Written by Journalism Staff Reporter Aubrey Voitel
Have you ever read a book and just thought to yourself, wow this is utterly amazing, a work of art? I am here to introduce you all to an amazing series known as Keeper of the Lost Cities.
Keeper of the Lost Cities, otherwise known as KOTLC is a series of books that follows Sophie Foster as she traverses her new life as an elf. Sophie Foster first believed she was a normal human that lived with her parents and little sister. Her human mother was Emma Foster. Emma had always had problems getting pregnant, so she went to a fertility clinic to get help. While there, she meets her doctor, Mr. Forkle. Mr. Forkle injected her with Sophie, and Emma raised Sophie with her younger daughter Amy Foster. Amy was born a few years after Sophie. She was a miracle baby because Emma did not think that she could have kids of her own. Sophie is raised as a human until her class took a field trip to a local museum. While there, Sophie sees a younger male with brilliant teal eyes and a strangely crisp accent.
So as not to spoil the series I will refrain from telling you anymore about that particular moment. I will, however, tell you more about the series as a whole. KOTLC is based in the Lost Cities. The Lost Cities are cities owned by the Elvin people. Elves, in general, do not age, reaching unbelievable ages such as Fallon Vacker who is over 6,000-years old! Elves are also set up with a birth fund that would be equivalent to millions of US dollars. Every elf is allotted this privilege, so no one has any discrimination over money. They also ignore race to avoid any kinds of problems. But the one thing elves discriminate against the most is Abilities.
Almost every elf is born with a special ability, granting them a superpower. There are many kinds such as, Frosters (can create ice and snow), Inflictors (can overload you with negative emotion, only one known of before Sophie), Phasers (can phase or go through any solid object), Polygots (can speak any language fluently even if they have never heard it), and many more. Abilities are like gold to the elves. No wealth or sparkly castles compares to their abilities. Some elves however are born without an ability. They are known as the Talentless. Being labeled Talentless is the worst thing that can happen to an elf. It means you are not special. You are not like the rest of them, you do not belong.
Being labeled Talentless is not the only negative title you could receive though. In the world of the Lost Cities, you are not allowed to marry whomever you please. The elves must follow a strict match-making system that gives them five hundred other elves to pick from. You get five separate lists of a hundred people each. You are required to pick someone off your lists. If you are labeled Talentless, you are not allowed to marry someone with an ability. If you do, your relationship is labeled a Bad Match. You will be shunned and hated upon every time you leave your house. People who are labeled Bad Matches also tend to have a challenging time finding jobs. If you match with someone off the first list, you are more likely to have powerful kids.
The Lost Cities are ruled over by the twelve councilors. They are all elven, and all have powerful abilities. The twelve councilors oversee making the laws and regulating relations with the other intelligent species. The councilors must be in the nobility before being nominated for the position. They then must be nominated and elected to the position and the other councilors have to like them. If the other councilors do not like them, the elf will be let go and the election will be held again. New councilors go through tons of training because they do have to help run a nation after all.
As I mentioned earlier, there are also other intelligent species. Ogres, trolls, dwarves, goblins, and gnomes. They all live in separate kingdoms, and all have their own treaties with the elves. The elves typically believe that it is only right for them to rule over everyone. The other species have some issues with that but never speak against it. Goblins are sworn protectors of the elves, while gnomes grow all their food and take care of their chores. Ogres do not really like the elves, and they hate the goblins. Trolls are the more scientific species, and they typically stay neutral. Dwarves live underground and control the elven prison.
The species live peacefully hidden from humans. Humans are hated by all species, because it was humans that caused them to have to hide. Humans used to coexist with all the species, but they became greedy and tried to take them over. Atlantis used to be a city for humans to communicate with the elves. When humans became greedy, the elves sunk Atlantis and turned it into a hidden underwater city. Ever since then, the human territory was known as the Lost Cities.
Overall, the KOTLC series is a good read, and I highly recommend reading it. So far it has ten books all over five hundred pages. If you read it, I hope you enjoy it and join the KOTLC Fan Club!
