This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set. Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published. You've been warned.
I read the book for the third time in late January. My opinion has shifted some, but I'm leaving the main body of this post as I first wrote it. My current thoughts are at the end of the post.
In this post, I've collected interesting Alvar quotes from Unraveled.
Page 196 "But the longer I'm around humans, the more value I see to their way of thinking."
Page 202 "I'm done with the Lost Cities. I have absolutely zero desire to ever go back again."
Page 203 "I like where I am. I like being insignificant. No pressure. No past. No legacy."
But will his opinion change after he's healed?
Page 204 "Honestly, Keefe, I wish I had something worth sharing. I could use a good bargaining chip right now."
This quote is in reference to Alvar wanting to bargain with Keefe to get Keefe to let him go back to his city. But it occurs to me—Alvar overhears an important conversation Keefe has with Sophie later in the book. What if Alvar uses what he knows to bargain with the Neverseen?
Page 241 "Stellarlune... apparently has something to do with... rocks."
Page 245 "Well, it's kind of pointless to speculate, but... I guess it would depend on how they tried to force me. I'm not great with physical punishments."
So, Alvar isn't ruling out whether he could end up going back to what he did before with the Neverseen.
Page 281 "I actually liked not having an ability. I know that probably seems hard to believe—and it definitely took a little getting used to. But it kinda felt like proof that I belonged in the human world—and made it way easier to blend in."
Page 281 "It's like... there's a pool deep inside me. Maybe it's something we all have. Some sort of... inner reserve of energy that fuels our abilities."
Alvar wants to fit in. He did fit in with the humans, but with his ability back, he's going to want to be back in the elven world. He doesn't have a lot of choices due to the bridges he's burned. That's why I think it's likely that he'll end up doing something nefarious again.
Another thought I had was, How do we know Alvar isn't working for Lady Gisela? Surely she's checked in on Keefe with her shadowflux tracker. Is it possible that Gisela knew Keefe was going to libraries and that she had Alvar check libraries?
Gisela indicates near the end of Stellarlune that she still has a means to track Keefe. Did Alvar place another tracker on Keefe somehow?
Also, there's this:
On page 234, Alvar says that Ethan Benedict Wright "had a weird name I can never remember." Is he pretending? He might have said that to throw Keefe off.
Alvar does seem sincere. But we know from past experience that Alvar is a weak, needy person. Since Keefe heals him, he knows what Keefe can do. This is dangerous information for Alvar to have. He also heard everything Sophie says about Kenric's cache.
Alvar and Keefe are like each other. They parallel each other. Both of them are "the boy who disappeared." Alvar is that to Sophie, and Keefe is that to Eleanor. Alvar was looking for an elf but thought Sophie was human. Keefe thinks Eleanor is human. What if she isn't? Eleanor wants Lady Gisela dead. Why?
Keefe thinks it's odd that he and Alvar just happen to show up in the same library at the same time. It's very strange.
Alvar overheard all of Sophie's conversation with Keefe. Let's see what Alvar knows:
- Keefe did something to Dex's family.
- Keefe has a voice ability. He mentions it being a "voice command thing." He then mentions "controlling humans."
- Keefe repeats the lie about using jewelry to pay for the hotel room.
- Lady Gisela had a shadowflux tracker placed in Keefe's chest.
- Sophie spoke of "a ton of memories they'd found in Kenric's cache" and that they had found out "about something called Elysian."
- Sophie was asked by Vespera to form a temporary alliance against Keefe's mom.
- Sophie didn't agree to the alliance, but they are going to find Elysian on their own. Wylie is trying to find the starstone. They mention the rocks being a power source.
I feel like Alvar is genuinely trying to help Keefe. He seems to really care about Keefe and wants to help him overcome his problems. He gives Keefe great suggestions and truly supports him. I feel like Alvar is being genuine. I really do. However...
Page 245 "Well, it's kind of pointless to speculate, but... I guess it would depend on how they tried to force me. I'm not great with physical punishments."
This quote is important and foreshadows what will likely happen. Lady Gisela has probably been checking up on Keefe daily with her Eleventh hour tracker and may even have followed him around. She could very well know that Alvar has been with Keefe in the Forbidden Cities. In fact, she almost certainly does know. She will most likely take Alvar captive and torture him into doing what she wants.
I have a different perspective now on why Alvar says that he can't ever remember Ethan's name. I don't think Alvar ever met Ethan. Even though Alvar says that Keefe was a last-minute replacement on that day, that can't be true. Keefe went to Ethan's house at least three times. I'll detail how we know this in my post about Eleanor.
If Alvar never delivered anything to Ethan's house, then he would have never met him. He wouldn't be as likely to remember Ethan's name.
All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:
Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories
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