Exclusive Cover Reveal: Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities The Graphic Novel Part 2
We’re in a golden age of graphic novels. The format, which was once synonymous with comic books, is now taking over large swaths of publishing, with new stories arriving on what feels like a daily basis and popular favorites being reimagined for new audiences. Since 2019, sales of graphic novels have doubled and they’re now the third best-selling genre behind general fiction and romance. Graphic novels have particularly captivated younger readers, and many children’s publishing favorites are swiftly being reimagined in a more visual format. One of the most recent is Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities.
The New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling upper middle-grade series has sold over seven million copies and follows the story of Sophie Foster, a super-intelligent twelve-year-old who happens to be a telepath. Forced to leave behind everything and start a new life when she learns she is not human but from another world that exists side-by-side with ours.
The series is currently comprised of eleven books, with another on the way. But before Sophie’s journey continues, Messenger is taking a look back at her past, releasing a reimagined graphic novel version of the first book in the series. The first half of Keeper of the Lost Cities The Graphic Novel was released in 2023, and now the second half is set to hit shelves later this year.
Here’s how the publisher describes the story.
After learning she’s actually an elf, twelve-year-old Sophie Foster made the impossible decision to leave her human life—and family—behind and start over in the Lost Cities. And life with the elves has been unlike anything Sophie has ever known, filled with new friends, amazing creatures, and incredible powers. But it’s also had its share of challenges. Sophie had been an advanced student in the human world—but thanks to her struggles with alchemy, she’s not even sure if she will pass her Foxfire Academy midterms!
And then there are the bigger worries. Guardians who may or may not adopt her. Whispers of conspiracies. Mysterious fires. Memories in her brain that don’t feel like hers.
