Unlocked (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #8.5) in KOTLC

Mar 24, 2020 maddi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-characters, favourites, best-relationships, close-to-my-heart, fun-times, bruh

the fact that i started reading this series when I was 13 and I won't finish reading it until I'm 18...

2022 edit: shannon announced more books in the series so now I'll be 20 when the last book comes out 🤨🤨 ...more

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Nov 25, 2020 Salena rated it liked it

I have to say I was so disappointed with this. The novella was so short and didn't really give much to the rest of the story and now there is another year wait to finish the series. The other stuff was kind of repetitive and I didn't really learn anything new. I did like the art work but I felt like this should of been added after the series was finished. ...more

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Dec 17, 2020 Julia (Pages for Thoughts) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, middle-grade

Oh. My. GOSH. If you think you can skip 8.5 and go straight to book 9, you are dead wrong. The (literally) explosive revelations and major character and plot development is shocking, and I am glad I read it! Having Keefe and Sophie alternate perspectives was a smart idea, and I love Keefe's HUGE internal conflict over the changes and new powers that his mom forced in him. Unlocked is one of the most intense moments in the series so far and is packed with a heavy load of emotion. I have never see Oh. My. GOSH. If you think you can skip 8.5 and go straight to book 9, you are dead wrong. The (literally) explosive revelations and major character and plot development is shocking, and I am glad I read it! Having Keefe and Sophie alternate perspectives was a smart idea, and I love Keefe's HUGE internal conflict over the changes and new powers that his mom forced in him. Unlocked is one of the most intense moments in the series so far and is packed with a heavy load of emotion. I have never seen Keefe so vulnerable and defeated. Keefe is by-far the best written and developed character in the series; Sophie and the others feel a bit static.

BUT, I have some major concerns and issues with what Messenger and her editors decided. It feels like Shannon Messenger is drawing out the series. There did not need to be a book 8.5. Yes, there is a major cliffhanger and there are new developments, but Messenger could have easily put the whole thing in book 9. The first 500 pages contains mostly summary information from the previous books. The majority of those pages are the Registry Files, which contain extremely detailed information about each character that is not only irrelevant and repetitive, but unrealistic. And why include it- does Messenger think her readers are suddenly going to forget? I did learn some interesting tidbits and enjoyed Keefe's detention record and the quizzes, but it easily could have been 150 pages instead of 500.

I wish I waited for the book to be in libraries instead of buying the giant physical copy, and I would have if I knew what I was buying. Amazon claims it's the #1 New Release in Children's Friendship Books, but if we all knew that nearly 70% of the book is not the book, then I know it would be rated much less. The description is completely misleading, claiming to "delive[r] what fans of the series have been begging for! Told in an exciting new way, the saga continues with plenty of huge reveals and shocking new twists—plus a complete series guide with beautiful color and black-and-white illustrations and other awesome bonuses!". Uh, nope, a 500 page encyclopedia is not what fans have been begging for, and the order is inaccurate- this makes it sound like the the "complete series guide" is at the end with other bonuses. Heck, why didn't they flip it and put the story first?

Barnes and Noble put at the very end "Unlocked also includes a comprehensive guide to the world of the Lost Cities"- no, Unlocked also includes the actual story! Also, if anyone got the special edition and can't find the pull-out-poster or Messenger's special artwork, take off the jacket of the book! It is beautiful. However, I am disappointed that the beautiful artworks were scenes of previous books and not particular to Unlocked.

You can see more of my reviews at https://pagesforthoughts.blogspot.com ...more

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Dec 17, 2022 magdalena dolorico rated it liked it

bonus content gets two stars, was not really interested. the novella gets 3.5! i still love these characters and the story is still compelling to me even though the writing can be frustratingly immature sometimes.

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