Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Cover Release

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled will be released on November 12, 2024.  This book serves the same purpose as #8.5 Unlocked.  The Keeper books are told solely from Sophie's point of view.  We never hear the thoughts of other characters, and we never learn any information that Sophie doesn't know.  If you think about it, this is why the plots of the later books seem convoluted and are difficult to understand at first.  We only know what Sophie knows.  And there's an awful lot that she doesn't know.

In #8.5 Unlocked, the POV switches between Sophie and Keefe in alternating chapters.  We were given Keefe's POV since we needed to know what he was experiencing.  #9.5 Unraveled covers Keefe's time in the Forbidden Cities and is told solely from Keefe's POV. 

This is what Shannon Messenger told us about the book in her video announcement:

"Unraveled is a super super super important piece of the story that I thought I was going to fit into book 9, but as I was working on book 9, it just didn't fit.  And so I thought, no worries, I'll write it into book 10.  But as I've been working on book 10, it just didn't belong in there either.  And I was starting to get really nervous like, what am I going to do—this is very crucial information.  Readers need this to understand the story.

I finally realized that the reason it wasn't fitting is because we need to read it through a different character's point of view...  Yes, Unraveled is an entire book told through Keefe's POV...  It starts at the end of Unlocked where Keefe makes that rather dramatic decision and leaves that note for Sophie telling her what he's doing.  And then it covers all of that time that he's missing from Stellarlune...  He was doing a lot of very very important things. And you're going to get to read about all of them and live them with him through his POV in real time.  And think about it, this is Keefe in our world experiencing human things!

Here's the publisher's summary:

The past and present unravel into staggering truths in this can't-miss installment of the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Keeper of the Lost Cities series told entirely from Keefe’s point of view.

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.

When I saw the cover, I thought, Who is the guy in the hoodie?  

Shannon Messenger addressed the cover art style in a Facebook post:

I seriously love this cover SO MUCH.  I know it's a different feel for a KEEPER cover, but that's the point.  We wanted to make sure you could immediately tell that you were getting something a little unexpected with UNRAVELED.  So there's no fantastical setting.  Keefe's here in our world, after all.  And since this book is in his POV, it's just him standing there facing us, looking a little unsure if he wants us to know what he's up to.  It's not just a moment; it's a MOOD—with a few hints of what you're going to learn in his story (notice the figure watching him??? dun dun DUNNNN).  But if it feels like it gives away a little less than the other covers, that's also intentional.  Keefe is extra cautious in this story, so we want it to feel as mysterious as it should.

I'm looking forward to this next installment in the series.