13 Fantastic Books Like Keeper of the Lost Cities
If you are looking for books like Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger, you’ve come to the right place. After hearing all the kids in our area talking about KOTLC, I knew I had to listen to it with my kids.
We literally couldn’t stop reading this. I’m telling you, we were all stuck sitting around the speaker anxiously awaiting the next chapter. Move over Harry Potter, there is a new middle-grade fantasy series poised to take your throne!
The series has everything! There are magical beings like elves, goblins, trolls, and alicorns, that all live in fantastical worlds. The friendships in this group of young teen classmates are supportive and loving. There is also a sweet love triangle appropriate for middle school-aged children. Are you team Keefe or team Fitz?
With all of these elements, it’s truly no wonder that KOTLC has risen in popularity over the past few years. The 10th book in the series, Stellarlune, is scheduled to come out in November and my children are chomping at the bit to get their hands on it.
As a firm fan myself, I’m eagerly waiting to get my hands on it too. While we wait for the newest book, we’ve gathered a list of books like Keeper of the Lost Cities to hold you over!
*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you.
How Many Books are in Keeper of the Lost Cities?
As of right now, there are 9 published books in the KOTLC series. 8 of them are full novels while Unlocked, known as 8.5, is filled with short stories, recipes, illustrations, and other fun things for Sophie Foster fans.
We have them laid out in order in the space below.
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Move over Harry Potter, there is a new middle grade fantasy series poised to take your throne! Meet Sophie Foster, a newly found elf living in the human world.
In book one of this ever-growing series, she’s taken back to the Lost Cities and sent to Foxfire Academy to learn to harness her powers as a Telepath. In the process, she is welcomed into a new family, makes loads of friends, and uncovers a secret organization trying to destroy the human world.
Why We Love This Book: All 5 of our children loved this series, and frankly, Jackie and I did too! It’s also a great family-friendly audiobook for long car trips. We’ve got a list of books like KOTLC if you have already read this series.
Appropriate for ages 9-12
Find this book in Secret Society Books / Fantasy Books for Tweens / Books for 11-year-olds / Books Like Percy Jackson / Kids Audiobooks
Is There a KOTLC Movie?
As of right now, Keeper of the Lost Cities is being made into a movie with Ben Affleck as one of the directors!
The Keeper of the Lost Cities movie was announced in early 2021 and will be made with Disney, the same studio currently scheduled to make a movie about Percy Jackson!
Not much about the cast, filming locations, or release dates are known, but we will update this post when we know more.
More Books by Shannon Messenger
Before you look at books like Keeper of the Lost Cities by other authors, know that Shannon Messenger has other book series for you to enjoy!
While KOTLC is a Middle-Grade fantasy series, Sky Fall is definitely for young adult fantasy book lovers.
Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
This is the first book in a YA fantasy book series known as the Sky Fall trilogy. After a tornado kills his parents, Vane can’t stop dreaming of the same pretty girl. Turns out, the girl, Audra, is a sylph who controls air and is charged with protecting his life.
After they are discovered, their lives depend on Vane remembering who he is and Audra helping him claim the power of the West Wind. But they need to not fall in love in the process.
Epic Fantasy Books like KOTLC
What makes a fantasy series epic? It is not only an amazing story but a cast of characters that makes a series unforgettable. KOTLC would not be the same without Dex Diznee, Fitz Vacker, and Keefe Sencen. These epic fantasy series below have a cast of characters just as unforgettable.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
This first Percy Jackson book is about our beloved Percy, who discovers he is a demi-god and must recover Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. He travels into the underworld to locate the lightning bolt and, at the same time, try to save his mother.
His amazing adventures with Annabeth and Grover along the way create the foundation for all the books that follow in this amazing and epic series. This show has been adapted to TV on Disney and is fantastic!
Why We Love This Book: I don’t think anyone has read this middle grade fantasy series and not loved it. It’s a contemporary greek mythology retelling for the ages.
Appropriate for ages 9-13
Find this book in Books like Percy Jackson / Epic Guide to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson Books / Audiobooks for Kids
Perfect for fans of Harry Potter / Keeper of the Lost Cities / Tween & Teen Fantasy Books
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K Rowling
I was in university when this book was published and the first four were sitting on my younger brother’s bookshelf before I picked it up to see what the fuss was about. I read all four books in as many days and was married with a child before the final book was published.
This story introduces us to Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger; our fearless trio. We also meet the other favorite beloved and detested characters that make the Harry Potter book series so special. After all, what would Hogwarts be without Hagrid, Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Draco Malfoy?
Why We Love This Book: In our opinion, this is the best children’s fantasy series ever written. It features strong lessons on morality, inventive plotlines, and hidden threads woven throughout the entire series. Jim Dale’s audiobook narration of this book is award-winning. He voices over 200 characters, each with distinct accents.
Appropriate for ages 9-13
Find this book in Books like Harry Potter / Books Like Percy Jackson / 21 Adult Books Similar to Harry Potter / Harry Potter Books in Order / Best Audiobooks for Kids
The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer
While this story is about the land of fairy tales, think Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, it has the element of magic and wonder that Harry Potter fans will love.
