Ranking KoTLC Characters' Debut

As I promised earlier, I am cooking up some content for each book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. If you haven’t read the series, READ IT!!!!! If you have, then this blog is for you. 

In the iconic book number one, we were all left confused. Spooky stuff kept happening, and no one knew what was going on. The yarn was only starting to get a little tangled…

Hence, I always call book number one the filler book. It was the book where we were introduced to a whole new world with a whole new set of characters. Which ones had the best debut? Read my thoughts and let me know yours in the comments or in the contact us form!

1. Keefe - It would be a disgrace to not make Keefe’s number one. His entrance while ditching class is so iconic and so Keefe. I love how he made Sophie feel special and wanted, contrasting how people saw her with disgust in the human world. 

2. Stina - When I was coming up with these rankings, it shocked me at how insanely amazing Stina’s debut was. I love a dramatic little prank war, and Stina and Dex’s feud made things a whole lot more interesting in the Lost Cities (as if it weren’t already…)

3. Dex - I loved how he just started to go straight through Sophie’s stuff after introductions, making himself right at home with Sophie. He just took on the role of being a BFF to Sophie, and he never truly hid his quirks. And his question about him having his own land when Sophie mentioned Disney land was so clever to me.

4. Bronte - I think it is so so funny how everyone was laughing at Sophie pointing out Bronte’s ears, and it set up his grumpy character so well. I had such a clear image of how I imagined Bronte to be - which got screwed up just a tiny bit after seeing the official art on Bronte =(

5. Jensi - He was so welcoming and bubbly, and from the very first scene when he helped Sophie navigate the school, he put me at ease. Plus, when he hollered something along the lines of “See, I told you she is nice,” I was cackling. 

6. Marella - She genuinely has so much personality and sass and I love how upfront she is. Stealing Sophie away from the drooly boys and being so outwardly curious about Sophie’s upbringing was so much fun to read. 

7. Grady - I loved how his personality shined when he was feeding Verdi instead of worrying about having a picture perfect appearance for Sophie. I feel like it put Sophie more at ease, and I love how Grady’s presence felt comforting, even if Sophie wasn’t really used to the idea of him being her new guardian

8. Biana - I loved how her introduction made her be such a posh, stuck up girl, when she is anything but. Her debut is so unlike her later personality that I love reading a new side of her, even if it makes me feel unsettled with how she initially treated Sophie

9. Sophie - Her debut is mediocre to me, probably because it feels like stepping into a regular novel, especially since we were first introduced to her in the forbidden cities instead of the Elvin world. Still, I loved watching her put the other kids in their place as she correctly answered Mr. Sweeny’s questions. 

10. Della - She was so motherly to Sophie when they first met, making sure she felt comfortable and safe, and that she also had more than enough clothes to wear. I even loved how she jumpscared Sophie with her vanishing ability. The only issue with her debut was that it wasn’t memorable since there was already so much going on in the book by this point 

11. Alden - The same thing applies to Alden. I love how fatherly and protective he is over Sophie, and I love that he became her safe space in such a short amount of time. I just always seem to forget their first interaction because it felt so dull 

12. Sandor - I didn’t feel like there was anything special about his debut. It felt purely random, but needed, that he showed up. I felt bad for him when Sophie inflicted, but I was always so focused on reorienting myself to what had just happened to Sophie that I forget that Sandor was still introduced in book one

13. Fitz - His opening line felt really creepy and unsettled, and I know, I know… That was probably the point because the whole situation was weird for Sophie too. I just didn’t like it too much. 

14. Edaline - Her debut scene was so reserved (understandably so!), but I didn’t form an attachment to her after meeting her, like I did with the rest of the characters.