Book Review - Flashback by Shannon Messenger

I've been keeping up with Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities series since the third book came out, so I was very excited when the seventh one released just a couple months ago! I'm not usually a hardcore fan of middle-grade books (*cough* save the greats, like Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl, and a select few), but Keeper of the Lost Cities is some quality stuff, y'all.

And as such, here I am to rave about review Flashback for you guys. Let's go.

4 Stars

For a middle grade series, I've always been super surprised by how well-written the Keeper of the Lost Cities series is - and Flashback is no exception. It totally surprised me at every turn, and I couldn't stop reading it once I picked it up! So, SO good (plus, I mean ... since I've been anticipating this book since forever and always, did anyone actually think I would put it down once I got my paws on it? xD)

From The Back Cover 

In this unforgettable seventh book, Sophie must let the past and present blur together, because the deadliest secrets are always the ones that get erased.

Sophie Foster doesn’t know what—or whom—to believe. And in a game with this many players, the worst mistake can be focusing on the wrong threat.

But when the Neverseen prove that Sophie’s far more vulnerable than she ever imagined, she realizes it’s time to change the rules. Her powerful abilities can only protect her so far. To face down ruthless enemies, she must learn to fight.

Unfortunately, battle training can’t help a beloved friend who’s facing a whole different danger—where the only solution involves one of the biggest risks Sophie and her friends have ever taken. And the distraction might be exactly what the villains have been waiting for.

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- How well-crafted the characters were. The characters in Flashback were amazing, as they have been for the entire series, but one thing really stuck out to me this time - the fact that this a middle grade series, and yet the characters are SO full fleshed out. Middle grade has some gems, yeah, but the characters in Flashback are seriously great. Their growth from the first book to this one is amazing, and I love love loved getting to read more of Sophie Foster's story. (I also majorly appreciate that Sophie is strong without coming off as bossy, and that she actually goes to people for help and has adults she trusts and leans on. That was epic - I always hate it when young characters do stupid stuff in books just because they think all adults know nothing and that teenagers rule the world xD)

- The ingenuity of it all. Okay, I'll just come right out and admit it - there are a lot of tropes in fantasy that are so worn out. The regular, run-of-the-mill ones that people use all the live-long day. Keeper of the Lost Cities takes a TON of those tropes and totally flips them around (or adds new shiny elements that make them so epic it doesn't even matter anymore) - and Flashback threw in some new twists that I REALLY loved and didn't see coming. I enjoyed that a ton.

- The cliffhanger. WEIRD, I KNOW. But I have the memory of a literal goldfish, and this series continues to be THE ONLY one where I can still remember the ending of the book I just read almost word-for-word when the next one comes out. And I don't even know why? But I love it? And the cliffhanger for Flashback was just as insane as the cliffhangers in the rest of the series. I shall definitely still remember it when the eighth book comes out ;D.

- There were a few instances of "telling". I actually find that this happens a lot in middle grade books? And while it didn't happen very much in Flashback, it did still happen now and then. Not enough to annoy me much, really (I was too concentrated on the epic stuff to care, ha!), but enough that it deserved noting *shrugs*.

Flashback was a worthy addition to the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, and I absolutely CANNOT wait for the next book. I think this is the longest series I've ever kept up with, and it still feels weird to say I've been reading it since the third book? xD (because I have a smol attention span and I also usually find out about books/series AFTER they're been released, ha!) Would definitely recommend it for any of y'all looking for an especially good middle grade series, or a series that flips a TON of fantasy tropes.


And there are my thoughts on the latest Shannon Messenger book! I hope y'all are having a wonderful February so far - keep being epic, my friends! <3  

~ Savannah Grace 

have you read Flashback?

what's your favorite middle grade series?