Alex and Connor’s grandmother gives them the family book of fairy tales. Before they understand what is happening, they find themselves transported into the book. They set off on an adventure to get back home. We absolutely love this book and think it is one of the great read-aloud books for kids.
When it comes to books for Percy Jackson fans, this series is top of our list!
Love Fantasy Books? We do too! That’s why we created a list of Books Like Harry Potter and Books Like Percy Jackson!
Tween Fantasy Books like KOTLC with Magical Creatures like Silveny
Silveny is an alicorn who becomes a character in the second book of the series. Sophie Foster’s adoptive parents, Grady and Edaline Ruewen have an animal sanctuary with magical mythical creatures like the ones below and new ones we have heard of before.
The Flame of Olympus by Kate O’Hearn
The first book in the Pegasus series gave us series KOTLC meets Percy Jackson vibes. 13-year-old Emily’s life is turned upside down after she finds a Pegasus on her roof after a storm.
Soon she is teaming up with the Greek Goddess, Diana to help get the pegasus back to Olympus and save the Gods!
Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
Alice Queensmeadow wants to bring her father back and to do so, she needs to travel the magical world of Furthermore. Think of it as The Secret Garden meets Alice in Wonderland.
A pale girl on a quest for both her father and color goes to a magical, mystical place with strange and fantastical creatures. With Oliver by her side, she heads out to discover the villages of Furthermore and locate her lost father.
Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland
The first series is about 5 dragons who were told a prophecy about how they would save the world. The 5 dragons, Rain Wing, Sand Wing, Mud Wing, Sea Wing, and Night Wing, start out trapped in a cave.
They must escape the cave where they have been locked up and go out into the world to find out who they really are. If you have a middle-grade fantasy lover, this is the perfect book for them!
For more books like these, check out our list of Fantasy Books for Tweens.
Secret Society Books For Lovers of the Black Swan
In this series, there are not one but two secret societies. The Black Swan and the Neverseen are working against each other to do what they think is best for the world.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
This is a mystery book for tweens that all adults should read but you can also find it on our list of books for 13-year-olds. It’s about a group of extremely gifted children who are sent to spy on an evil organization.
As members of a secret society, these genius kids must follow the clues on their secret mission.
Why We Love This: This is the first middle-grade book in a series that is geared toward older kids. It was funny and interesting and extremely clever.
Find this book in Middle Grade Mystery Books / Books for 13-year-olds/ Books About Puzzles
Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
The first book in Gibbs’s series is about Ben Ripley, a child CIA agent trying to defeat the evil organization Spyder. As he attends the secret junior CIA boarding school, he gets into loads of situations that put his espionage skills to good use.
In each book of the series, Ben and his fellow agents tackle a new problem. They take place at various new locations as the series progresses. It’s already 10 books deep and every pick from the series is a fun choice for a list of mystery books for tweens.
The 39 clues series by Rick Riordan, Jude Watson, and more
Grace Cahill dies and leaves orphan siblings Amy and Dan an option – 1 million dollars or a clue. Amy and Dan decided to take the clue and figure out what happened to their parents. Along the way, they run into other families on the hunt for clues.
This is like The Da Vinci code for kids. It’s a series filled with secret societies, hidden secrets, and an epic quest for treasure.
For more middle grade books, check out our list of books for 10-year-old, 11-year-old, 12-year-old, or 13-year-old readers.
Books like Keeper of the Lost Cities with Female Leaders
Both Biana Vacker and Sophie Foster are strong female leaders and forces to be reckoned with in this amazing series.
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
If the changing staircases, room of requirement, and secrets passages are your child’s favorite parts about Hogwarts, this is the series for them!
Princess Celie lives in an ever-changing castle that adds new rooms every Tuesday. She eagerly maps out each new addition that might just end up saving her family when danger heads to their home. This is one of the read-aloud books for kids that I read to my kids. We both loved it and it was a wonderful pick from bedtime stories for kids.
A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer
Brystal Evergreen finds out that she can perform magic when reading a book from her library, but women aren’t supposed to read!
When she is sentenced to a correctional facility, she was quickly whisked away to an academy where she can learn magic! My kids devoured this middle-grade fantasy as quickly as Chris Colfer’s last series. While no correctional facility could be as bad as Azkaban, this series is a perfect pick for books like Harry Potter for kids.
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
You might want to bump this series to the top of your reading pile because it’s becoming a movie starring some big-name actors.
Sophie thinks her history makes her a good fit for the School of Good like Cinderella and Snow White before her. Agatha is thinking the School of Evil is a better fit for her. But when the opposite schools are assigned to each girl, they need to figure out who they really are and where they belong.
Amazing Keeper of the Lost Cities Gear
Can’t get enough of Sophie and her crew? Check out the amazing fan-created pieces below.
If you think we are missing any books like Keeper of the Lost Cities, comment below and let us know!
