Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities Series Shifts Perspective In this Exclusive Excerpt from Unraveled
Middle-grade fans everywhere are eagerly awaiting Unraveled, the latest installment in Shannon Messenger’s popular Keeper of the Lost Cities series, which (finally!) hits shelves next month. The New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling upper middle-grade series has sold over seven million copies and follows the story of Sophie Foster, a super-intelligent twelve-year-old who also 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, she must attend a magical school in the kingdom of Lumenaria.
A story of adventure and magic with a little dash of romance ensues, as Sophie learns more about her abilities and the strange world in which she now finds herself. The series’ ninth installment, Stellarlune, was published in 2022, and its next arrives this December. (Yes, just in time for the holidays.) But it’s technically categorized as Book 9.5 because it is the series’ first that doesn’t follow Sophie’s POV: Unraveled is told entirely from the perspective of Keefe Sencen and follows adventures in the human world during the events of Stellarlune.
Here’s how the publisher describes the story.
Please be careful. Please be happy. And PLEASE forget all about me. It’ll be better for everyone that way.
Those were the last words Keefe Sencen wrote to Sophie Foster before he ran away to the Forbidden Cities. He didn’t want to leave, but it was the only way to keep his friends safe while he figured out how to control his scary new powers and searched for answers about his past.
What he found was so much more than adventures in Humanland.
Where did he go? What did he do? And who did he meet while the rest of his friends worked to solve the mystery of Stellarlune? The answers go far beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined and give Keefe the power to change his destiny.
Unraveled will hit shelves on December 3, but we’ve got a first look at the story for you right now.
“I’m never leaping again,” he mumbled into the scratchy bark. “That’s it. I live here now.”
He was only half joking—and he snuggled the tree for longer than he was proud of before he stepped back and surveyed his surroundings.
Snowcapped mountains in the distance.
Early glints of sunset streaking the sky.
It was stark and beautiful—but he could also feel the temperature dropping, so it was going to be a very long, very cold, very lonely night.
Or maybe not lonely enough.
The ground was dotted with animal tracks—and they did not look like tiny, cuddly creatures.
Keefe crossed his arms, trying to save whatever body heat he could as he searched for some sort of shelter.
Best he could find was a tree covered with a few less icicles than the others.
If he levitated to the taller branches, he could camp out there and hope nothing climbed up to get him. But he’d have to make sure he didn’t move in his sleep; otherwise he’d go splat!
At least he didn’t have to worry about anyone finding him now.
He tried to think of any other trackers he might’ve missed, but he was pretty sure he had it covered.
He hadn’t worn a nexus in years.
Dex had never given him one of those panic-switch rings he’d made for everyone else—which Keefe had always meant to call him out on.
And Ro had agreed to keep her freaky ogre bacteria off his skin.
So unless Grady had a way of homing in on the signal for his Imparter—which seemed unlikely—he should be totally untraceable.
Well.
Foster could still go all Super Telepath on him and transmit a bunch of messages into his brain—but she wouldn’t be able to tell where he was.
Unless she poked around his recent memories and found enough clues to guess his location.
She didn’t usually break the rules of telepathy like that—but she might tell herself she was doing it to protect him.
Keefe sighed and closed his eyes, imagining a giant stone wall around his mind.
He poured every last drop of his mental energy into making that barrier as thick and impenetrable as possible—but he knew he wouldn’t be able to block her.
No one could.
He’d have to ignore her—which made his chest tighten and his heart turn heavy and cold.
Telepathic chats with Foster were one of his absolute favoite things in the entire world.
Every time her voice filled his head, he couldn’t help smiling—even when she was reaching out to yell at him.
But nothing good would come from talking to her right now.
She wouldn’t be able to convince him to come back.
And he’d already said everything he could say in his note.
In fact, he honestly couldn’t believe some of the things he’d told her.
His cheeks heated up as he pictured his hastily scribbled confession.
You mean a lot to me, Foster. More than you’ll ever know. Part of him still didn’t know why he’d felt the need to add those words.
He just . . . couldn’t leave without finally telling her the truth—after keeping it in for so many years.
And yes, this was Foster, so it was possible she’d convince herself he only meant it “as a friend.”
She had a gift for taking “oblivious” to adorable new levels.
But Keefe was pretty sure she’d know exactly what he was trying to say.
He just had no idea how she’d react.
Maybe she’d blush.
Maybe she’d cringe.
Maybe she’d laugh so hard, she’d pee through her leggings.
Or maybe she’d crumple the paper and throw it away, hoping he’d stay in Humanland and they’d never have to deal with the mountain of awkward he’d heaped on their friendship.
Or maybe she’d run straight to Fitz and tell him everything—and Fitzy would get jealous and finally realize what a fool he’d been for letting her go. Then he’d beg for forgiveness—and after lots and lots of groveling, Foster would tell him he’d always been the one who made her heart go pitter-patter.
And Fitzy would tuck her hair behind her ears, and she’d bite her lip as he leaned toward her and—
Keefe didn’t try to hide his shudder.
No one was around to call him out on his jealousy—or shame him for sitting back and letting Fitzphie happen. As if he was supposed to shove his way between them screaming, NO! PICK ME!
Sophie deserved better than that.
She should get to choose whoever she wanted, without anyone fighting for her like she was the latest prize in the Ultimate Splotching Championship.
And . . . she wanted Fitz.
Keefe knew that for a fact.
That was the brutal little perk that came with being an Empath.
He understood Foster’s feelings even better than she did.
Then again, the last few times he’d been around her, her emotions about Fitzy had been . . . different.
A little hurt.
A little sad.
Definitely disappointed.
Even a little angry.
Almost like her crush was starting to fade.
But there had still been plenty of mushy stuff underneath all that. So Keefe was pretty sure it was only a matter of time before Fitzy found a way to fix things.
A few of those sappy gifts he’d gotten so good at giving. An abundance of apologies. And Fitzphie would be back with a vengeance.
Keefe’s hands curled into fists at the thought—which was ridiculous!
This whole thought process was ridiculous!
How much time had he just wasted obsessing about his silly unrequited crush?
A whole lot longer than he’d spent trying to figure out how to get through the night without ending up a Keefe-snack for a hungry beast.
And definitely longer than he’d been able to hang with humans before trying to unleash his mind control.
That’s what he needed to be focusing on.
Solving those problems.
Not this pathetic angst.
Unraveled will be released on Tuesday, December 3, but you can pre-order it right now.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB