60 free Keeper of the Lost Cities trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
51 free Keeper of the Lost Cities trivia questions with answers. Keeper of the Lost Cities has grown from one book about a mind-reading twelve-year-old in San Diego into a nine-novel, two-novella series with a graphic novel, a film deal and a fandom that argues about ships in the comments. This quiz is for readers who have been to Foxfire and back. It starts gently (which ability lets Biana turn invisible, what colour Sophie's stuffed elephant is) and climbs to questions only a re-reader will get: which Councillor mentors Sophie in Inflicting, what Mr. Forkle's initials spell, which mascot goes with Level Three, and what a Wanderling seed is coiled with. It covers all six intelligent species, the Lost Cities themselves, Havenfield's animals, elvin gadgets like imparters and registry pendants, and publication facts about Shannon Messenger and the books. Everything here is safe for the 9-to-14 readers the books are written for, and light on late-series spoilers. Every answer was checked against the published books' reference material or the series' official and community wikis, and the source sits under each explanation.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who wrote the Keeper of the Lost Cities series?
Shannon Messenger
Messenger studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and originally wanted to be a Disney animator before turning to writing.
Q 02In which US city is Sophie living with her human family when the first book opens?
San Diego
The author herself moved to San Diego as a child, and Sophie's human home is the first of the 'Forbidden Cities' she has to leave behind.
Q 03Which teenage elf tracks Sophie down on a school field trip and tells her she is an elf?
Fitz
Fitzroy Vacker had been searching the human world for her on his father Alden's behalf for years before he found her at the museum.
Q 04When Fitz first tells Sophie the name of the academy she will attend, what does she assume it is?
A fungus
The school is named for the rare bioluminescent glow found in dark places, and prodigies are meant to be a bright glow in a darkened world; Fitz looked a little insulted.
Q 05The elvin couple who take Sophie in and later adopt her are named what?
Grady and Edaline
The Ruewens run Havenfield, an animal-rehabilitation estate, and lost their own daughter Jolie years before Sophie arrived.
Q 06Which rebel organisation turns out to have created Sophie through Project Moonlark?
The Black Swan
The gnome Calla named the project after moonlarks, birds that send their eggs out to sea but keep watch over their young from afar.
Q 07Sophie's old human-world neighbour, who turns out to run Project Moonlark, is known by what name?
Mr. Forkle
'Forkle' means disguise in Norwegian, and his full name, Errol Loki Forkle, has initials that spell E.L.F.
Q 08Which group of criminal extremists is the main antagonist of the series?
The Neverseen
Their symbol, a white eye inside a white circle, is stitched on their cloaks and haunts Sophie's nightmares.
Q 09Which of these is NOT one of Sophie's five confirmed abilities?
Vanisher
Her fifth ability, Enhancer, means she has to wear gloves so she does not accidentally boost anyone she touches; Vanishing belongs to Biana.
Q 10Keefe Sencen is an Empath. What does that ability let him do?
Read people's emotions on physical contact
Keefe's mother, Lady Gisela, is one of the series' main antagonists, which makes his mischief-maker persona a coping mechanism as much as a personality.
Q 11Dex Dizznee, Sophie's best friend, is a talented alchemist and what kind of ability-holder?
Technopath
His family runs the apothecary Slurps and Burps in Mysterium, and he uses his gift to change the colour of Sophie's pet imp in nearly every book.
Q 12Biana Vacker's ability lets her turn invisible. What is an elf with that ability called?
Vanisher
She shares the ability with her mother Della and eldest brother Alvar, and later learns to hide even from gnomes.
Q 13Twins Tam and Linh Song first meet Sophie at Exillium. What is Exillium?
A school for banished elves
Its students are called Waywards rather than prodigies and are sorted into Left, Right and Ambi Hemispheres.
Q 21Which studio was announced in April 2024 as holding the rights to a Keeper of the Lost Cities film?
Warner Bros. Pictures
An earlier 2021 plan had Ben Affleck directing for Disney; the Warner deal has Emma Watts producing and Messenger as executive producer.
Q 22Which director was originally announced in January 2021 to adapt the series for Disney?
Ben Affleck
The Disney version never went into production, and the rights moved to Warner Bros. three years later.
Q 23The graphic novel of the first book, released in November 2023, was illustrated by whom?
Gabriella Chianello
Q 14Linh Song earned the nickname 'the girl of many floods' while mastering which ability?
Hydrokinetic
She was banished at eleven for flooding Atlantis, and her brother Tam chose to go to Exillium with her so she would not be alone.
Q 15Wylie Endal is a Flasher. What can a Flasher sense and manipulate?
The colours of light
His father Prentice was the Black Swan's Keeper whose mind was broken protecting the secret of Sophie's existence.
Q 16The first book was published in October 2012. Which title followed it as book two?
Exile
Exile introduced Silveny the alicorn and the underground prison the book is named for.
Q 17Which book sits at number 8.5 in the series and alternates between Sophie's and Keefe's perspectives?
Unlocked
It also doubles as a series guide, with recipes and official character art by Laura Hollingsworth, and reached number 8 on the USA Today list.
Q 18What is the title of book nine, released in November 2022?
Stellarlune
The Stellarlune symbol is two crescent moons around a star, and the book ends with the entire series' biggest reveal.
Q 19The novella released on December 3, 2024 is called what?
Unraveled
It is book 9.5, and unlike the main novels it is not told from Sophie's point of view.
Q 20In November 2025 Messenger announced the title of the final book. What is it?
Elysian
The name first appeared as a 'forgotten secret' in Councillor Kenric's cache and turned out to be a person as well as a place.
Jason Chan paints the novel covers, Hollingsworth drew the Unlocked character art, and Romanazzi illustrated the graphic novel's second half.
Q 24The seventh book, Flashback, had a first printing of how many copies?
150,000
Messenger's three-week tour for the book drew crowds of 200 to 700 people per event.
Q 25Sophie's pet imp, rescued from a verminion at Havenfield, is called what?
Iggy
He is notorious for 'Iggy breath', and Dex dyes his fur a new colour in almost every book, from pink and curly to mermaid stripes.
Q 26Verdi, the permanent resident of Havenfield who refuses Grady's diet plan, is what kind of animal?
A Tyrannosaurus rex
She has bright neon-green feathers, once ate a flock of low-flying seagulls, and broke out of her pen to fight ogres in Lodestar.
Q 27Sophie finds Silveny while out searching for what kind of creature with Grady and Sandor?
A sasquatch
Silveny was only the second alicorn ever found; Keefe nicknamed her Glitter Butt because even her droppings sparkle.
Q 28Silveny and Greyfell's twin foals, born prematurely in Flashback, are named what?
Luna and Wynn
The babies had to finish developing inside a special troll hive, and Sophie and Keefe chose the names.
Q 29Sophie's stuffed elephant, which she cannot sleep without, is named what?
Ella
The elephant is bright blue, and a deleted scene reveals Mr. Forkle actually bought it and had Sophie's human mother pretend she had.
Q 30What is the gooey elvin dessert said to taste like cookies soaked in ice cream with frosting and butterscotch called?
Mallowmelt
Messenger has said she imagined it as an ice cream sandwich without the cold or sogginess, and even Sophie's stern ogre bodyguard Bo cracked a smile at his first bite.