers would you have? Would you be a kid or an adult? What species?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Aladdin
- Publication date : November 5, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 816
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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